We gave them privacy. The last thing I saw before the door shut was Deonte reaching up and pulling the tie from her bun until her hair tumbled loose. Dalia smiled and dragged her fingers along the stubble on his jaw. He kissed her fingers and nodded, which made her giggle. That was the moment I knew he wasn't spiraling anymore. He was going to give her everything he had in him. Everything he had planned before instinct took over.
The second we stepped into the hallway, I turned. "Why do you have that damn thing?"
Shade didn't flinch. He looked down at the wolf in his hand and rolled its ears between his fingers.
"I brought it down just in case. In case you didn't come back with me. I was going to send it with you. Something to hold on to, if I couldn't."
I almost snorted. That sounded
