Romance

  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, gl

  Jacob&#39;s Perspective
  The days that followed flowed like honey left to warm in the sun—slow, thick, and sweet enough to make a person feel lightheaded. Assuming, of course, you weren&#39;t the type to gag on sappy metaphors.
  The hangover crew didn&#39;t start dragging themselves off the floor and out of chairs until well past noon the next day, groaning, clutching their heads, and cursing as they hunted for water. Lily&#39;s eyes were still hazy when she spotted me, but they sharpened quickly, darting between Celena and me before her mouth stretched into a knowing grin.
  I ignored her, shoving a mug of strong black coffee into her hands to shut her up.
  Celena&#39;s condition improved visibly, day by day. It wasn&#39;t a forced, put-on cheerfulness, but a slow, steady resurgence of life from the inside out. In the mornings, she’d wake with me—not jolted from a nightmare, but na

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 crinkling. “Guess what I found?”
  She’d laugh in the kitchen with Lily and Nate, the sound clear an

Chapter 247