Silver sat near the small hot spring with his arms folded over his chest and his brows pulled together. The small crease that had formed between them made me ache smooth it out. I took a quiet seat beside him keeping my gaze focused on the steam that was rising from the water. It made the room appear hazy as if you were trapped in some kind of dream. Silver made no attempt to speak to me but I could feel his emotions as they roared to life with my nearness to him.

"I'm sorry Silver..." I decided to be the one to break the silence between us. He shifted beside me but didn't respond which made me bite my lip nervously. I turned my face toward him, "I told you I wanted us to work together and I made decisions for the both of us without asking you. I don't regret what my choice but I should have given you a choice."

"You should have at least talked to me about what you were thinking..." He mumbled. I tilted my head to the side and glance away from him to the water. Our reflections danced across the glassy surface and I found myself mesmerized by it for a moment, "I'll talk to Kale and explain that I made a mistake offering you up like that. After that you are welcome to do whatever you like, but I'm going to stay here and fight." I explained to him as I reached out and dipped my fingers into the warm water. I didn't want to look at Silver directly a part of me was to afraid of what his face would tell me.

"You don't think I want to stay and fight?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "Honestly I don't know what you want Silver. You always go back and forth, it wouldn't surprise me if you decided to leave. I mean I don't want to drag you into this and I can certainly fight my own battles."

Silver turned his gaze to me, "This isn't just your fight. This is about everyone and what's right for everyone! People are going to die Grace, you could die--haven't you thought about that?"

I released a heavy sigh, "Of course I've thought about that, but the fact that I'm even alive right now is a miracle. I'm not afraid to die Silver but I don't want take your choices away. I want you to be able to decide for yourself what you want to do..."

"Don't you see that I will go wherever you go Grace? You make it seem like you would let me walk away, as if that was even an option." I could hear the frustration in tone.

"You left me once before, Why would this be any different?" I questioned him. His lips pulled together in a tight line and his shoulders tensed, "Because things are different now Grace. I told you I wouldn't leave you again. I meant that, as a man and as your mate."

I push up off the ground as our emotions swirl in my mind making it hard for me to decipher between them, "How are things different now? Because we marked each other? That doesn't mean anything. Loads of mates mark each other and then choose to live apart or that they don't want to be together." Silver lifted himself from his spot staring me down with an intensity that had my heart hammering in my chest. I couldn't tell if he wanted to kill me or kiss me.

"Do you not want me Grace? Is that what you're trying to say?" His question came out so soft but firm that I felt my heart skip a beat as a shiver of fear races through me. I wet my suddenly dry mouth, and shook my head. The thought of not being around Silver made me feel like I would die. He reached out and grabbed me by my shoulders, "I love you Grace but you're driving me crazy. Tell me what you want—Do you want me to stay or do you want me to leave?"

I stared at him in shock, "You love me?"

His eyebrows lifted, "Have I not been obvious enough for you? Yes Grace, I love you. You saved me from the lonely existence I had before I met you. You've made me want to be the man you claim to see when you look at me. I've never been so happy or so terrified in my life. Grace I want — No, I need you to trust me. You don't have to keep going through life alone. I want to support you. I want to love you, let me."

My eyes became heavy with unshed tears as I stared into the honest eyes of my mate. I knew he meant what he had said. I felt all the walls I had built up around me crumbling down. I leapt into his arms without hesitation, "I'm so sorry. It's hard for me. So much has happened to me. I've clung to the anger and hurt as a way to survive. I'm not sure I know how to open up anymore but I want to try. And I know I want to try with you, for you."

Silver burrowed his face into the crook of my neck and held me in his arms, "That's all I'm asking Grace." He pressed his lips to my skin, "I love you so much—You'll never know what meeting you has meant to me." All the doubt and guilt that Valerie's lecture had caused slipped away as if it had never been there. Being in Silver's arms took washed away all the negative things and gave me a soul searing sense of peace. I didn't care about revenge or the past. All I cared about was being with him and creating place for the two of us to remain together.

"I think I can imagine what it might have meant—" I say as my lips turn upwards in a small grin. He pulled back so that he could look into my eyes, "I don't know how all this is going to turn out Grace. but I want you to know that I'm not going to run away anymore. I'm going to face whatever future and I'm going to do it with you beside me."

"Nobody knows how this is all going to turn out but it's better for us to fight for something then to just stand by and wait for your father or someone else to catch up with us."I pushed up on my toes and pressed my lips to his in a firm kiss. I pulled back before he could deepen it, "As long as we are fighting for the right reasons then we can know we are moving towards a better future."

He lifted a brow and brushed some hair behind my ear, "When did you get so wise?" He teased.

I pushed away from him with grin, "I didn't—those were someone else's advice to me."

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Song: Always Be My Baby(cover)--David Cook