How could she have forgotten this? Why had she ever felt threatened here? Even at the height of his madness, Blue had never felt ill at ease in Omega's arms. Not even when he'd raged up and down the mountainside, slaughtering any living thing unlucky enough to be caught in his path, had he ever turned those claws and teeth towards her.

She'd been the anchor in the very teeth of his storm, but sometimes, even the strongest anchor needed a storm to thrash around it, to reinforce its strength and solidarity.

Blue sighed through her tears, returning her head to his shoulder, clutching close into the shelter of his arms. What he said was true;, not even her most manic episodes could drive those tumultuous memories from her mind. They were a pair. Mates. A bond which went so much deeper than mere human emotion could fathom.

I love you. She nuzzled it into his skin, whispered with breath so light it was a fleeting caress, but aloud she said, "...I think I might eat dinner downstairs tonight. Want to come with me?"