Chapter 103

Chapter 103: Theo It took a lot of effort, but I guided Ayla to the couch. We sat on either side, leaving some distance between us. It was a small couch, so there wasn’t much, but it would be enough to get us through. Hopefully.

Despite the welcome I had received, my heart was still pounding in my chest. Randall’s interrogation was off to a slow start, and we still had to find his car. The emotional control it took to not end him right there had taken a toll on my mood. The only thing keeping me grounded was knowing Ayla would be here, but even that was tenuous.

We had to talk. I needed some answers about what was happening between us. I knew there was still a chance that what she would say could break me. But at the very least, I would make my position clear to her.

“Are you okay,” I asked, ensuring she had recovered from earlier.

She nodded with a smile. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Ayla, I...”

“Do you mind if I go first?” she interrupted, her demeanor becoming anxious.

I swallowed my reaction, trying to remain neutral. “Of course.”

“Okay,” she breathed, turning toward me and shifting to sit cross- legged before me. “I talked to Kingston tonight,” she informed me.

My entire body tensed. The first place my mind went was that she was leaving me. That I hadn’t done enough. Or I did too much.

I pushed her too far. It took everything I had to let her continue, but she did.

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12:21 Chapter 103. Theo 288 Vouchers “He knew about the stalker,” she stated. “But I had been keeping the messages from him when I could. When I got the one today, I knew I had to tell you what was going on. I realized how much of a hypocrite that made me for getting mad at Kingston. I needed to apologize to him.”

The lump in my throat burned as I tried to push it down. Kieran was protesting in my head, refusing to believe what was about to happen. But I knew, and I couldn’t hear her explanations and apologies. As justified as they no doubt would be, I wouldn’t be able to let her go if I stayed much longer.

“I understand,” I forced out. “If this is what you want, Ayla, I won’t stop you from leaving. But I can’t hear how hard...”

“Theo,” she said, jumping forward to grab my arm, “I’m not going back to Kingston.”

I looked at her hands touching me, afraid to believe what she said.

“I just needed to clear things up, make them right on my end,” she continued. She reached up and cupped my cheek, lifting it to face her. “I’m not going back, Theo. I belong here.”

Our eyes locked for several pounding heartbeats. Then I was kissing The future I had thought lost to me to us flashed through my mind, and it was glorious.

her. Pulling her against me as I held on for dear l –

But I had to pull back. I was getting ahead of myself. Ayla had said she belonged here, as in with the pack, as a Greytooth. That didn’t mean she would stay with me. That she would become my Luna. I had to know if that was something she wanted. If she was even considering it.

“Ayla,” I breathed, “I want to be with you. I want you as my mate... my Luna. I everything our lives have to offer together. But most 24.79%

12:21 Chapter 103. Theo 288 Vouchers importantly, I want you to be happy, safe, and thriving. I will do whatever it takes to make that happen for you. But... I need to know, could you be all those things with me?”

She took a deep breath, her expression guarded. Then she moved, straddling my lap, facing me completely.

“Kingston isn’t the only one I’ve been thinking about making amends with,” she stated. “I miss my family. I don’t think we’ll ever be the same or that we should ever go back to how things were, but I’m also not okay with cutting them out of my life completely.

I would like to fix what I can between us. But I don’t think that will happen if Kylee finds out we’re together.”

“You were willing to give me up for her, Ayla,” I reminded her. “That has to mean something in all this.”

“She loved you, Theo,” she replied. “She believed you two were going to be together. Regardless of what I did or was willing to do, she’ll still see this as a betrayal.”

“We’re fated mates, love,” I said gently. “You really don’t think she will understand?”

“I don’t know, maybe in time,” she said, disappointed because she wasn’t sure. “But definitely not if she hears it from someone else. I just need to find a way to tell her.”

A smile tugged at the corner of my lips as I realized what her words implied.

“Just to be clear,” I started, running my hands up her thighs, “what exactly do you need to tell her?”

Ayla rolled her eyes, but a smile spread across her face. “That you’re my fated mate. And I want to be with you.”

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12:21 Chapter 103: Theo 288 iVouchers I growled my approval as my mouth took hers. She laughed as I pushed her back on the couch, pressing our bodies together as her legs wrapped around my waist. I instantly responded to her, my hips grinding against her. The scent of her arousal let me know she was already wet and ready for me.

“Mine,” I ground out.

The pride, elation, and power I felt being able to say that... to say it and know it was true was incredible. I lifted her off the couch and carried her to the bedroom. We pulled at each other’s clothing, stripping the other down before we fell onto the mattress.

My need was overwhelming as Ayla ground herself against my c**k. She cried out as I pushed inside her. We both knew what we needed. Somehow understanding that our release would solidify our revelations. The electricity coursing through us intensified every kiss, every touch, every thrust. My teeth ached as my canines pushed through, demanding I complete our bond. The sound of my mate’s climax was the sweetest, se**est thing in the world. And it pushed me over the edge with her.