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He beams, his smile taking up his whole face, and there’s that fucking gap that I love with all my soul. I brush his chin with my fingers, unable to stop appreciating his beauty.

Not just his looks, but how he sees the world, his surroundings, how he sees me. I don’t think I’ve ever been appreciated like he seems to.

If anyone has a gift, it’s Helios, finding a way to love someone like me. I’m so different from him, and he has taken everything in stride. How did I get so lucky that my human mate doesn’t care if I’m a vampire? He loves that I have this gift to bring plants to life again. He even took Lorcan’s presence well. He seemed a little green at the gills for a few minutes, and then he adjusted.

How does he do it so well? I wish I had been more like him all these years. Maybe I’d be a better person and a better mate for him. If anyone doesn’t adjust well to change, it’s me.

Helios? He seems to move however the wind blows, and I’m envious of that ability.

It’s one I don’t happen to carry in my paranormal goody bag.

“You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen. Inside and out.” I take his hands in mine, a thousand words running through my mind to tell him how amazing he is, and I can’t decide which I want to use or say. “Thank you. For accepting me. All of me.”

“It’s by far the easiest thing I’ve ever had to do, Alaska.”

Birds chirp around us, their wings flapping as they launch from a branch, traveling to another place. A mile west, twigs break from the light steps of deer. To the south, heavy steps thud against the ground, most likely a bear.

I freeze when I hear shouting from Glenn and Soren. I stand, and Helios follows, turning around to see what I’m looking at.

“What is it?” he asks. “What’s wrong?”

“Alaska. The barn is on fire. Get here! Now!” Soren says with urgency, knowing I’ll be able to hear him.

“Fuck!” I snag Helios’s waist and lift him into my arms as if it’s our wedding day.

I’d marry him. I’d love to marry him right here, in the middle of the woods, where I caught his scent for the first time, where my life changed forever.

“Woah.” Helios wraps his arms around my neck to brace for how fast we’re about to run. “What’s wrong?”

“Soren says there’s a fire in the barn. We have to go.”

“Oh my god. The horses? Are there any animals in there right now?”

I don’t know the answer. Hopefully, Glenn and Soren got the rest of the horses or cattle out in time. I’m not sure which barn is on fire. We have a few on the property.

Holding my mate to my chest, I run, leaving nothing but a mimic of myself through the trees. Helios has his face buried in my neck, holding onto me tight in fear that he will fall. I’d never allow that to happen. My grip on him is as good as steel.

I won’t ever let anything happen to my mate.

Leaping into the air to jump over a log, I land on two feet, picking up my pace easily. I dip and dodge every branch, covering Helios’s head so he doesn’t get hit. I take the light stings instead, the thin branches slashing me across the face.

When I’m close enough to home, that’s when I smell the fiery blaze. The smoke is strong and thick. Glenn and Soren are shouting at the animals to get away, herding them to a safer area.

I follow the heavy beats of pounding hooves against the ground and the chaotic shouts coming from my friends.

When we get back to the cabin, smoke from the next pasture drifts in black clouds into the sky.

Oh, this is bad.

I set Helios down on the porch and run down the steps. “Stay here.” I point at him. “Stay safe.”

He follows me down the steps and grabs my arm, stopping me from taking off. “No. I’m not staying here while you go fight a fire. I can help you.”

“I won’t risk your life. I can’t worry about you and worry about the fire, Helios. Stay here,” I shout at him.

“I’m not staying here! I’m coming with you. You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

“Helios.”