Chapter 49 Harlan
Harlan
The urge to drive down to the Morales’ house and settle this alpha-to-alpha is strong.
If it wouldn’t make things legally a thousand times worse, I would.
Instead, we filed injunctions, sent cease-and-desist letters.
Wyatt came to carry out Evander’s instructions.
Out of the five of us, Wyatt’s made the most connection in town.
His cornbread was the hit of the Christmas party.
So he was assigned character letters and witness duty.
When we walk back into the house the fireplace is roaring and Evander’s holding a box. The whole place smells like peppermint, pine, cinnamon… and sex, heavy and sweet underneath it all.
My alpha instincts snap to the surface, though I manage to keep them leashed. I stalk up to Evander and catch him by the back of the neck. “Someone’s been a bad boy.” The low growl in my voice is impossible to hide.
“He was actually a very good boy,” Rose says from where she’s leaning in the bedroom doorway. My eyes slide to hers. Logan stands next to her looking absolutely lovestruck. I know the feeling.
“Has he?” I ask, letting go of Evander’s neck and turning fully toward Rose. Logan’s throat works as if he’s swallowing
She pushes off the doorframe and sidles up to me.
I take in everything. The slow roll of her hips, the quirk of her eyebrow.
I slide the hand not holding Evander's neck around hers, my thumb brushing her pulse. She may look calm and collected, but her heart is racing. After the disaster of someone trying to strip her autonomy, taking control helped. But she also needs to give control and be reminded she’s still safe.
She tilts her chin slightly, a silent dare that makes my alpha want to press harder, but she’s still glowing with command from whatever she just did in the bedroom.
“He has. They both have,” she says as Logan strolls into the living room with a lopsided grin. His swagger is back. Heat pools low in my gut at the sight. My brat is back.
I lean down and capture her lips. She tastes sweet and spicy with just a hint of Logan still on her tongue. Her tongue tangles with mine. It's bolder than before, and I love it. My beautiful mate. She nips at my bottom lip, a subtle punishment for making her wait, and I rumble in answer.
When we break apart, Evander’s still holding the box, watching with a hungry, wild look on his handsome face.
“What’s that for?” I ask, gently taking it from his hands. It Jingles.
“Thought a nice distraction tonight would be finally decorating the tree,” he says, still a little wide-eyed.
In the kitchen Wyatt’s banging pots for more hot cocoa. Kai wraps Rose up from behind, clearly needing to reassure himself she’s okay. She reaches up, strokes his face, whispers something that makes him smile.
I look down at the box. It has baubles of every size and color.
I lean over, plant a kiss on Evander’s cheek, and scent-mark his neck.
He exhales like he’s been granted something, his shoulders relaxing under my mark.
His smile turns radiant. My Starlight beams up at me and plucks a blue ball from the box, and I can’t help thinking how apt it is.
But my dominant alpha nature isn’t what’s needed now.
I set the box down. Rose lifts the bauble to a branch.
The tree glitters in front of us, strings of golden lights winding up through fresh pine boughs, casting a soft glow over her face.
She stretches, the hem of her sweater lifting to expose her midriff, and hangs a delicate glass ornament that catches the firelight like a jewel.
Evander and Logan join in, carefully unwrapping baubles from tissue paper, their fingers dusted with flecks of glitter and pine sap.
Kai moves quietly through the room, setting down steaming mugs of Wyatt’s cocoa on the low table—rich chocolate laced with peppermint and cinnamon—and arranging a plate of sugar-dusted cookies and gingerbread alphas beside them.
The scents of chocolate, spice, and evergreen mingle with the low burn of the wood fire until the whole house smells like Christmas morning.
Evander scrolls on his phone and Bing Crosby’s velvet voice fills the air—Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.
The crackling fireplace joins the song as if it were a drumbeat, sending waves of warmth rolling across the room.
The Christmas lights flicker like captured stars, catching on strands of tinsel, on Rose’s hair, on the curve of her smile.
We start adding ornaments together, laughing as Kai tells the story of a younger Rose sneaking eggnog with him behind a Christmas tree at one of their parents’ parties freshman year of high school.
She hides her face in her hands, but her cheeks flush a lovely shade of pink against her beautiful brown skin, and the sight of her framed by pine and twinkle lights makes my chest ache.
No one can resist touching her. Every time one of the alphas drifts past, a hand lands at her waist, brushes her hair back, or slides over the curve of her hip. It’s instinct, and it makes me both possessive and proud. I love our little universe orbiting her like this.
When “White Christmas” begins, I catch her hand and draw her toward me.
She places her other palm over my heart and I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her close.
Around us, Kai and Wyatt, Evander and Logan all pair up too, swaying lazily to the music in front of the glowing tree.
The soft thud of logs settling in the fireplace is the only percussion.
“Is everything going to be okay, alpha?” she asks softly, looking up at me with wide brown eyes.
The twinkle lights reflect in them, and I can feel the rest of our pack listening, breathing in time with us.
This is our pack now. Hers and mine. She’s giving me her trust. Whatever answer I give, she’ll believe.
“Yes, Starlight,” I murmur, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Everything’s going to be fine. We’ll take care of it. I don’t want you wasting your energy worrying about it anymore.” I would move the world to make sure it stays that way.
When the song fades into silence, I realize the tree is nearly finished.
Every branch glimmers with color. Gold and crimson baubles, strands of silver tinsel catching the soft light from the hearth.
The air smells of pine and cocoa and the faint sweetness of peppermint as Rose perfumes and it lifts into the air.
Evander reaches into the box and lifts out the star. It's her star. The one my Starlight picked on the night of the tree lighting ceremony. It feels like a lifetime ago.
“Ready to add the final touch, Starlight?” I ask softly.
She nods, her smile warm enough to melt snow. I brace my hands on her sides and lift her easily, steadying her as she leans forward and places the shining star on top of the tree. It wobbles for a heartbeat, then settles perfectly, its golden glow reflecting off her cheeks.
For a long moment, none of us move. We stand together, arm in arm, our entire pack gathered close, with the scent of evergreen and cinnamon wrapping around us like a blanket.
The multicolored lights shimmer across their faces, across hers, and for the first time, it feels like everything has fallen into place.
Our little family, our future, finally complete beneath the glow of a Christmas tree.