Now, that he did not need to be told what it meant, and her being a shifter only made him surer of what she meant when she said it. It was clear that the word had come unbidden, what with how her eyes widened in surprise right after, but... he liked hearing it all the more for it.

It was not a thought, but a sentiment. Something true and natural, something that came solely from the heart. And though it was not a term he had ever thought to use before, he knew that she would, and he wanted her to just as much as she did.

Inhaling audibly, he brushed his lips against her, nuzzling their noses together as he nodded, then breathed out. "Yes."