Chapter 9
The days that followed moved in slow motion.
Everywhere I went, I felt Ian’s presence. In the brush of wind across my neck, in the flicker of headlights at night, in the way my skin still tingled from his touch. And even though we hadn’t spoken since that kiss behind the library, I knew something had changed.
Something permanent.
Abigail noticed it too.
“You’re glowing,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “Either you found a new moisturizer, or Ian Dawson kissed you again.”
I blushed. “Maybe.”
“Oh my goddess, Ava!” She gripped my arm. “Tell me everything. Wait—don’t. I want to guess. Did he say something ridiculously intense, then kiss you like a tragic romance novel?”
“…Basically, yes.”
Abigail squealed, drawing a few stares in the hallway. “You’re living my dream, you know that?”
I didn’t respond. Because beneath the butterflies, something else had started to crawl in: doubt.
Later that evening, I was in my room trying to focus on homework when my phone buzzed.
Ian: Meet me. Same place. 8pm.
My heart leapt and sank at the same time.
Was I ready to see him again? Could I handle what he made me feel?
Still, I found myself slipping on a jacket and stepping out into the chilly night. The path behind the library was darker now, moonlight barely cutting through the trees.
And there he was.
Leaning against the wall like some brooding mystery, arms crossed, eyes already on me.
“You came,” he said, a flicker of relief in his voice.
“I wasn’t sure I should.”
Ian stepped forward. “Neither was I.”
We stood in silence for a moment, and then he pulled something from his pocket—a small, worn pendant on a thin leather string.
“This was my mom’s,” he said. “She gave it to me before she passed. Told me to give it to someone I trusted completely.”
I stared at the pendant, unsure of what to say.
“I’m giving it to you.”
I blinked. “Why?”
“Because I want you to know that I’m not playing,” he said, voice low. “This thing between us—it’s not casual. Not to me.”
I took the pendant in trembling hands, heart thudding.
“Ian…” I looked up. “Why now? Why me?”
He stepped closer, eyes burning with honesty. “Because the first time I saw you, I didn’t see an omega. I didn’t see pack ranks or rules. I saw you. And I haven’t been able to look away since.”
I swallowed hard, emotions clashing like thunder in my chest.
And then—softly, gently—I reached up and tied the pendant around my neck.
His gaze followed my hands, then slowly rose to meet mine. “I don’t know where this is going,” he admitted. “But I want to find out. If you’ll let me.”
I nodded.
Not because I wasn’t scared.
But because something inside me knew—I already belonged to him.