And yet, both Jarod’s unflinching love and the love of the Forest have been like a constant, caressing balm this past month, gradually dulling the edges of what Damion Bane took from her like persistent water coursing over jagged stone. And creating a safe space for her to gain strength and heal.

And there’s so much loving desire in him. Aislinn can sense it coursing through him as she takes in the lines of violet rippling over the Vo. It started out as intimidating, this new Lupine ability to read his overpowering want for her so vividly. Troubling at times, so clear that he wants more than to just kiss and hold her.

But her sense of his desire has since morphed into its own kind of comfort because Jarod’s intense passion is stripped of any cruelty. Even though his touch on her arm in this moment is featherlight, she can feel the warm echo of his strong arms around her, night after night, like a bolstering imprint. Loath to ever be separated again, the two of them have fallen asleep beside each other every evening since their reunion, even though, at first, she awakened crying out in terror from the persistent nightmares, and even though Jarod sometimes had trouble sleeping as his desire for her burned through his body.

She’s seen him unclothed both before and after a Change—and once she even saw his desire for her in shockingly vivid terms. And yet, he’s always holding back and careful to tread gently around her spikes of fear, her flashes of revulsion and outrage. Waiting.

I’ll wait for you forever, he’s told her more than once as he cradled her in his arms.

And so, night after night, Aislinn has fallen asleep to Jarod embracing her in the darkness, every Lupine sense heightened as she breathed in the intoxicating male scent of him, as he stroked her arm, kissed her forehead, her lips. So gentle, when the desire in him was anything but.

And slowly, she’s felt herself beginning to heal. To the point where, these past days, things have turned a corner, her love and desire for Jarod starting to feel stronger than the trauma.

Aislinn turns her gaze from the river and looks at Jarod, warmth coursing over her as their eyes meet. She swallows, her mouth and throat suddenly thirsty with want for him, her nerves alight with what she’s about to offer.

“Take me to mate.”

Jarod pulls in a hard breath, and Aislinn can feel the hot flare of his desire, every part of him controlled but straining to move toward her.