My head was swimming by the time I came around from that experience, my nanocloud disengaging the memory stream I had just watched. I felt overwhelmed to the point I was feeling numb, and Dani sat next to me, waiting for a reaction to what I saw.

I didn't know how to answer her, I had no idea what to say or do about what I just witnessed.

All I knew was that Eveline was in the next room, quite possibly still fighting for her life, and I needed to stop the bullshit and do the right thing by her.

That wasn't to say I didn't still feel the sense of betrayal from what has happened, but putting it into context by experiencing her feelings and fears from her own point of view? That couldn't possibly leave anything the same; while weeks ago, I would have furiously denied wanting to ever see her again, now...

Now, I couldn't wait to see her.

We still needed to talk about things, and figure this out. Getting past what happened would need a guarantee that something like that will never happen again, but with what I'd learned from seeing the glimpses of her memories and feelings just now, I was now hopeful we would get through this.

If Eveline wanted to.

Sitting up, then standing, I waited until the wave of light-headedness passed over me before I spoke again. "Well..." I said, feeling a little dumbfounded. "This certainly changes things..."

Dani stood, then slowly stepped to my side, wrapping her arms around me and giving me a gentle squeeze. Reflexively, I wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "There's so much more to her life than what I showed you," she said quietly. "But you get it now, right?"

Letting out an explosive breath, I nodded. "Yeah," I said softly. "Yeah."

Dani released me in that moment. "I'll get you some snacks," she told me. "You go and see her."

I took Dani's advice, as I walked in to the room with Eveline's medical bed. Rosalie was there, standing like a statue, or a guard for Eveline, making sure no-one went anywhere near her bed without a good reason.

I nodded to her, and she nodded back, her poker face giving nothing away. I was somewhat used to this with Eveline, so I thought nothing of it, as I looked around to see if there was a chair; my red bloodcell deficit was going to be a problem for a little while, and I was feeling a little tired.

"Jacob's trying to find a few spares," Rosalie told me. "'Til then, standing room only." She shrugged. "I'd prefer to take a load off, myself."

I nodded. "Yeah, feeling a bit tired from the blood loss," I told her. "I'll see how she is and then maybe go get some more rest."

Rosalie nodded, then walked past me, pausing to give me a gentle squeeze on my shoulder before leaving the room. I slowly approached the bed, apprehensive at getting a better look at Eveline, feeling somewhat nauseous.

The injuries, I'd expected. Inspecting the site of the terrible wound that had been torn along her right oblique muscle group, I watched in fascination, as the still silver-filmed wound had already filled out to the outer epidermal layer. That top tier Trauma Assist I put in place was doing wonders, and hopefully the tissue damage in those regions will be healed sufficiently that Eveline will be mobile in a few days to a week. The claw marks in her abs were already healed enough that the nanocloud had left that region, with fresh scar tissue now the only thing present, the fur follicles in those scars now destroyed.

But I suspect that even this damage was capable of being reversed given long enough for the nanocloud to rebuild the epidermal layers underneath those scars.

I gently took Eveline's hand in my own, and then ordered my nanocloud to give me a report.

Large intestine repair in progress, priority task. Estimated completion time is 3 hours.

Epidermis repair in progress, priority task. Estimated completion time is 4 hours.

Liver repair in progress, priority task. Estimated completion time is 7 hours.

Kidney repair in progress, priority, right side. Estimated completion time is 8 hours.

Host consciousness will remain suspended until internal organ repairs are complete.

Upper Abdominal muscle repair in progress. Estimated completion time is 32 minutes.

Internal Oblique muscle repair in progress. Estimated completion time is 33 hours.

External Oblique muscle repair in progress. Estimated completion time is 51 hours.

End of report.

That was a frighteningly long list of the damage Eveline had received from one panther claw attack, not to mention the poisoning from the initial swipe that caused her to falter long enough that he could tear out her side like that to begin with.

As I looked over her injuries, I noticed the look of emaciation in her body. It wasn't severe enough for an occasional acquaintaince to notice the changes, but it was enough that I could see it. She had to have pushed herself hard to get here in any amount of time, given I too, pushed myself to my limits. However, while I had suffered no real ill effects, and kept myself fed every day that I could, it seemed that Eveline had gone rather hungry more often than not. Her substantial muscular body had begun to atrophy, though because she was not getting enough nutrients to sustain her body fat levels, she still had a lot of definition; but where her arms were well-built and muscular just a few weeks ago, they were now less, looking somewhat smaller.

The same could be said for much of the rest of her body. Hopefully, resuming a decent health regimen would get her back to what she was before, and no doubt her nanocloud would help with that.

Still, it was distressing to see her like this.

Remembering what I'd seen on the freighter over to Canada from Iceland, I checked her hands for claw marks, and found an odd, almost overlapping pattern of scars. Odd, that her nanocloud was making no effort to fix these, and it seemed to me, that Eveline had clawed her own hands more than once since our last confrontation, but none of the wounds were likely to be more recent than maybe a week ago, at about the same time she probably had that phone call with Laurent I remembered seeing in her memories.

Were all of her issues tied to that one big fear of hers, the supposed loss of control she desperately avoided? I hoped that learning she had the ability to resist even her father's instructions, despite likely having a stronger imprint on him than anyone else, had given her a sense of control within her own mind. I also hoped that it was what she felt she needed.

I also wondered what she would think when I eventually gifted her the Imprint module I was now determined to have finished and ready for her.

Further up her arm, I saw more evidence of self-harm, with long yet precise cuts along her lower arm, all having long healed over, and all recent. I knew from our one intimate night together, these scars weren't there before. The cuts were clean, razor-thin. Did she use her own claws to do this? And when? Part of me was in anguish that she had felt this way; doubly-so with the evidence in front of me and the memories I had seen from her perspective.

Feeling an aversion to transgressing any further, I finally let go of her hand, so I could cover her body right up to her shoulders with the bed sheet. I then carefully brushed some of the golden hair out of her eyes, took one final look at her resting face, and impulsively brushed my hand along the side of her head. "I'll see you soon," I said quietly, then with both pain and gratitude, I quietly left the room, Rosalie taking my place afterward.

I met Dani coming out of the room, and she took me to the ground floor, bringing me into a makeshift kitchenette area that was separate from the main kitchens that this place once possessed back in the old world. I didn't resist, smelling a fresh batch of pancakes and some maple syrup, and then my mind short-circuited when I started to wonder where the supplies must have come from.

"I know that look," Dani told me, a hint of laughter in her tone. "A lot of Canadians still know how to make Maple syrup from the local Maple leaves in the area, and making pancake batter was never really difficult. Eat up, you need the energy!"

"Are you sure sugary foods are a good idea?" I asked, skepticism colouring my tone.

"Oh Rick," Dani sighed, like a mother explaining a fact to her young child. "Doesn't your nanocloud have the ability to convert sugars to energy for its systems? Doesn't it have the ability to take apart and re-assemble molecules to make raw materials that your body needs?"

She had a point, I had to admit, although it did remind me that there were a number of upgrades I needed to look into. I decided not to indulge my curiosity about the state of agriculture in the country, though it was probably on par with Europe, with small farming operations dotted around towns and cities.

I signalled my nanocloud to wake me in six hours so I could look into it all before the earliest time that Eveline was likely to regain consciousness. I got an immediate notification and a timer that then rested outside of my awareness, just enough I knew it was there, but also unobtrusive.

"Got any slow-release energy foods?" I asked. "I suspect my nanocloud will need to convert a lot to replace the lost blood cells."

"Yup," Dani answered quickly. "The batter has some wholewheat in it. Should take a while to digest, a lot of complex carbs and fibre. I'll also have a proper meal ready for when you wake up. Jacob loves to cook."

"Good stuff," I nodded, applying myself to the pancakes, surprised at how hungry I was feeling.

Shortly after eating my pancakes and syrup, and washing it down with coffee, I was ordered back to bed and told to catch up on my sleep.

----------------------------------------

I found myself waking up to the sound of muffled voices, and checked the time to see how long I had before Eveline was due to wake up.

Two hours.

As usual, my nanocloud did an excellent job of keeping track of time for me, and making sure I was either alerted, or awakened, at the time I specified. While I still felt somewhat light-headed, the meal earlier and the sleep I'd just had, both made me feel better, and well enough I could stay on my feet for much longer now.

For now, I decided to get back to a project I'd shelved when I left Mary's Harbour, checking in with my nanocloud to get the details I needed.

Restore Imprint project from archive.

Stand by for update.

Error: Resource ability is below required project space.

Project archive cannot be transferred.

Last project update: 17 hours ago.

The last line item my nanocloud reported was a surprise, given I sent the project to archive back in Mary's Harbour, and hadn't worked on it since. Did my nanocloud override my instructions again, and keep running simulations while I trekked across Canada?

I'd have to worry about that another time, because now I was hearing a change in the voice intensities next door. I listened to the voices, wondering who was down here... Only to realise that one of them was Eveline's, and she sounded somewhat strained. I was on my feet, trying to ignore the dizzy spell that came over me, and then quickly walked out of the room, running into Rosalie outside.

"What's going on?" I asked in a low voice.

Rosalie put her finger to her lips, appearing anxious. I listened to the conversation behind the door where Eveline was supposed to be resting.

"I asked you a question," Eveline sounded strained, as though she was frustrated at being stonewalled. "Where's Rick?"

"And I told you before," Dani replied to her. "He's well, and he's not far, but you're meant to be out cold! I've no idea how you managed to force your way to consciousness with the injuries you have, but-"

"Enough," Eveline's sharp retort cut Dani off, and I couldn't help a smile as I recalled just how often I'd heard her speak this way. "Where's Rick?"

"I don't know why Dani isn't just telling her where I am, or coming out to get me," I whispered as quietly as I could to Rosalie.

"She's trying to get Eveline to open up to her," Rosalie told me.

"This is hardly the way to go about it," I whispered.

"You try telling her that!" Rosalie retorted, clearly frustrated, not in accord with her wife on this matter. "She's your sister, after all."

I nodded, and decided to put an end to this. I reached for the door to open it, when I heard a gasp from within the room, and my pulse started to race in alarm. Rosalie grabbed my wrist, pulling me away from the door as I struggled to open it in panic, my weakened state preventing me from doing much of anything.

"What did you do?" Eveline's voice grew hoarse. "Lena! That fucking manipulative, conniving bitch! That deceitful harlot! I'm glad I fucking killed her!"

I stopped struggling, taking a deep breath, as I realised that Dani must have managed to pass on some of my own memories to Eveline.

"So am I," Dani's voice was subdued. "Even though I don't like glorified violence."

There was a moment before either of them spoke again. "I didn't realise..." Eveline said in a voice that sounded both soft and sorrowful. "He never consciously told Lena anything. She stole it from him by compromising his nanocloud and then erasing his memory of what happened! That wastrel, that pustule-infested cuntweasel, that plague-ridden-"

"Hey," Dani interrupted her gently. "He's alright," she told Eveline. "He's here, he's working through some issues, and more than anything else, he's glad you're alive."

There was a pause, and this one started to drag for an uncomfortably long time. "He was so angry the last time he spoke to me," I heard eveline speak, her tone barely a whisper, a hint of distress evident in the carefully-controlled flat affect she maintained when she wasn't furious herself.

"I have a confession to make," Dani said softly into the silence that followed. "I saw your memories."

The silence this time was unbearable. "What?" Eveline said in a low growl, her tone betraying anger at what she no doubt considered a transgression. "How is that even possib- No, forget it. It's probably the same reason you showed me his... Wait... Did you get his permission to share with me?"

Eveline, bless your heart, I thought sadly.

"Yes," Dani lied about getting my permission, though everything else she said was honest. "At the same time I shared some of the key memories of your time with him... With him."

"That's not fair," Eveline's tone was mournful. "How is he meant to be able to make his own choices over what I did, if he's forced to see-"

"I didn't force him to see anything!" Dani exclaimed, her voice strained. "I asked his permission before I shared."

"So it was only me that you didn't bother to ask-"

"Oh shit," I muttered, realising that this situation was starting to become unstable.

"I'm sorry I didn't ask," Dani said softly, obviously better at controlling her own emotions than I was. "I should have, but you needed to see things from his perspective as much as he needed to see your own."

Again, their voices went silent, by this time, Rosalie had withdrawn, so I was now able to open the door. I did, stepping inside as I saw Dani leaning against a wall, an expression of concern on her face as she looked toward Eveline, who was sat on the edge of the bed, her own expression crestfallen. My entrance caused both to startle, looking at me with slightly-shocked faces, before Dani relaxed, while Eveline's face froze in an expression of horror.

With what I could see was a massive effort, Eveline's face settled into a stony glare that was aimed at me, clearly unwilling to show more than she needed to in front of the others...

Or maybe she would try to keep up this façade because she didn't want me to know what was really going through her mind, either?

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

It didn't help my mood. Her pride and the wall she had put up between us had been what had caused so many problems for us in the first place, and while I understood far better the problems she had to face in her past than I did back in Mary's Harbour, I still had no desire to accept any such subterfuge ever happening again.

"Dani," I spoke quietly, feeling anxious. "Can you give us a minute?"

Dani nodded, though she approached me first. "Remember what you saw," she spoke softly. "I believe she's suffered more than enough."

"You know me better than that," I told her, feeling saddened that she seemed not to know me as well as I thought she did. Gently squeezing my shoulder, she nodded.

Eveline's glare at the two of us was intense, hinting of suppressed anger.

Dani then headed to the door, closing it behind her and leaving me alone with Eveline. I took a deep breath, not entirely prepared for this; I'd expected I would be here when she woke up, to give her a chance to wake up slowly with a known presence by her side, maybe to have a chance to explain what was happening, where we were, why we were here.

Not like this. Not with Eveline looking like I'd just caught her... Trying to set up a honey trap.

Suddenly, I found it difficult to speak, my mouth going dry. It was just the two of us in here now, and I didn't know what to react to first. The fact that she was here, alive, having once again fought to save my life? The fact that she betrayed my trust those few weeks back? The fact that she had only done so because she was crippled by overwhelming fear of a natural instinct to imprint on others? I decided I needed to brave the situation. Besides...

Standing here like an idiot without doing anything didn't make either of us feel any better.

I stepped toward Eveline, and as I did, her stony glare cracked, then shattered, as the wounded, agonised young woman beneath the façade broke free, her visible skin draining of blood, as if afraid of what I was going to say.

So I said nothing, stepping up to her bed slowly, feeling an almost overwhelming sense of fear. My eyes started to burn, and I felt like I needed to sit down before I shook myself to shreds. Stepping more quickly to her bedside instead, I noticed that Eveline's expression was confused. I couldn't explain it, as I took her in my arms and held her gently to me, afraid that if I squeezed her tight, I might upset the healing that her nanocloud was trying to effect.

For a few moments, she didn't move, and even appeared to stop breathing. I thought of everything she had faced in her life in those few moments, the suffering she had to go through when she was a cub, and how she had learned early in her life that some people were not to be trusted. Her attempts to overcome the deep fear that was a result of her early expriences reached deep within me, and I found myself feeling an affinity for her strength of character, her desire to do what she felt was right, her wilingness to accept the love of her adoptive parents in spite of her early years being at the hands of monsters who had shown her no love whatsoever, and my breath hitched unexpectedly.

That was what opened the floodgates, as she let out a hiss, took in ragged breaths, then let out a low moan as her arms finally wrapped around my waist, holding me tight as she shook violently against me. This final acceptance eroded the last of my resistance, and my composure deserted me, as I lost control over my own breathing. My eyes stung fiercely, then leaked, my throat tightened, and I let out ragged breaths, hissing in reaction to my own anxieties, fears and the fact that her previous subterfuge had hurt me badly.

This seemed to make her own cries louder, and she shook even more violently, yet her arms tightened even more around me as she pulled herself closer, burying her face in my chest as I buried mine in her hair.

It was some minutes before either of us could say anything at all, but when we could, she was first to speak.

"I'll do anything," she breathed raggedly. "Anything you want."

I frowned, not understanding what she meant by those words. "What?" I asked stupidly.

She pulled back, her expression pleading, her eyes bloodshot, a sense of desperation about her. "I'll do anything to make it up to you," she wailed, hot tears streaming onto her fur-covered cheeks, her expression more distressed than I could ever recall. "Anything you want!"

Hadn't she been frustrated by my own attempt to weather her own displeasure without complaint back in Germany? I didn't want her to be a submissive person any more than she wanted me to be. I just wanted her to be honest, not just with me, but with herself. I took a deep breath, my own throat still feeling tight.

"You need to be honest with me," I began, struggling to get the words out. What I needed to talk about next might blow this entire situation wide open, but it needed to be said. "Look, the truth is, I'm still upset with you. What you did to me, what you tried to get me to do, was manipulative and deceitful. I don't mind telling you here and now, that it fucking hurt me, Ev. It cut-"

"-Into you like a knife through the heart," she finished for me, her voice hoarse, eyes wide, lips trembling as the tears continued to stream from her eyes. "I only saw bits and pieces of your experiences throughout your life, but that was one of them, and I felt just how deeply it cut you. If I had any idea how you felt about me then..." She didn't continue, and instead looked away.

"Look," I took a breath. I wanted a fresh start, and I needed to be able to trust her, but I could only do it if I was certain she would never betray my trust again. "That can never happen again," I said softly, and then hardened my tone, pushing through my inherent need to comfort her in this moment. "Never again! If anything even remotely like that happens again, I won't be able to deal with it. So I need your promise. If you have any fears, any concerns, any reasons that make you think you need to push me away again-"

"Never!" Eveline cut me off, letting out a sob as she pulled me into a hug. "Never again!" I gave her the few moments she needed to compose herself, holding on to her and stroking her hair. "Rick, I swear to you, I promise, I'll never do anything like that to you again! I'll do anything to take back what I did, anything! I swear it! Never again-"

"That's all I ask," I said in a whisper. "And I've never known you to make any promises to anyone before."

She couldn't speak for a few moments, her breath ragged, as she let her head fall onto my chest. I waited patiently, stroking her hair slowly as she exhausted her distress.

"I've made very, very few promises in my past, Rick," she finally admitted on the end of an exhale. "I only ever make promises if I know I'll be able to keep them."

"Which is why I know I can trust you on this," I told her, foregoing mention of the fact that I also understood her far better than I did at the time I left her at Mary's Harbour. "And now I'm putting it behind me for good. Alright? I forgive you!"

"What?!" She breathed, stunned.

"You've given me your promise. I trust that, and I know why you did what you did. I forgive you," I repeated.

She looked at me, her expression confused. "I..." She seemed lost for words at this point. I continued, wanting to impress upon her the importance of not sacrificing her individuality, though I had yet to see who she truly was.

"One more thing you need to do," I told her. "Be yourself. Remember Hamburg?"

Her eyes widened. "Yeah," she said, swallowing, her eyes darting about my face nervously. "I'd shouted at you because you seemed to be trying to submit to me," she let out a breath at the end, more tears streaming down her face as she looked stricken. "When all the while, you were trying to be patient with me."

"You were right," I told her. "I needed to stand up for myself, to stop denying myself the right to be who I am around you. And so do you."

She slowly nodded, though she still looked apprehensive. "I'll try."

"Good," I immediately replied, then took a breath. "I'm sorry for what I said, when I implied you were using me for your own pleasure, I've seen your memories, and I should have never let myself get so-"

"No, Rick," Eveline cut me off gently. "That's all in the past."

"But I-"

"You've forgiven me far worse!" Her tone was insistent, and I saw the familiar hint of steel in her expression. "Say it!"

"Then yes, let's make a fresh start. All of that is in the past," I finished with a kiss on her nose, which she twitched in response, smiling gently, the lingering kiss she gave me conveyed her gratitude far more than any other gesture could. After a few moments, she pulled back ever-so-slightly, wiping her eyes. "Line in the sand and all that."

"Line in the sand?" She asked, frowning, though her expression held amusement.

I laughed gently. "It's an expression we used a lot. Basically it means we're putting it all behind us and moving forward... That there's no going back to it."

After a moment where we both gazed at each other, Eveline pulled me into another hug, giving me a chaste kiss on the lips as she did, letting out a sigh as her arms tightened around my waist once more. We stayed that way for some moments.

"So," she said eventually, her tone tremulous. "You know all there is to know about me, do you?"

"Hardly," I smiled.

"But you saw my memories," she admitted, her face an almost comical look of embarrassment.

"Not all of them," I told her gently. "More like a highlight reel."

I almost laughed at her look of confusion, as she asked "A highlight reel?"

I shook my head. "It would take too long to explain, and it's clear my sister didn't share everything about me, or you'd know what that was!"

Eveline blinked, her expression going slack, as she sat back slightly. A frown appeared on her face. "Wait," she began. "That young woman is your sister?"

"I think she'd be flattered that you called her young," I laughed. "She's almost as old as I am."

She shrugged, a slight smile appearing on her lips, and to my relief, it touched her eyes. "In this world of ours," she sighed. "Age really is just a number."

It certainly is, I thought to myself. "How are you feeling now?" I asked, changing the subject.

"I don't know," she admitted, sighing sadly. "Better, I guess?"

"I hope so," I told her. "Sorry about the injuries," I hoped I was conveying some degree of empathy for the pain she was likely to have suffered saving my life.

Eveline looked confused, then frustrated, as she began to step back. "If this is pity-"

"Ev," I cut her off, deliberately imbuing my tone with an edge of steel. "That's not what I'm doing, so let's not go that route. I respect you too much to do something like that. You saved my life, and picked up some painful injuries in the process. It nearly killed you out there, and it damn nearly killed me to see you dying at my feet."

"Don't apologise for this," she said with some heat, as she gestured at her injuries. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat." Then, she sighed heavily, closing the distance between us and taking me by the waist again. "You wanna know how I really feel?"

"Of course I do," I told her, my voice barely a whisper.

"It's probably no longer a secret that I regretted what I did from almost the minute I made that call," she told me. "When I was out there, fighting off that panther, after he tore my side out and I was bleeding to death on the ground..." She paused for a moment, swallowing, her fingers tightening on my waist. "All I could think about was the fact that I'd hurt you so badly, and that I'd never get a chance to make it up to you, that... That I wish I'd trusted you more, and... That I... That I never had a chance to..." A low moan escaped her, as she lost her composure again.

I wrapped her in another hug. "I've some of my own mistakes to make up for," I told her softly. "We've both hurt each other, and..." I stopped and let out my own sigh as I tried to find the words I needed. "I've missed you," I whispered, and her arms tightened around me.

There was a longer silence, but this time it was comfortable, as Eveline rested her head on my chest again. "When my father demanded I come back home and abandon you here, I..."

"He's a very influential person in your life," I told her, knowing this from the brief glimpses I had of her own memories "I imagine that you would do almost anything he asked you to do."

"Yes," she said, letting out a shaky breath, sniffing deeply, then releasing another exhale. "I might argue with him at times, but I've never refused him if he really wanted me to do something."

I waited for a moment, and when she didn't continue, I did it for her. "Except this time."

"Except this time," she said, her voice choked. "I couldn't do it. As much as I love my parents, leaving you here was never an option."

I didn't say anything right then, despite already knowing that Laurent was ultimately proud of Eveline for finding enough strength to resist the instinct to comply with his expressed wish for her to leave me here. I'd have to remember to call him later to thank him for this.

"Why?" I eventually asked her. Knowing her feelings through the memories Dani shared with me was not the same thing as getting her to talk through them.

"Too many reasons," she told me, taking a steadying breath as she squeezed my side. This really was a facet of Eveline that I'd never experienced before, and it was wonderous. "But one of the most important was that I wanted to make it up to you, somehow."

"Make what up to me?" I asked, though I suspected she was referring to Mary's Harbour.

"Pushing you away, trying to trap you into a decision that you knew was wrong and would have lost my respect," she said with a sigh.

"I think that's what hurt me the most," I told her gently, stroking her hair. "The deceptiveness was painful, but I've been lied to before, and while I hate it, what made it worse was I have tried... Very hard, to earn your respect." I held her gaze, her reddened eyes looking at me with a desperate longing and a clear, obvious fear. "But Eveline... As much as what you did hurt me, I've already forgiven you... Remember?"

"It was only a few minutes ago," she groused. "My memory isn't that bad!"

"Point is, I'm not going to tell you that I forgive you and then decide to throw it in your face," I told her gently. "I meant what I said, Eveline. I forgive you... And your respect will always matter to me." I paused for a moment, letting out a breath. "When you're ready, I'll tell you how much."

"Say it now," she told me, her expression hardening into one of steely determination.

"I know we haven't known each other long-" I began, but she cut me off.

"That doesn't matter, Rick!" She pulled back and looked into my eyes. "Whatever's on your mind, I'm ready- no, I need to hear you say it!"

I spoke softly in reply. "I wouldn't be feeling so hurt by what happened if I didn't love you."

Her expression ran through a gamut of emotions, longing being the most obvious. "You mean it, don't you," Her response was breathless, yet I could also hear an almost joyous quality to it, and it gave me strength.

"Yeah," I replied in a tender voice, and I gave her a nod, holding her gaze. "I love you more than I've ever loved anyone," I added.

"Rick," she cut me off before I could continue speaking, looking into my eyes with a pained expression in her own. "We better talk about this before anything else. I-I know I probably don't have the right to-"

"Let me hear it," I told her without hesitation.

The apprehensiveness in her eyes was replaced with resolution, as she took a deep breath. "This is really important to me, Rick. If I am ever going to be myself around you, if we are ever to become something more than travelling companions, then you have to agree to this without reservation. I can't go through with this, otherwise..." And this time, she gulped, a fleeting expression of fear on her beautiful, tiger-striped, orange-fur-covered face, that mirrored the sudden stab of fear in my chest.

"I'm listening," I told her, unable to help the anxiety-laced quaver in my own voice.

"The idea of having many men to balance in my life is... Repulsive to me," she began, and I immediately felt giddy with relief. I had thought she would say the opposite, that because of her feline nature, she didn't want to be tied down to one person, but wanted to be free to be with anyone else she wished at any time. To hear she was repulsed by the idea had settled the issue for us both. "And I really don't like to share what's mine," she added, gripping my hands almost reflexively. "So it has to be just you and me. I can't stomach the idea of anyone else being involved in our relationship," she was so wrapped up in her anxiety over these concerns that I was sure she didn't see my sudden fleeting surprise at her describing our situation as being a relationship. "And just thinking about the idea you might cast me away in the future makes me feel sick to my stomach, Rick... I..."

She couldn't continue, as her eyes started to redden and water once more, her head shaking from side to side almost in denial. I needed to reassure her.

"I want no-one else but you," I told her, feeling an overwhelming warmth spread throughout my body as relief and love washed throughout me.

"I-I know I..." Eveline stammered slightly, as her hands started to shake slightly. "I know I shouldn't be asking you for any kind of commitment this early, but-"

"Eveline," I cut her off with a kiss, letting it linger for some moments. "You and me, for the rest of our lives."

"For the rest of our lives?" She asked, and her expression held wonder. "You're ready to do that for me?"

I felt a surge of happiness. "We've been through a lot of pain and anguish to get where we are today, and both of us have been made stronger for it," I told her gently. "I'm more than ready."

The relief on her face was like a beacon of light in the dark. With an almost lightning-quick lunge, she propelled herself to me, her arms wrapped around my back again, pulling me tight, burying her face in my chest. Reflexively, I put both arms around her shoulders, as she took deep breaths, trying to control her reaction. I gently began to stroke her golden mane, feeling a sense of relief. Telling her something so intense as this could have gone disastrously, and I was thankful that this had instead gone so well.

"You know, I'm keeping your flask, right?" She muttered into my chest. I couldn't resist laughing, which caused her to laugh in turn, and before we knew it, we both were giggling like a pair of kids playing pranks.

We quickly sobered up again, as she pushed herself back slightly so she could look at me again. "I still need to be serious for a moment," she told me, her expression raw, vulnerable, a solemn, open gaze with the depths of emotion in her expressive eyes "I promise, I swear to you, I'll never push you away again," she shook her head slowly, stroking my face. "And I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough for your patience."

"There's no need," I told her.

"Maybe not," she insisted. "But I'm going to be worthy of your kindness."

"And I'll try to be worthy of you," I replied in kind.

For a few moments, neither of us said anything.

"I want you to see the real me." She said after a brief pause, her lips parted as she leaned forward, kissing me gently on my lips, pulling back again. "The stone cold bitch that I pretend to be with most people? That's not who I really am, Rick."

"I can't wait to see more of the real you," I replied gently with a nod. "Take all the time you need."

She shook her head. "I doubt it will take long," she said in a tone that was far softer than I'd ever heard from her. "I already feel different."

I gently brushed my fingers through her mane, feeling an ever more intense feeling of joy suffusing me. Her expression continued to radiate her own sense of peace. "It sounded like you were leading up to something," I prompted.

"Yeah," she replied, kissing my lips again. "I'll be myself with you, claws and everything." Her flash of a grin had me smiling. "But in front of others, I can't promise I won't still be... Difficult... Toward you, or to them."

I nodded. "As much as I would love to see this side of you around others, and as much as I think people would love you for who you are," I began, stroking a thumb over her cheek where I held her face. "I can't imagine it's that easy to change your behaviour." I pulled her head toward mine, resting it against my own and closing my eyes. "Not quickly, anyway, so we'll take each day as it comes."

"I already feel like being like this with you is the most natural thing in the world," she told me, her tone contented for probably the first time I could recall. A few weeks ago, I could never have imagined she would show so much raw vulnerability. It was almost like she was a completely different person, except I still saw steel in her expression when she felt the need to be forceful.

Suddenly, I was feeling playful, so I teased her with my next words.

"By the way..." I drew out the pause I left after I spoke.

"What?" she asked after a moment, her eyes narrowing.

"You don't like to share what's yours?" I asked, suppressing a laugh.

Eveline's nostrils turned slightly red, as did her ears, the rest of her blush hidden by the tiger striped fur on her face. She ducked, rubbing her neck with her hand, a shy smile appearing on her lips. "Sorry, I just... I'm a bit possessive!"

I dared to kiss her as I held her gently by the hips, resisting the urge to reach around, as I teased her with my next words. "Does that mean you're mine as well?"

Suddenly, Eveline let out a throaty noise as she landed her lips on mine. "Yeah," she growled, before kissing me with greater urgency. For several minutes, we kissed each other, Eveline gradually introduced her tongue to my own as our passion for each other was unleashed. This time, I did reach and cup her buttocks. Suddenly, she pulled back with a breathless, wordless exclamation.

"I'm not healed enough for that yet," she let out a frustrated noise, nevertheless planting another kiss on my lips. "In a day or two, we need to lock ourselves in a room, yes?" The idea that Eveline wanted to have a night of passion with me was sending me over the edge, and she grinned at me, her eyes alight with mischief. "Your scent's flooding the room!"

"You're irresistible!" I quipped. "What did you expect?"

Eveline's eyes fluttered as she looked up at me. "A month ago, I would have denied this, but what you did with me that night in Dortmund?" Her words were accompanied by a brief brush of my groin with her left hand. She bit her lip sensuously, one of her fangs pressing against it. "Thinking about it is driving me crazy!"

"Such a tease," I quipped, and she grinned at me.

She actually fucking smiled so brightly, I was floored. "Tell anyone about this side of me, and I'll tie you upside down from a tree branch!"

"Hey!" I groused in mock irritation, and she gave me a glare, but her eyes twinkled. Taking my hand and squeezing it, she stepped back toward the door.

"Come on, Rick, I'm starving," she sounded annoyed, but her tail slowly brushing itself against my face told me a different story. Before I could grab it, she had it swish right behind her back again, and I missed my opportunity. "Besides, if we keep this up, your sister and her friend will end up with cavities!"

"Funny tiger," I laughed, as we both walked out of the room.