WULFRIC was not sure if he had heard correctly or if his ears were playing tricks on him. Surely his brain was not so fried that the fantasy he had imagined countless times was actually happening right in front of him. So he just stared at Aster like an idiot, unable to form a single word.
Aster tilted his head to the side. "And here I thought you would be happy." He pinched Wulfricâs cheek and smiled, clearly amused. "Do you not want us to be official?"
Hearing that, Wulfricâs eyes went wide, and he grabbed hold of Asterâs hands. What Aster had just said could only mean one thing, right? Right?
"You really said you wanted us to be an official couple, right? I am not just imagining things? I really heard you correctly?"
Astrid stared at the mix of happiness, panic, and disbelief on Wulfricâs face. It made him look almost unhinged. He cupped Wulfricâs face in his hands and pressed a soft kiss to the tip of his nose.
"Yes, you heard me right. I want us to be officially together. So you are definitely not imagining things."
He watched as the tension in Wulfricâs shoulders melted away the moment those words left his mouth. The chaotic mix of emotions on his face finally settled into pure happiness. It poured off him in waves. Then Wulfric pulled him into a sudden hug, his arms wrapping around Astrid so tight it felt like being held by a coiled snake. But it was a good kind of tight. The kind that made Astrid feel like his whole body was being wrapped in love.
"Youâre mine now," Wulfric said, his voice muffled against Astridâs shoulder. "You canât take it back."
Astrid let out a soft laugh and hugged him back. "I would rather think of it as us belonging to each other."
"Of course we do," Wulfric said, his voice thick with emotion. "Youâre mine and Iâm yours. Forever."
"Forever is a long time," Astrid said in a light and teasing tone. "Are you sure you wonât tire of me?"
"Never. Iâm pretty sure Iâll be in love with you forever, so no, thereâs no chance Iâd ever tire of you," Wulfric said. "In fact, even if you asked me to let you go, I wouldnât allow it. Iâd fight it until my last breath. Iâd probably turn into a toxic piece of shit if that happened, but I donât care." He pulled back slightly and pressed his forehead against Astridâs. "Youâre mine and Iâm yours. Thatâll be the truth until the very end."
Astrid smiled inwardly. Wulfricâs words should have been alarming. Anyone else would have backed away slowly from a declaration that intense. But all Astrid felt was warmth spreading through his chest. He enjoyed knowing that Wulfric would fight for him, that he would not let go so easily. There was something comforting about that kind of certainty.
"Is it bad that Iâm not scared when you say things like that?" he asked. "In fact, I find it quite romantic."
Wulfricâs expression suddenly turned serious. "No, you should be scared. Youâre supposed to be the voice of reason between us. Youâre supposed to tell me how crazy I am."
Astrid chuckled at the contradiction. Wulfric was being a possessive caveman one moment and the next he was worried about being too much. It was endearing, really. This man who commanded armies and struck fear into the hearts of his enemies was sitting here asking to be kept in check. And in that request, Astrid saw something Wulfric himself probably did not notice.
The fact that he wanted someone to stop him, to tell him when he went too far, meant that despite all his talk about never letting go, he would likely still step back if Astrid truly asked him to. He would hate it, he would fight against it, but he would do it if he believed it was what Astrid really wanted.
That knowledge settled deep in Astridâs heart, easing a tension he hadnât even realized was there. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the corner of Wulfricâs mouth.
"I donât know," he said. "I feel like your brand of crazy is rubbing off on me."
Wulfric leaned back just enough to meet Asterâs eyes. "You canât," he said. "One crazy is enough for this relationship. We need at least one of us to have some sense left."
And he truly believed that. If Aster would not be the one to rein him in, he was afraid he would just keep doing crazier and crazier shit until Aster decided it was not worth it anymore. So he needed Aster to hold his leash.
Aster laughed softly, the sound warm in the quiet space between them. His eyes crinkled at the corners as he looked at Wulfricâs serious face. "Fine, Iâll be the sensible one. But donât complain when I tell you no."
"Always tell me no if I do something you donât like," Wulfric said firmly.
Astrid raised an eyebrow. "Didnât you just say you wouldnât let me go, no matter what? And now youâre telling me to say no if I donât like something?"
"This and that are different," Wulfric said, his voice calm but his eyes intense. He held Astridâs gaze like he was trying to make sure every word registered in him. "Respecting your boundaries is like putting in the work so you wonât want to leave me in the first place. And if you donât want to leave, then I wonât have to go crazy and lock you up in my bedroom."
The gap between those two things was enormous, and Astrid could not help but find it a little funny. On one end, Wulfric talked about respecting boundaries and listening when Astrid said no. On the other end, he mentioned locking Astrid up in his bedroom like it was a perfectly normal option. The fact that both ideas came from the same mouth, in the same conversation, showed that no matter how hard Wulfric tried to be reasonable, the crazy never really went away.
Itâs just so... Wulfric.
Astrid just cupped Wulfricâs face in both hands and kissed him, a laugh escaping against his lips. "Oh, youâre adorable."