"There's no art show in Sacramento, is there?" I ask, when Sky finishes his tale.

His long blond hair is gathered in a loose bun at the back of his head, and the rolled sleeves of his crisp white shirt reveal his strong, pale forearms. He watches me with a line of worry between his brows and a look of apprehension in his eyes.

"There isn't, no."

I take a sip of the white wine he'd paired with our meal, and set my glass down with a surprisingly steady hand beside my almost untouched plate.

Sky had prepared something delicious, as usual: locally-caught pan-seared trout, a salad of fresh produce from a farmers' market, and a roasted vegetable medley topped with salted butter. Not a hint of the sea about it, apart from the salt.

"Martin... Say something. Please."

I look up and realize several minutes have passed in silence.

"You lied to me," I whisper.

"To protect you," he insists.

I lean back in my chair and shut my eyes.

The house is silent with the children gone (Noah and Ambrose had been only too happy to take them for the night) and all I hear is the tick of the antique clock and the whisper of my breath. Inside, I feel just as empty and quiet. If my emotional energy wasn't already depleted, I might have been angry or frightened, disappointed or sad. Instead, I feel numb. This, at least, leaves my mind unclouded and clear.

"What would you have done?" I ask, opening my eyes and meeting his anxious gaze.

He swallows. He hasn't touched his plate either, and the food has gone cold. "I'd have sought a solution," he says. "I know a witch in Sicily, and another in Madrid. One in Cape Town, too. I was hoping one of them might help."

"And if not?"

"If not..." He looks away. The last of the evening light filters through the wide French windows, washing his profile in a ghostly blue. "If not, then I would have gone back to our beach, to the place where I experienced the greatest happiness I have known, and I would have let the sea claim its own."

"Without telling me," I state.

He turns to face me again, brows pinched. "To spare you, as I've—"

"It would have killed me, Sky."

He blinks. "What?"

"I'm a Wolf, and Wolves mate for life. Usually. Breaking a mate-bond is rare, and painful. Even with everything Elena did to me, it still hurts. It still broke my heart, and a broken heart..." I rub my chest. "It's not just a turn of phrase or some romantic idea. The damage is real."

"Are you saying... that you and I...?"

I hold his gaze. "You feel it, too, don't you?"

Without hesitation, he says, "Yes. That night at the beach. I felt it strongly then. And... even now."

I nod. "My heart recognized its true mate, and it Chose. So did yours. That's one reason I've been avoiding my brothers this week. A Wolf can tell when another Wolf is mated, and with the way you've been acting since we got back, I didn't want them to worry. I didn't want them to think...  that I'd made another mistake."

He draws a sharp breath. "Martin, I didn't know. I swear I told you everything I knew at the time. Goddess, if only we'd waited one more night—"

"It wouldn't have mattered," I say. "If you had disappeared, I wouldn't have simply shrugged and moved on. I'd have waited for you. And if you didn't come back... I don't think I'd have survived it. I definitely wouldn't survive it now."

He swallows thickly and speaks in a whisper. "Can't you let me go?"

I study him without answering, absorbing the little details of his appearance: the strength of his shoulders, the high bridge of his nose, the little dips at the corners of his lips, the angled planes of his cheekbones, and what would once have been called a 'noble brow.' In a word, he is 'princely,' and I once again wonder how and why such a man would be drawn to one like myself; but, I conclude at last, and despite everything, I can't bring myself to regret that he has.

"No," I say. "I don't think I can. I'd do my best, if worse came to worst, for my kids. Maybe I could hang on for a while; maybe even until they were grown. But it would be a half life, and in the end... I think I'd follow you."

He looks stricken. I rise from my seat and go to him. Reaching for his hand, I draw him to his feet, pulling him into a close, light embrace and resting my head against his shoulder.

"My heart's been through the wringer, Sky, and it's tired. Tired and wounded. But every minute with you is like blessed rest. Our hearts share a fate, now; and yours is the stronger of the two, so mine will follow it. But... please don't ever lie to me again."

I pull away from him enough to look up into the storm-tossed sea of his eyes.

He nods and swallows. "You have my word."

"That includes lies of omission," I add. "If something happens, tell me. I may not have the strongest heart, and I'm certainly not the fiercest Wolf, but I still want you to rely on me when you need to. Besides, I'm not alone."

His brow creases with confusion. "What do you mean?"

Surprising myself, I smile. "You've met my family, remember? Besides a pack of werewolves, there's a man with the soul of an ancient dragon, a Fae princeling, an incubus, and a kitsune who's barely tapped into his full powers. Noah works in an occult bookstore that apparently gives you whatever knowledge you most need, and he's friends with the daughter of a nagaraja — a snake-god-king. We've got resources."

He blinks at me. "Oh."

My smile falters, and I let him see the raw sincerity in my eyes. "And if we can't find an answer... then I'll go with you, Sky, and maybe we'll find a different solution, in time."

His eyes widen in surprise. "You would leave the children?"

Slowly, I nod. "I'll do everything in my power to stay with them, but if I have to leave them for a while, so be it. I'd rather leave them in good hands with hope, than leave them forever."

"Martin..."

I see the regret in his eyes and the apology forming on his lips, and cut him off.

"I finally see where I've been going wrong — finally understand what everyone's been telling me. Refusing help, not wanting to be a burden: the more I dug in, the more I struggled, the more I hurt the people who love me. I was slowly killing myself while pretending everything was fine. If I hadn't met you, if I hadn't accepted the help you offered me, I don't know how long I could have kept up that act. You saved my life," I add softly. "At least let me do what I can to save yours."

Sky startles as if stuck with a pin and pulls away from me. For an awful moment I wonder if I've said something wrong, but he's not looking at me. Instead, he gazes down at his shirt, beneath which something faintly glows.

As he draws forth his amulet, I see that it's now split in two, like the front and back halves of a symmetrical heart, each on its own chain.

Tentatively, he lifts one, his eyes widening with wonder as he successfully removes it from about his neck.

"Well, Martin Hunter," he says. "It seems you are right: my heart belongs to you."

I step closer again and bow my head so he can place the gem around my neck.

"And mine to you," I say, looking up at him as the new weight settles on my chest, "unto death."

"Let us hope it does not come to that. At least not for a long, long while," he says soberly, brushing the side of my face with the back of his hand. "In the meantime... where do you suggest we begin?"