“Where are we going?” Kai asked. Rhys said nothing, his large hand encircling Kai’s, pulling him along the well-worn path through the dark woods. “Is this about our fight last night? Are you taking me out to the woods to kill me? Why are you so quiet?”

Rhys still didn’t acknowledge Kai’s incessant questions, but Kai could see the wolf shaking his head. Kai looked up into the clear sky above. It was so dark without the streetlights that the three-quarter moon and hundreds of thousands of stars were visible overhead.

Neoma’s storms seemed to have blown over, but the cold remained, the chilly wind biting through the flannel he wore until he felt like he had ice in his veins. But not Rhys; Rhys’s palm was unusually sweaty, and he was curiously fidgety. He’d been acting weird all day, disappearing for almost two hours after the pack meeting with no explanation. “Seriously? Are you mad about yesterday? Because you don’t get to be mad. I’m mad. You were in the wrong here, buddy.”

Rhys turned around so abruptly, Kai face-planted into the wolf’s chest, causing him to huff in annoyance. When Kai looked up, Rhys said, “No, I’m not mad about yesterday. I wasn’t mad about yesterday, yesterday. You were. I brought you out here to apologize properly.” Kai gave a huff of his own, not entirely unhappy about what Rhys’s apology might entail, but Rhys continued, “Are you going to accuse me of trying to kill you every time we go out into the woods together?”

Kai’s mouth hitched at the corner. “I don’t know. Are you going to keep dragging me out into the woods at night without any explanation?”

There was a long pause as Rhys appeared to consider the question. Kai rolled his eyes, but not before winding his arms around Rhys’s neck. “Not that I don’t appreciate the whole apology thing, but maybe this isn’t a good idea? Maybe we shouldn’t have left tonight? Everything is so up in the air. We have too many random people in our house. Ember’s a mess. Quinn looks awful. Donovan is far too okay for somebody who’s down an appendage.”

Rhys smiled, and Kai’s stomach did that inconvenient swooping thing it often did. Rhys brushed his lips against Kai’s forehead, then his nose, his cheeks. “My sister has everything under control. Let our alpha be the alpha tonight. I just want to be alone…with you. No restrictions, remember?”

Kai’s body enthusiastically acknowledged Rhys’s statement, moving closer without conscious thought. But Kai couldn’t stop from asking, “What about R.J.? He’s teething, and we’ve never left him alone before. What if he freaks out?”

Rhys sighed, his face falling, looked off into the distance in the direction of wherever he was taking Kai. “Never mind. This was a bad idea. Let’s just go home.”

Kai winced at the look on the wolf’s face. This was obviously important to Rhys. He would never leave the pack with all that was going on otherwise. Kai was always saying he wanted Rhys to be more spontaneous and romantic. Sure, traipsing through the woods wasn’t his idea of a good time, but sitting through the last Avengers movie hadn’t been Rhys’s thing either, but he’d done it for Kai. Kai could at least go for a walk with Rhys. “I’m sorry. I’m a jerk. Let’s keep going.”

Rhys blushed to his roots, looking more uncomfortable than Kai had ever seen him, and that was saying something. He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans before saying, “No, it’s fine. No big deal. I’ll take you home, or we can go to a movie.”

Kai groaned, kissing Rhys again, tugging the wolf closer. “No. Please? I’m sorry, really. I’m just cranky. Please, let’s do whatever you have planned. I don’t want to go home.” Kai dragged his lips across Rhys’s ear, whispering, “I just want to be with you.”

There was no way Rhys could miss the implication. He growled low, devouring Kai’s mouth in a way that left him breathless and jittery. “Will there be more of this wherever we’re going?” Kai asked, his voice shaking.

“I hope so,” Rhys said, his eyes flashing green. He stepped back and held out his hand to Kai, like a prince from a Disney movie. Kai narrowed his eyes but smiled, giving him his hand. “Yeah, you’re definitely up to something.”

Rhys smiled gently and kissed Kai’s palm before tugging him forward. This time, it was Kai who blushed. Nobody would ever believe how romantic the stupid wolf was when nobody was watching.

As they rounded the bend in the path, Kai realized their destination. The lake. It seemed like forever since they’d been there. At least a year. When they were little, Isa would take the pack camping; the wolves would run, and the others would sit around the fire. They used to do it every month before their lives became so…complicated. It was crazy to think that something they used to do all the time was now a distant memory. But Rhys remembered. Kai smiled wider. If their date involved making out under the stars, he was definitely onboard.

As they broke through the trees next to the lake, Kai stopped short. Somebody was already there. They had erected a small old school tent that looked more like a massive blanket fort. An electric lantern hung in the middle, revealing layers and layers of comforters and pillows. Somebody had gone to a lot of trouble.

Kai looked around for any sign of the people, but it was eerily quiet. Too quiet. Where were the owners of the tent? He glanced around, heart in his throat as he looked for any signs of life. Kai’s thoughts strayed to the tents they’d found at the preserve…and the bodies. A shiver of anxiety ran through him. What if something had happened to these people too? Rhys frowned in his direction, but Kai just shook his head, trying to erase his memories of that place. Rhys tried to tug him forward, but Kai shook his head. “There are people here.”

Rhys frowned with his eyebrows, looking at Kai like he was stupid. “Yeah, us.”

Kai’s already elevated heart rate seemed to triple as he looked at the tent and back to Rhys. “Wait? You did this?”

Rhys dropped his eyes with a shrug, looking at his feet, his words choked. “You said you wanted to stay overnight by the lake, and when we were at the preserve, you said the tent seemed…comfortable.”

Rhys remembered that? “Yeah, but I just meant a couple of sleeping bags. I didn’t think you were going to take me glamping.”

Rhys’s eyes shot to Kai’s, and Rhys gave his most long-suffering sigh. “Never use that word again.”

Kai was so in love it made his chest hurt. “You really did this for us? For me?”

For a moment, Rhys looked like he might get defensive but then relaxed. “Yes. It’s for us.”

“Who helped you with this?”

The wolf snorted, rolling his eyes. “Nobody. Do you think I would ask anybody for help with this?”

Kai thought about how mortified Rhys would be. The pack would’ve never let him live it down. “No. Definitely not.”

He climbed into the tent, tugging Rhys in, collapsing in the heap of blankets on the ground. “This is way better than piling sleeping bags in the truck.” As soon as Rhys laid down, Kai climbed on top of the wolf. “I can’t believe you did all this for me?”

“Yeah, pretty elaborate for a murder plot, huh?”

Kai whacked Rhys’s shoulder but leaned down to kiss him. “Shut up,” Kai murmured against Rhys’s lips. “I still say you are up to something.”

Then Kai was on his back, Rhys straddling him. Kai grinned; he liked where this was going. He blamed Rhys being on top of Kai for failing to realize the wolf was holding something. A box. A ring box. Kai blinked rapidly. With a ring in it. “Oh my God. Is that what I think it is?”

Rhys took a deep breath, and for a split second, Kai thought the wolf was going to throw up, but then he was talking, Kai’s brain struggling to make sense of the words. “The first time I told you I wanted to be with you forever, you said it wasn’t a proposal. When I tried again in the truck, you said you wanted it to be less spur of the moment. So, here it is, well thought out and planned, Christopher Kai Lonergan, I love you. I’ve loved you since the moment you appeared on our doorstep with your sister. I loved you before I had any concept of what love was. There is nobody else for me but you. You are my home. Will you marry me?”

Kai felt like he was having an out-of-body experience. Was this really happening? “Oh, my God? Oh my God!”

A million things were running through Kai’s brain as he stared at Rhys’s beautiful face. They were too young. Rhys still had that pesky fiancée. They were way too young. They were probably all going to be ripped apart by demonically possessed wolves. His best friend’s soul was turning black. A demon was stalking his cousin. They had no magic. Rhys licked his lips, eyes shifting away from Kai. “Is that a no?”

It was then Kai noticed the sheen of perspiration on Rhys’s forehead and the way his hand trembled. Kai sat forward on his elbows. “Why do you look so nervous, you dork? We already had this conversation, remember? Twice.”

Rhys sat back a little, shrugging awkwardly. “You could always change your mind. You were really mad at me yesterday. Forever is a long time.”

Kai sat up enough to kiss Rhys’s chin. “Forever isn’t long enough. I love you. I’ve always loved you. I will always love you. Do you want me to sing it to you?”

Kai opened his mouth to belt out his best Whitney, but Rhys clasped a hand over Kai’s mouth. “Please don’t.” When Kai said nothing else, Rhys asked, “So…is that a yes?”

Kai rolled his eyes, flopping back on the pillows with a grin. “Yes, it’s a yes.” He shoved his left hand at Rhys. “Now ring me.”

Rhys rolled his eyes as Kai wiggled his ring finger obnoxiously. “Come on. What are you waiting for? Make an honest man out of me.”

Rhys made like he was leaving. “Never mind. I have no idea what I was thinking.”

Kai barked out a laugh, snagging Rhys’s t-shirt and yanking him back. “Nope. Too late. No take-backs. You’re stuck with me now. Forever.”

Rhys hummed his approval, slipping the ring on Kai’s finger and entwining their hands together before nestling himself closer, nosing Kai’s head to the side to give Rhys access to Kai’s throat. Kai laughed as Rhys rubbed his face along Kai’s skin. Rhys’s scenting bordered on pathological, but it felt too good for Kai to care.

“So…” Kai murmured, letting his hand slide down Rhys’s back. “We’re out here all alone for the whole night…Baby free…Rule free…whatever will we do to pass the time?”

Rhys bit down on Kai’s bottom lip, and Kai groaned as Rhys’s body settled between Kai’s knees. Yeah, whatever Rhys had in mind, Kai was down for it. When Rhys went back to dragging his teeth across Kai’s jaw, Kai held up his left hand, gazing at the ring over Rhys’s shoulder. It was platinum with a black band through the center, and the Belladonna insignia etched within. “Did you have this made for me?”

Rhys grunted in the affirmative, and Kai thought his chest might explode. Rhys wasn’t much for words, but his gestures were pretty spectacular.

Kai tugged Rhys’s head up so he could look him in the eye. “That’s so stinking cute.”

Rhys blushed. “Shut up,” he muttered. He tried to ensure Kai’s silence by kissing him again, but Kai held Rhys steady, not letting him break his gaze.

“No. I mean it. If anybody knew how secretly sweet and sentimental you were, they’d steal you away in a second.” Kai ran his hand up under Rhys’s shirt, reveling in the way the wolf shuddered as his thumb grazed the skin just underneath his ribs. “I mean, it’s hard enough keeping them off you with this body, but if they knew how cheeseball sweet you were…” Kai sighed wistfully. “I love you.”

Rhys just stared for a long moment before kissing Kai’s forehead. “I love you too.”

Kai smiled, reaching for the hem of Rhys’s shirt. “Prove it?”

Rhys’s phone started vibrating between them, and Kai sighed all the way to his toes. “Don’t answer it.”

Rhys sat up on his knees, peeling his shirt over his head and throwing it somewhere before grasping at Kai’s shirt with a smirk. “Okay.”

Kai leaned up to help Rhys shed him of his shirt when his phone started beeping, alerting him to a series of texts coming through rapid-fire. That wasn’t good. Rhys reached out and snagged Kai’s phone from where it had fallen out of his pocket onto the blankets. Kai took it, frowning. “It’s Isa.”

Rhys scowled. “What? Why?”

Kai’s heart slammed in his chest. “We’re being summoned, and it can’t be for anything good. She just keeps writing. Something to do with the Legion and Josephine,” Kai emphasized, brandishing his phone for emphasis, before throwing it back into the blankets and scrubbing his hands over his face with a groan, frowning at his engagement ring. Proposals weren’t supposed to end like this. They were supposed to end with other much more fun things. Thanks to the witch, their engagement was tainted. Kai’s joy was quickly fading to disappointment.

“You’re going to make me do this over again, aren’t you?” Rhys sighed.

Kai grinned, relieved. “Hell yeah. I don’t want to tell our babies that their father’s proposal ended with talk of oracles and demonically possessed shifters.”

Rhys started growling sometime around the word babies, attacking Kai in a way that didn’t inspire him to want to go and find their alpha. Rhys was weird in the best possible way. Who would have thought parenthood would be a turn on? But Rhys was a good daddy. Kai shook the thought away. He had to stop thinking of R.J. as theirs. They were in high school. Their lives were too dangerous for a baby. Finally, Kai pushed Rhys off. “No. We have to go.” Kai looked at the ring with a smile before sliding it off his finger. “Here, take it back.”

“Seriously?”

“You can’t propose without a ring. What kind of guy do you think I am?”

Rhys exhaled through his nose. “You don’t want me to answer that right now.”

Kai laughed. “Think of it as payback for the last five years of torment and sexual frustration.”

At Rhys’s scowl, Kai kissed his eyebrow. “Hey, at least you know I’ll say yes.”