[Meredith].
My lips curved into a genuine smile. Hearing him say it like that—so casually, without suspicion or resentment eased something deep inside my chest.
He wasn't resisting the truth anymore. He was accepting it, my identity.
I reached for his hand and intertwined my fingers with his. "Sometimes," I admitted softly, "I wish I could be like her. Knowing everything. Seeing things before they happen."
He squeezed my hand gently, grounding, certain. "You are perfect the way you are."
I glanced up at him, confused. "Perfect?"
He smiled, that slow, confident smile that always made my heart stumble. "And did you forget?"
"Forget what?" I asked.
"That you're the Wolf Queen."
I stared at him for a heartbeat, then something inside me broke open. A wild, unrestrained smile spread across my face.
I could feel it in the bond, too—his pride, steady and fierce, wrapping around me like a shield.
"I forgot," I said lightly. "Seems like I need someone to remind me again and again."
