Page 96 of Redemption

“I am right here!” Liam says again, pretending to be outraged. He then adds quietly, his voice full of emotion, “Thank you. I like the sound of home. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good,” I reply simply. Clearing my throat, I say, “I’ve got to go and help Mr. R so that we’re done with the worst of it in time for the wedding. I’ll meet you guys at Ryan’s later tonight.”

“Got it,” D replies.

“Goodbye, little brother,” Liam adds.

Atlas

He saved her life.

I know that he cares about her, he watched over her when her own parents didn’t give a fuck.

But caring about her and throwing himself between her and a gun is a whole different thing. Lots of people say that they care about someone, but if it came down to a choice between their life and the person they care about, most of them would choose their own. It’s an inbuilt self-preservation kind of thing.

The fact that Liam didn’t do that and instead put himself in harm's way in order to protect her says a lot about the person that he is.

It is also further evidence that what Alaric told me was true.

Alaric was far too calm when he realized Liam escaped, and while I agree that it was a given that he would escape, I think Alaric knows more than he was willing to let on.

Unfortunately for him, I’m seeing him tomorrow, so I can ask him about it then. I have to admit, as cautious as I am about Liam and my newly found memories, I did not like seeing him get shot, and I would like to know that he’s okay.

There’s also a conversation to be had.

I’m not ready for that though, and I probably won’t be for a while.

I’m so lost in my thoughts that I don’t realize that we’re home until the car comes to a stop. Which says a lot because we must have dropped Pete off and I didn’t notice.

“Do you want to be left alone tonight?” Ever asks me quietly as I step out of the car, and she looks up at me curiously.

“I never want you to leave me alone, Princess,” I tell her honestly.

She smiles but then tilts her head as everyone heads inside. “You never did tell me why Rage had that reaction when you called me Princess for the first time in front of him?”

I frown. “I haven’t?”

She shakes her head. “Nope.”

Moving closer, I cup her cheek with my hand. “It seems kind of obvious now, but it simply means that I am head over heels in love with you and that you’re it for me. My forever.”

“You knew that quickly?” She asks with surprise.

“Of course I did,” I smile. “I knew the moment that you really saw me and weren’t scared of me. I definitely knew when you held a knife to my throat.”

She bursts out laughing.

I kiss her, reveling in the way that she feels pressed against me.

“It’s actually a thing that I grew up with,” I add as we head inside and out of the cold. “Before Blake made the whole thing go to shit, there was a tradition. When a man in our family found his forever, he would give her his ring,” I nod to the ring she has worn around her neck for nearly a decade now, and continue, “and she becomes his princess. It’s kind of antiquated, but it’s more a symbol of you own me, completely and entirely, not that I own you, obviously.”

I frown. I don’t think I’m explaining this right at all.

“You do though,” she replies. “Own me.”

My heart beats double time.

After all this time, she still affects me in exactly the same way as she did when we first met, except now it’s so much more. I didn’t realize that you could fall in love with someone more than once, but I fall in love with Ever every single day. She’s fucking perfect, kind, stunning, strong, and violent, just to name a few of my favorite things about her.