Page 180 of Ruined Vows

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“I told you I would.”

I look down because he’s pressing his hand over my stomach.

“Still ours?” he asks, voice rough.

“Still ours,” I whisper.

He exhales—shaky, broken, real.

And then he pulls me in.

I bury my face in his neck and let his arms close around me. His body still carries the cold of the night, the scent of smoke, sweat, and blood.

But under it?

I feel his heartbeat.

I feelhim.

And for the first time in days, I believe in a future.

He came home.

We get tomorrow.

I keep my voice even. “Milan’s gone.”

She stares at me. Searching for doubt. For hesitation. There’s none.

“I saw you with ashes on your clothes,” I say quietly. “And all I could think was—how much I want to give you a world that doesn’t keep taking.”

She turns then. Face flushed, eyes bright.

“That was too close,” she murmurs.

“I know.”

She exhales. And maybe now we can put the past behind us.

There’s silence. Not heavy—just real. I pull her into my arms, and her arms wrap around my neck.

I want her. I always want her.

“I love you,” I say.

She doesn’t say another word. But I watch something shift in her posture. Something small. Something fierce, and I know she believes inus.

“I love you, too, Wolfie.”

We’re not just surviving anymore. We’re planning our future.

And I’ll kill the next man who tries to take that from me.

59

VUKAN

ENDGAME

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