Page 61 of Alien Huntsman

“What about the house? It was your childhood home.”

She shrugged. “You know, Lenora actually had one good idea—selling it.” She leaned against the counter, her eyes distant with memory. “I loved that house once, but it hasn’t been a home since Father died. Just a place where I existed.”

He nodded—he understood all too well what it meant to exist in a place without belonging to it.

“My home is with you now,” she continued, her voice soft but certain. “In our cabin, with our pups.” She reached for his hand again, her fingers warm against his. “I don’t need those walls to remember my father. I carry those memories with me.”

He pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her. Her certainty was a gift he hadn’t expected—one he wasn’t sure he deserved but would fight to be worthy of. His beast rumbled with contentment.

“We can visit whenever you want,” he promised, pressing his lips to her temple. “The bakery, the village. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.”

She nodded against his chest. “I know. But right now, I just want to go home. To our home in the woods with the pups and each other.”

Our home. Two simple words that carried such weight. He pulled her closer, breathing in her scent, letting his forehead rest against hers.

“I was ready to stay,” he admitted quietly. “If that’s what you wanted.”

She leaned back just enough to meet his eyes, her face soft. “I know you were. That’s one of the reasons I love you. But I don’t belong here anymore. I belong with you.”

“Whenever you want,” he replied, his thumb tracing the curve of her cheek, wiping away a smudge of flour. “Right now, if you’re ready.”

He couldn’t hold back any longer. The joy bubbling up inside him was too powerful to contain, bursting through the careful control he’d maintained his entire life. With a delighted growl that rumbled from deep in his chest, he swept her off her feet, lifting her into the air and twirling her around. Her laughter rang through the bakery like the sweetest music he’d ever heard, each note striking something primal within him.

The scent of her happiness wrapped around him, intoxicating and pure. His beast preened with satisfaction, reveling in her joy. This was what it meant to truly live—not merely survive, but to feel this overwhelming contentment.

He set her down gently, but kept his arms around her waist, unwilling to let go. The afternoon light streaming through the bakery windows caught in her dark curls, highlighting the warmth in her blue eyes. She was looking at him with such open affection that it made his chest ache.

“What did I ever do to deserve you?” The words escaped before he could stop them, raw and honest.

Her smile softened. She reached up, her small hands cupping his face with a tenderness that still surprised him. Her thumb brushed against his cheek, tracing the line of his jaw as if memorizing every contour.

“You love me,” she said simply. “That’s all I ever wanted.”

EPILOGUE

Two weeks later…

Tessa stoodin front of the small, cracked mirror, barely recognizing the woman who stared back at her. The pale blue dress flowed around her like water, catching the late afternoon light filling the tent erected for the ceremony. Her fingers traced the delicate gold necklace at her throat—the same one Lenora had tried to bribe Korrin with.

“Stop fidgeting,” Agatha scolded, though her eyes were warm with affection. “You’ll wrinkle the fabric.”

“I can’t help it.” Her hands dropped to smooth the skirt for the dozenth time. “I’ve never worn anything this beautiful.”

The bracelet on her wrist caught the light as she moved—her mother’s bracelet, simple silver links that had somehow survived all these years in a small box hidden beneath the floorboards of her childhood home. She’d found it last week when clearing out the last of her belongings.

“You look stunning,” Scarlett said, adjusting a strand of Tessa’s dark hair that had escaped its arrangement. “Korrin won’t know what hit him.”

Heat rushed to her cheeks. “Do you really think so?”

“I know so.” Scarlett winked at her. “Trust me, I remember how Finnar looked at me on our mating day.”

“The boy won’t be able to form a coherent sentence,” Agatha added with a snort. “Not that he’s exactly verbose at the best of times.”

She laughed, some of her nervousness melting away. “He’s not that bad.”

“No,” Agatha agreed, her expression softening. “He’s not. Especially when he’s with you.”

Tessa turned back to the mirror, studying her reflection once more. The weeks since confronting Lenora had passed in a whirlwind of happiness. The village had embraced her return, the bakery was thriving under her part-time care, and both of her assistants were working out well. But her greatest joy was returning each day to the cabin in the woods, to Korrin and their family of mischievous pups.

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