My Second Chance Mate is a Barbarian (Sera and Fenris) novel Chapter 378

Sera

I sank to a crouch in front of her, hand hovering. Then I brought it to her hair, stroking it carefully at first. She leaned into my palm, nuzzling my hand as though seeking comfort, like it was something she'd been missing for a long time.

I stayed that way for a long minute, stroking her hair and feeling her settle against me, her pulse slowing. I forgot she was a rogue wolf. I forgot she was a prisoner in a cell. I forgot everything but the weight of her against my thigh and the blood moving under my fingertips.

"Fuck, Sera, why're you smiling?" Mina's voice cut through the quiet.

"What?" The word came out from my lips, but it was mostly a laugh than a question.

I felt it then, a smile pulling at the corners of my mouth, and I realized she was right. I was smiling, and whatever this was, it felt good.

I ordered one of the guards to fetch me some furs. The man moved quickly, returning within moments with the thick, heavy pelts. I took them from him and wrapped them around the rogue's naked form, tucking the edges in tight.

The fabric was warm from the hearth and smelled faintly of woodsmoke.

Footsteps approached, slow and steady, stopping just behind me.

"I see you have been bonded with one of them." The voice came before I could react.

I looked up to find Chief Vane standing there, his weathered face grave. He had finally decided to approach. My gaze drifted back to the rogue, the furs bundled around her. I said nothing, not out of defiance, but because I didn't know what words to offer, or how to shape them.

Vane seemed to grasp that much without needing it spelled out. "No matter what you do from here," he said, his tone measured, "that creature will never want to be away from you. It would fight anything and anyone just to remain at your side, come what may."

He paused, letting the weight of his words settle between us. "Keeping it at a distance won't undo a thing. Best you get used to this new reality, same as the Alpha did with his own."

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