Page 97 of Little Red Riding Hood
Red’s shoulders tensed beneath Wim’s touch. “I just can’t stop thinking… that you have no choice in all this. Right?”
The words pierced Wim like an arrow. He dropped his hand, stomach churning over waves of panic at the fear threading through Red’s voice. How could Red think that?
“You think I—” Wim couldn’t finish the sentence. The mere suggestion tasted like ash in his mouth.He’s been through a lot,hetold himself. What with finding his long-lost parents and then the subsequent death of said parents not ten minutes later.
If Wim could take all the hurt away and give it to himself, he’d do it in a heartbeat.
“Well, it’s true isn’t it?” Red wrapped his arms around himself, shrinking away. “Old Oma said you needed my heart to break your curse. So now you have no choice. You’ll never get to have a wolf-mate, because you were forced to mate with me, and then be stuck with me forev—”
“Stop.” Wim’s voice shook terribly. He shifted to face Red properly, fighting the urge to gather him close. “Look at me, sweetheart.”
Those perfectly unique eyes met his, swimming with unshed tears.
“That first night in the forest, when I found you… I could hear your heart beating.” Wim brushed away the tear that escaped down Red’s cheek. “Didn’t understand it then, but I do now—your heart was singing to mine all along. Everything we’ve got? It’s real as anything. I promise. I wanted you since the first moment I caught your scent.”
Wim hadn’t known what the smell meant back then, but now he did perfectly:mine, mine, mine.
“When Old Oma said I needed your heart… well, it all fell into place. Makes perfect sense now, doesn’t it? How you’re the only one who could tame the beast in me, bring me back to myself when no one else could.”
Red’s lip trembled. “But still, now you’re obligated to—”
“I’m notobligatedto do anything.” Wim caught Red’s chin between his thumb and forefinger. “I wouldn’t be asking to make you mine if I wasn’t dead certain I want you by my side for all my days.”
Red looked away from him. “But you can’t be completely certainof that already,” he mumbled. “Don’t you want to wait a bit, at least?”
“No. I don’t want to wait a day longer, because I already love you, you impossible fool.” The words burst from him like a dam breaking. “Because watching you sleep makes my chest ache. Because your smile lights up the darkest parts of me. Because even when you’re driving me mad with your stubbornness, I can’t imagine wanting anyone else.”
Red blinked rapidly, more tears spilling over. “But what if—”
“No what-ifs.” Wim pressed their foreheads together. “I chooseyou.You,Red. Not because of any magic or illness. I wanted youbeforewe found out you have Oma’s heart. You know that in your bones, sweetheart. You’ve got to know it.”
His voice was cracking more by the second.Fuck,what more could he say to get Red to believe him?
“And… after we are mates… I suppose we will go and live with your pack?”
Wim pressed another kiss to Red’s forehead. “Ourpack, sweetheart.”
The thought made Wim giddy with joy. Everyone would love Red, he knew it already.
“But… I’m not a wolf,” Red whispered. “Not a wildling.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Wim replied forcefully. “You can still be pack.”
“But I’ll never be able to run beside you.”
Wim shrugged. “I’ll carry you on my back.”
“Are… there any other humans there? Where your pack lives?”
Red’s eyes lit up in hope and Wim’s heart sank. “No… but don’t you worry about that. And if any of them so much as looks at you wrong…” He rumbled a warning growl in his chest, and Red gave a weak laugh.
Red could have asked Wim not to return to his pack, but he didn’t, and for that, Wim was overwhelmingly grateful. Wim would have agreed, of course, though it would have split his heart in two.
“What about the Queen? What if she comes looking for me? Sends her Shadow?”
Then I’ll burn the world down to keep you safe.
Wim grabbed Red’s hand, and squeezed it tightly. “We’ll have to hope your mother’s protection still stands.”
