Romance

  Jacob&#39;s Perspective
  The next morning, I was woken by sunlight and a deeply pleasurable ache. Celena was curled against me, sleeping soundly, her face holding a sated, childlike peace. And I… I felt incredible. Better than ever. The world was sharp and bright, even the sparrows outside sounded sweeter.
  When we dressed—Celena insisted on a high neckline, though the fresh mark below her collarbone and its subtle scent was a beacon to any werewolf—and walked into the kitchen, the first one to see us was Lily.
  She was clutching a coffee mug, bleary-eyed. But when her gaze swept over us, lingering on the hint of the mark at Celena’s throat and the undeniable, mingled scent that now clung to us, her eyes went wide. The mug wobbled.
  “Holy shit…” she breathed, her stare darting between Celena and me, her mouth slowly dropping open before splitting into a huge grin—a mix of shock, gl

  Celena&#39;s Perspective
  After getting married, life became so simple that I sometimes forgot I was a werewolf.
  I’m not joking. I’d wake in the morning, usually to find Jacob already up—either making breakfast or back from an early patrol, smelling of dew and pine needles. Rubbing my eyes, I’d shuffle into the kitchen. He’d turn from the stove with a lazy, morning-only smile. “Sleep well, love?” Then he’d hand me a mug of coffee, always the perfect temperature, with double sugar and milk. He still teased me about my childish sweet tooth, but he never forgot.
  We’d eat breakfast together, listening to Lily chatter about some “earth-shattering” new mischief Aurora had gotten into, or the twins complain about an uncooperative family on the patrol route.
  Sunlight streamed through the kitchen’s checkered windows, pooling on the wooden table and making the honey jar gleam.
  During th

  Jacob&#39;s Perspective
  Two years.
  Not a lifetime, but not a fleeting moment either. Long enough for the mountain snows to melt and gather twice. Long enough for the moss on the lodge roof to creep a little greener, deeper. Long enough for a girl to truly come into her own.
  Celena had changed.
  God, she had changed. Not in some dramatic, outward way, but from the inside out. The girl who’d always carried a shadow of trepidation, a slight frown as if the weight of the world rested on her shoulders, had been slowly reshaped by time and… maybe a little by me, too.
  She was livelier. Not in Lily’s roof-raising way, but with a quieter, more grounded vitality. When I returned from patrol, she wouldn’t just be waiting quietly by the door. She might leap out from behind the lodge, smelling of sun and grass, holding up a handful of freshly-picked, dew-covered wild berries, her eyes crin

Jacob&#39;s Perspective
  The next morning, I was woken by sunlight and a deeply pleasurable ache. Celena was curled against me, sleeping soundly, her face holding a sated, childlike peace. And I… I felt incredible. Better than ever. The world was sharp and bright, even the sparrows outside sounded sweeter.
  When we dressed—Celena insisted on a high neckline, though the fresh mark below her collarbone and its subtle scent was a beacon to any werewolf—and walked into the kitchen, the first one to see us was Lily.
  She was clutching a coffee mug, bleary-eyed. But when her gaze swept over us, lingering on the hint of the mark at Celena’s throat and the undeniable, mingled scent that now clung to us, her eyes went wide. The mug wobbled.
  “Holy shit…” she breathed, her stare darting between Celena and me, her mouth slowly dropping open before splitting into a huge grin—a mix of shock, glee, and supreme ‘I-told-you-so’ satisfaction.
  Renee, coming in from the pantry with a skillet, 

Chapter 248