Chapter 111

** Ryder’s POV ** The more I think about it, the more I believe it. Everything we’ve been through, the chaos, the losses, the way fate pushed us together, then apart, and then back together again, isn’t random at all. I think it’s all playing out exactly the way it was meant to, even if some of it feels cruel. Paige’s eyes linger on mine, full of questions and quiet strength, and I can feel it again, the pull that started years ago and never really let me go, it’s not anything supernatural, it’s just her. I brush my thumb over her cheek, loving the way she leans into my touch. That simple, instinctive movement hits deeper than I expect. “You have no idea what you do to me,” I murmur. Her lips part, a soft breath escaping, and that’s all it takes for my restraint to start fraying. The world outside, the hunters, the danger, the unknowns, it all fades to background noise. What’s left is her, standing in the moonlight, looking at me like I’m something worth believing in. “Come on,” I say