"You can squeeze my hand if it hurts, you know."

Gabriel was kneeling beside me, one arm over my hips to wrap around my waist protectively, the other draped across the back of my chair. His fingers traced featherlight circles on my shoulder. I flashed him a smile.

"I'm just fine," I promised. He'd been more nervous about this than I had.

"She's sat better than you ever have." Isla glanced up from where she was bent over my forearm and smirked at Gabriel. I could practically hear him rolling his eyes. I laughed and reached my free hand up to brush over his cheek. When he leaned into my touch, his wolf purred in his chest.

"Nearly finished, then I'll just get you cleaned off and covered up," Isla said. She swept the tattoo gun across my skin in short, even strokes, finishing the shading on the piece. The sting of the needle was far less than I'd anticipated—I hardly felt it for the waves of warm, charged energy that seemed to come with each pass of Gabriel's fingers over my bare shoulder.

I looked down at the art she was creating on my arm: a landscape, her specialty, similar to that which Gabriel had gotten on his back. This one, a blend of my two homes. At my wrist, the rugged plains and valleys of Sawtooth, spreading upward into the dense, dark forest of Castle territory. Her design combined the two seamlessly, beautifully, in a way I wished I had been able to in my own life. The reality had not been so smooth—my transition less than easy—but the tattoo represented how it felt now. My past and my future, faultlessly merged.

Finally finished, Isla moved to collect the bandages from her cabinet.

"You'll want to wash and redress this later on tonight," she said to me over her shoulder. Then, with a wink, added, "Your mate can help you."

I blushed, unable to keep the wide grin from spreading over my face. It hardly mattered how many times I heard it, or how long it had been since our bond was released, I'd never get tired of it. Gabriel turned my face towards him and pulled me in for a deep, electrifying kiss. I'd never get tired of that, either.

Your mate, he growled softly through the link as our lips parted.

I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead against his. My mate, I thought back.

Later, at home, I lay stretched out on the couch. Once Gabriel had finished lighting a fire, he came to sit with me. He lifted my legs and pulled them across his lap and absently massaged my thigh.

"We should have cleaned up a bit more," I said, looking around. Cups and plates still littered almost every surface of our living room from the night before, and the Happy Retirement banner I'd made for Ephraim still hung across several of the large windows. "I really don't want to come back to this mess next week."

Gabriel leaned down and kissed my knee. "I'll finish it up later. You're packed?"

I nodded. "I'm excited. I can't wait to show off my tattoo to—"

"Jack?" Gabriel guessed, one eyebrow raised.

"Everyone," I shot back. "Dmitri and Constance, too. They didn't think I'd go through with it."

"You know this time you won't be able to hide out in the library all weekend. I'll want you with me in the meetings."

I narrowed my eyes slightly, looking at him. "How did you know that's where I was?"

"I always knew where you were," he answered simply, then smiled. "I'd imagine this gathering will be much more tolerable with you by my side."

"And without Odette throwing herself at you," I muttered into my glass of wine. Gabriel tossed his head back and laughed loudly. The sound vibrated through me, warming me.

"That too," he agreed.

I moved my feet off of his lap and turned around, and he shifted so that I could lean against his chest. I closed my eyes and listened to the steady, rhythmic heartbeat—his, and mine. Absolutely in sync.

"I'm looking forward to seeing where you grew up." Gabriel pulled my hair out of its tie and combed his fingers through it smoothly. It had been his idea to extend our trip to Sawtooth territory by a few days after the Alpha gathering; he'd surprised me with the plan after discussing it with Dmitri, who offered us his guesthouse.

"I'm looking forward to showing it to you."

He stopped playing with my hair and wrapped his arms around me. After a long moment, he asked, "You're happy?"

"The happiest," I answered honestly. "Are you?"

"I never imagined I could be this happy. I feel like I'm..." He paused, collecting his thoughts, searching for the right word. "Complete."

I felt it between us before he could say it. He was, and so was I—complete.