Hera POV

"I know you still love me," I said at last.

"Really?" Xander asked enthusiastically. His eyes, which had been dull, lit up.

"Because you're not with another woman and because you chose to isolate yourself by taking military training again," I explained straightforwardly.

"Because we are still bound, Hera. Because you're my fated mate."

This was the sentence I'd been waiting for that finally came out of Xander's mouth.

I don't know when he realized it but I had known it for a long ...