The room erupted. We were overwhelmed then, friends and family laughing, hugging us both. There was so much noise, one of the guards tried to tell us to keep it down. No one listened and he finally gave up. Patrice and Prisha both came out to shake hands and congratulate us. When I tried to find Woodbridge, he was gone, slipping out when no one noticed.

Mama Ami and Jory finally took pity on the guard and corralled us all out of the courtroom, inviting everyone over to a celebration dinner.

Lou and I extricated ourselves quickly, heading to the car—we were ready to say goodbye to the UTC building. We hit traffic, of course, because Seattle breeds traffic even worse than Portland, which was saying something.

Lou huffed a breath. “Get out of my way, you time-wasting bastards.”

I popped open Lou’s glovebox, pulling out a granola bar and handing it to her.

She blinked at it. “How did you know? One of those mating bond things?”

I unwrapped it for her and held it out so she could take a bite. “I don’t need the bond to tell me you’re hungry. You barely ate breakfast because you were worried. The traffic delay has made you irritated, which makes it worse.”

She took a bite. “When did you sneak snacks into my glovebox?”

“Does it matter?”

“It does not,” she mumbled around a mouthful of granola bar. “Sneaky wolf.”

Twenty minutes later, Lou managed to find street parking about a block from Mama Ami’s house. I unbuckled my seatbelt, moving to grab the door handle, but paused when I noticed Lou hadn’t done the same. I sat back, turning to face her. She was looking out at the street, her eyes unfocused.

“What is it?” I brushed a hand along her jaw, giving in and following up the touch with a soft kiss. “Upset about today?”

“No.” She leaned into my touch. “I don’t like being on probation, but I understand why. I might have been acting in your best interests, but they can’t take a soft line with binding shifters. They shouldn’t.”

“Then what is it?” I nuzzled her neck. She smelled good, and I smiled when I caught my own scent on her skin.

She turned then so we could look at each other. “So much has happened in so little time. A lot of change. It feels like I just brought you here, and now look at us.”

“You’re worried that with everything happening so fast, one of us will have regrets later.”

Her nose scrunched up. “It’s going to be really hard to hide things from you, isn’t it?”

I nodded slowly, keeping our gazes locked. “But you’re welcome to try. The wolf is learning to play. Hide and seek is about his speed.”

I checked her through the bond, my touch light. She was uncertain. It made my heart ache. Lou hid it, often behind bluster, but she had a layer of sweetness that reached to her core. I took her chin in my hand. “You have doubts, and if I was doing my job as your mate properly, you’d feel secure. That will take time, because you’re stubborn.”