Chapter 28 - Rafael
Pain comes first—a deep, throbbing ache that seems to radiate from every cell in my body. Then sound filters in: the steady beep of monitors, the soft whisper of early morning traffic outside, someone breathing nearby. I know Thalia is close before I even open my eyes.
When I do, the clinic's pale walls swim into focus. Dawn light filters through half-drawn blinds, painting everything in shades of pearl and silver.
My throat feels like sandpaper, and my chest burns where Yannick's knife found its mark. But I'm alive. And more importantly...
She's here.
Thalia lies curled on the bed next to mine, one arm slung haphazardly over Maia. Both of them are passed out. Even in sleep, her face bears the marks of everything she's endured—bruises blooming across her cheekbone, butterfly bandages holding together a cut above her eye. Her curls are wild around her face, and she's wearing what looks like one of my old t-shirts, borrowed from my room at the pack center. One of the others must have brought it.
She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.
Moving feels like trying to swim through concrete, but I manage to reach across the small space between our beds. My fingers brush her hand where it dangles off the edge of the mattress, a touch as light as falling snow.
Thalia's eyes fly open—and then she's tumbling backward off the bed in a tangle of limbs and startled yelp.
"Graceful," I manage to croak, though it feels like speaking through a throat full of broken glass.
A moment later, her head pops up from behind the bed, hair even wilder than before, eyes huge.
"You're awake! I mean—that wasn't—" She scrambles to her feet. "Stop laughing, I could have died!"
I can't help it—the sight of her usually fluid grace reduced to this endearing clumsiness breaks something loose in my chest. A rough laugh escapes me, then turns into a cough that sends pain shooting through my ribs.
"Oh god, I'm sorry!" Thalia's hands flutter uselessly as she finally makes it to my bedside. "I'm making you worse; I'm such an idiot, I—" To my horror, tears start spilling down her cheeks. "This is not how I pictured this going at all— Rafael— "
"Come here," I whisper, reaching for her despite the pain.
She collapses against me like a wave breaking, careful of my injuries but unable to keep herself from burrowing close. Her tears soak into my hospital gown as I wrap my arms around her, pulling her fully onto the narrow bed beside me.
"I thought you were going to die," Thalia chokes out against my chest. "I thought—when you went down, when the blood wouldn't stop—"
"Shh." I press my lips to her temple, breathing in the familiar scent of her skin beneath antiseptic and medicine. "I'm here. We're both here."
More sobs wrack her frame, but these sound different—like something breaking free after being trapped too long. I hold her through it, murmuring quiet nonsense, my hands running over her back, her arms, anywhere I can reach. Reassuring myself she's real, she's safe, she's finally here in my arms where she belongs.
The bond hums between us, no longer muted by walls, distance, or lies. Every brush of skin against skin sends sparks of awareness through my body, despite my injuries. Despite everything.
"I'm so sorry," I breathe into her hair. "For all of it. For forcing the bond, for not telling you the truth—"
"Stop." Thalia pulls back just enough to look at me, her face tear-stained but fierce. "You came for me. You found me. That's all that matters."
"I'll always find you." The words come out rough with emotion. "Wherever you go, whatever happens—I'll always come for you."
Fresh tears spill down her cheeks, but she's smiling now, that rare, genuine smile that first made me fall in love with her.
"I know," she whispers. "I know that now."
She curls closer, careful of my bandages, and I wrap myself around her like I can somehow keep the rest of the world from touching her ever again. Outside, birdsong heralds the arriving dawn. But in here, time seems to stop, measured only by the steady rhythm of our breathing and the warmth of her body against mine.
We lie together in comfortable silence, trading soft touches and careful kisses, both of us just trying to convince ourselves this is real. That we're really here, really safe, really together.
Eventually, Maia stirs in the next bed. Through barely-open eyes, she gives us a sly, knowing look.
"Well," she says, her voice still rough but full of mischief. She winks at Thalia as she carefully levers herself up. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, lovebirds."
"Maia—" Thalia starts, but her friend is already shuffling toward the door, trailing her IV stand behind her, limping.
"Take your time," Maia calls over her shoulder. "I'll be enjoying the morning sunshine. Very slowly. Probably for at least an hour."
The door clicks shut behind her, leaving us alone with all the words we haven't said yet.
For a moment, we just lie together in the growing light, Thalia's head tucked under my chin, our fingers intertwined against my chest. The pain in my wounds feels distant compared to the ache in my heart—so much to say, so many ways to get it wrong.
"I got a call," I say finally, my voice still rough. "From her. That night before I made you mate with me."
Thalia goes very still in my arms. Through our bond, I feel her confusion, her shock, then slowly, understanding beginning to dawn.
"She told me everything," I continue, pressing my lips to her temple. "About the Smoke, about what they did to you both. About how they were using her to control you. She said... she said there was a way out. That if you mated with someone from a target pack, they'd have to release you. But it had to look real, look forced, or they'd—" I break off, unable to finish.
"They'd kill her," Thalia whispers. Her fingers tighten in mine. "That's why you... all this time, I thought you hated me. Or you were punishing me for betraying the pack. Or you..."
The pain in her voice cuts deeper than any knife. "God, no. Never. I was trying to protect you both. But I couldn't tell you, couldn't risk them finding out you knew. And then everything happened so fast—"
"You looked so cold," Thalia says softly. She looks up into my face as if seeing me for the first time. "That night in the safehouse, when you gave me the ultimatum. I couldn't understand how you could go from kissing me like I meant something to treating me like a prisoner."
"It killed me." I pull her closer, needing her to understand. "Every time I saw the fear in your eyes, every time I had to push you away... I wanted so badly to tell you everything. To beg your forgiveness. But I was terrified of making one wrong move and getting you both killed."
Thalia shifts in my arms, her dark eyes searching my face. One hand comes up to trace my jaw, feather-light.
"All those times you watched me," she says wonderingly.
"I saw you slipping away." The memory still hurts—watching her withdraw further into herself, knowing I was partly to blame. "Once I knew. I saw how much it was killing you to lie to us. To me. I wanted to tell you that you didn't have to pretend anymore, that we could protect you. But I didn't know how without risking everything."
"And then I ran straight back to them anyway." Her voice breaks. "God, Rafael, I'm so sorry. I thought if I offered myself up, if I went back willingly, they'd spare you all. Spare Maia. I didn't know she'd already reached out to you. I didn't know you were trying to save us both, too. God, look at us.”
"Hey." I catch her face between my hands, thumbs brushing away fresh tears. "You did what you thought you had to do to protect the people you love. Just like I did. We were both trying so hard to save each other that we forgot to trust each other instead."
A watery laugh escapes her. "Every day, I find another thing we have in common.”
"It’ll probably stay that way forever,” I joke, but laughing still hurts, so I stop. "But we're alive. We're free. And I swear to you, Thalia, I will never take away your choices again. Never try to control you or cage you or—"
Thalia cuts me off with a kiss, soft but fierce.
"I know," she whispers against my mouth. "And I swear I'll never lie to you again. No more secrets."
"No more secrets," I agree, trailing kisses down her throat. Through the bond, I feel her happiness mixed with lingering fear, hope tangled with guilt.
"Can you really forgive me?" she asks, so quietly I almost miss it. "If I were you, I probably wouldn’t.”
"There's nothing to forgive." I pull back to meet her eyes, needing her to see the truth in mine. "You did what you had to do to survive. And I’ve never been there, but I would have probably done the same thing.”
Thalia’s hand finds the scar on my shoulder—the one her bullet left, all those years ago. She doesn’t have to say anything, just looks up into my face.
I nod, throat tight. "I thought I'd never trust anyone again after that. Never let anyone close enough to hurt me. But then you came crashing into my life, and somehow... somehow, you made me want to try. I’ll never stop owing you for that.”
Thalia's eyes fill with tears again, but these look different—lighter somehow, like relief instead of pain.
"I love you," she whispers, the words falling between us like stars. "I think I've loved you since those first few nights in the safehouse, when you made me coffee and tried so hard to hate me but couldn't quite manage it."
"I love you too." The words feel like coming home. "Every stubborn, fierce, impossible inch of you.”
Thalia laughs at that, the sound bright and real.
"So we’re doing this together, then," she agrees, curling impossibly closer. "I like the sound of that."
Through the window, I can just make out Maia sitting in the clinic's small back garden, bundled in blankets against the morning chill. She's talking to Veronica, who's brought her coffee and appears to be fussing over her. The sight makes something in my chest ease.
"She can stay here as long as she wants," I say softly, following Thalia's gaze. "The pack will protect her.” I’m certain of it.
"Really?" Thalia's voice catches. "Even after everything? After what I did?"
"The team understands loyalty," I tell her, pressing a kiss to her temple. "And sacrifice. They know what it means to protect family at any cost. They’ll like her. And they’ll let her stay as long as she needs it.”
Thalia makes a sound between a laugh and a sob. "She always could charm anyone." She pauses, fingers tracing patterns on my chest. "I was so scared for her. Every day we were apart, I kept imagining what they might be doing to her. What they were doing to her."
"Hey." I catch her hand, bringing it to my lips. "She's safe now. You both are. The Smoke is finished—Aris made sure of that. I’d bet everything I own their compound is rubble, their leaders are dead or captured, and their network is being dismantled as we speak. They can't hurt either of you anymore." I won’t let them.
She’s quiet for a long moment, processing this.
"I don't know how to be free," she whispers finally. "I've spent so long being what they made me. I'm not sure I remember who I was before."
"Then we'll figure it out together." I tilt her face up to mine. "You don't have to know all the answers right now. Just... be here. With me. Let yourself heal."
Fresh tears spill down her cheeks. "I don't deserve you."
"Yes, you do." I kiss her softly, tasting salt. "You deserve everything good in this world, Thalia. Every bit of happiness you can grab. And I plan to spend the rest of my life proving that to you."
Thalia laughs wetly against my mouth. "Even when I'm being stubborn?"
"Especially then." I grin. "Your stubbornness is one of my favorite things about you. Along with your aim, your smile, and the way you manage to look beautiful even when you're falling out of bed.”
"Oh god." She groans, burying her face in my neck. "I was hoping you'd forgotten about that."
"Never." I run my fingers through her curls, reveling in the simple ability to touch her like this. "I plan to remind you about it at every possible opportunity. Possibly at our wedding."
She stiffens slightly in my arms. "Our wedding?"
"If you ever want to try it again," I say carefully. "When you're ready. We can do it properly this time—no ultimatums, no secrets. Just us, choosing each other in front of everyone we love.”
For a moment, Thalia is quiet, and I worry I've pushed too far too fast. But then she props herself up on one elbow, looking down at me with those dark eyes that see right through to my soul.
"Yes," she says simply.
"Yes?"
Her smile is like sunrise. "Yes, I want to marry you. Properly this time. When we're both healed, when we've had time to just... be us for a while."
We lie together, talking about nothing and everything. Outside, snow begins to fall again, dusting Rosecreek in fresh white. Through the window, I see Maia laughing at something Veronica's said, her face turned up toward the sky to catch snowflakes on her tongue.
***
A while later, our peaceful moment is broken by my phone buzzing on the bedside table. Thalia reaches for it before I can move, her reflexes still sharp despite everything.
"It's your sister," she says, handing it to me. "Third time she's called in the last hour."
I answer before it can go to voicemail. "Cam—"
"You absolute idiot!"
Camila's voice comes through so loud that Thalia winces in sympathy.
"I had to hear from some guy I don’t even know that my brother nearly got himself killed storming some criminal compound? What happened to 'I'll call you soon'? What happened to 'everything's fine'?"
"To be fair," I say, trying not to smile at her familiar dramatics, "everything is fine now."
"Oh, is it? Is that why you have more stitches than a patchwork quilt? Is that why you—" She breaks off, and I hear her take a deep breath. When she speaks again, her voice is smaller and younger somehow. "Raf, I was so scared. When that Zane guy called..."
"Hey." I soften my tone, wishing I could hug her. "I'm okay. Really. Just a few scratches."
"Scratches." She snorts. "Yeah, that's what they usually call multiple stab wounds and electrical burns these days."
Thalia makes a small sound beside me, guilt flickering through our bond. I pull her closer, pressing a kiss to her temple.
"You're on speaker," I tell Camila. "Thalia's here."
"Oh!" There's a rustle, like she's switching her phone to her other ear. "Good. Then you can both hear me say that I've already booked a flight. I'll be there late next week."
"Cam, you don't have to—"
"Shut up." But there's fondness in her voice now. "My big brother finally finds someone worth fighting for, nearly dies in the process, and you think I'm going to stay in Asia? Not a chance. Besides," her tone turns sly, "I want to meet the woman who managed to crack that titanium wall you built around your heart."
"She's currently trying to disappear into the mattress," I say, watching Thalia attempt to burrow under my arm in embarrassment. "I think you're making her nervous."
"Good." Camila laughs. "She should be. I have so many embarrassing stories to tell her about you.”
"Don't you dare.”
"Oh, I dare. Remember that time in San Diego when you tried to impress a surfer girl by—"
"Okay!" I cut her off quickly. "I think that's enough family bonding for now."
Thalia peeks out from under my arm, grinning despite her blush. "I don't know. I think I'd like to hear the rest of that story."
"You two are going to be terrible together," I groan, but my chest feels warm at the thought of the two most important women in my life getting along.
"You love us," Camila says cheerfully. "Now get some rest. Both of you. I'll text when I land." Her voice softens. "I'm really glad you're okay, Raf. And Thalia?"
"Yes?" Thalia ventures cautiously.
"Thank you. For making my brother happy. I can’t wait to meet you.”
Before either of us can respond, she hangs up, leaving us in comfortable silence. Thalia curls closer, and I can feel her smile against my neck.
"She seems... intense," she says finally.
"That's one word for it." I laugh, then wince as it pulls at my stitches. "Just wait until she gets here. She's probably already planning all the things she’ll drag you out to do.”
"I like her," Thalia decides, surprising me. "She really loves you."
"Yeah." I press my lips to her forehead. "She's been there through everything. She’s always been rooting for my happiness. Always said I’d get there."
"Smart girl," Thalia murmurs, already drifting back to sleep. "She was right."
I hold her close as her breathing evens out, thinking about family—the one we're born with, the one we choose, the one we build from broken pieces and second chances.
Outside, the snow continues to fall, and somewhere over the Pacific, my little sister is flying home to meet the woman who finally proved her right.