Chapter Twenty-Nine
Hunter
Standing in Haven’s bedroom doorway, I watch Lawson and Remy clean her face and hands.
The shock must have forced her brain to shut down.
She hasn’t woken up, but I can hear her steady heartbeat, so I know her mind is just protecting itself.
I should have known. I saw a picture of Jenica.
Haven’s father took her everywhere with him, and all the information I gathered was pointing to a woman obsessed with her boss.
I turn away and return downstairs. Heath carried Rylee to my office.
The doctor just left after retrieving the bullet from her body.
The bleeding has stopped, and we are hoping the magic of her animal will do the rest. I will forever be grateful to her.
She protected our mate when we should have been here.
What good is having four mates if we all abandon her?
“How is she?” I ask.
Heath hasn’t left her side.
“Her skin is knitting back together,” he says gruffly, rubbing his head. “She’s a fighter and has been through worse things.” He stands and holds his hand toward Juliana. “I need some air.” She moves close, threading her fingers through his.
“Heath,” I whisper.
“Don’t,” he hisses, and I grit my teeth. “Don’t blame yourself for this. How could you know? Rylee was protecting her family just as I taught her to do. Haven means everything to her, and I’m fucking proud of her. She will heal and continue to be a smartass for years to come.”
“Yeah, Boss,” I mutter.
“Stop with that shit.” He points his cane at me.
“We are years past that. We’re family, and I would have done the same thing for Haven, or any of you.
” He drops his arm and walks to the door.
“Get your shit together. Your mate is going to need you.” I shake my head and smile.
Asshole knows how to cut through the bullshit.
“He’s right,” Bane says, appearing in the door, leaning on the frame. “We couldn't prepare for this.”
“I knew she worked for Haven’s father.” I stare at Rylee.
“So? You didn’t find anything to indicate she’s going to snap and try to kill Haven.” I look at him. “We don’t know the details or what she wanted. Our mate is still sleeping. We have to be patient and wait for her explanation.”
I nod. “Did they remove the body?”
“Yes. Bash is taking care of it. The women are cleaning up the blood. They didn’t want either of them to wake and see it.” He glances at Rylee. “Her vitals are steady.”
“We owe her,” I rumble.
“She can have whatever the fuck she wants when she wakes,” he says, standing straight, looking over his shoulder. Sally squeezes through the door beside him.
“How’s Haven?” she asks.
“Still asleep,” I mutter.
“It’s the best thing for her,” she says, walking to Rylee’s side.
“I wasn’t sure when I saw Rylee covered in blood.
” She sits on the floor beside the couch, brushing her fur.
“Haven asked me if she would be alright. I was lying at the time, and she called me out. All my premonitions were telling me she wasn’t going to make it.
I’m glad I was wrong.” She looks at me. “This is an example. We aren’t immortal.
Shit happens, and we have to have hope as humans do.
Don’t think this is your fault, or feel less than just because Rylee saved her instead of any of you.
Be grateful Haven is part of the family, and she has a friend who would take a bullet for her.
Don’t take your lives for granted; comfort your mate.
Rylee will be back to her sassy self soon, and she would be pissed if you don’t complete the bond.
Haven is meant for you. All of you. Take your happiness.
Fate has handed it to you.” She smiles. “Don’t let a deranged person derail your plans.
If we did that, none of us would be mated. ”
“Thanks, Sally. I needed that.” I exhale harshly.
“I know,” she laughs, fluffing her hair.
“The baby is making me sappy.” She rubs her stomach.
“Go.” She waves her hand. “Sit with your mate. The family is cleaning your house. Food is being cooked. Bash is making the body disappear. I’ll stay with Rylee until she wakes.
Heath will wait until Haven can talk to her, but then he’ll be taking her to his house when she’s stable enough to move.
That snake wants her close, the big softy.
” Sally is the only one who can call Heath soft.
“Call out if something changes,” Bane says.
“Will do.” She turns back to Rylee, stroking her head.
I follow Bane out of the room and up the stairs. She’s right. As much as I would like to control everything, I know I can’t. I wish I had dug more into Jenica’s background, yet I still don’t know what I would be looking for.
“It’s okay,” Remy says as we come to the doorway.
“Rylee,” Haven cries.
“She’s downstairs,” Lawson says. We enter the bedroom, and Haven is struggling to sit up. “Baby, take it easy. The doctor took the bullet out.”
“She’s healing?” she asks, tears in her eyes.
“Yes,” I say, and she meets my eyes. “Sally is with her. She’ll let us know when she wakes up.”
“But she’s sure she will wake up, right?” She grips Lawson and Remy’s hands.
“Very,” Bane says.
“Fuck,” she rasps, shaking her head. “I thought she was gone.”
“Can you tell us who Jenica is?” Remy asks, and she tenses.
“She was the woman sleeping with Brian. What I didn’t know was that she was my pen pal when I was young.
The teacher had us pick two names. Jenica was the first. When I wrote to her, her responses were short and dark.
To ease her, I wrote about my perfect life.
I guess I shouldn’t have lied because that’s why she tried to take everything in my life.
We lost touch, and I forgot about her. She went through some traumatic things, but finally found a home and a woman who loved her as a mother should.
Two years ago, she died, and I think it triggered her trauma and caused her to latch onto anything that would make it better.
She got a job with Father, slept with Brian, and tried to be me. ”
“Her hair,” I mumble.
“Yeah, I was a little shocked at that,” she whispers.
She continues to tell us what happened, and my fury builds as she expands on the sequence of events. When she tells us about the phone call from Brian and the conversation Jenica overheard, I know what I need to do.
I tried to let Haven deal with them. I didn’t like it, but I would have let it go if they left her alone.
Now, it’s my turn.
“Are you contemplating how to make her father disappear?”
Lawson joins me on the porch, and I sigh.
We haven’t had time to talk since the fight.
We barely finished cleaning up the mess the fight caused before Rylee messaged the group, and we rushed here.
Frank is dead, as is Tawney. Several of the pack decided to attack, and we had no choice but to defend our family.
The rest of them pleaded leniency, and since they didn’t join the fight, and Lawson didn’t have any recollection of them, Ryker agreed to escort them out of town.
With his power, he can assess the truth of their willingness to leave the pack in their past.
“I couldn’t tell you,” I say softly.
“I know.” He leans against the rail across from my chair.
“You needed to concentrate on getting what you needed from the interaction. If you knew about the children, your goal would be tainted.” I lean forward, my elbows on my knees, and clasp my hands.
“Are you trying to convince yourself? Or me?” He grins.
“Both?” I frown.
He laughs, shaking his head. “Who's getting them?”
“The panthers and wolves. Harmony runs a foster home for shifters. She promised to take them there and find them a family.” Harmony started the family here.
She's mated to an Alpha and his two brothers.
She knows what it's like to be in foster care and will do what’s best for the children.
Ava is a wolf shifter mated to an Alpha and his brother, and they have adopted a shifter child.
They were the perfect group to ask to do it.
“Good.” Lawson looks toward the trees. “It makes it worth it. Knowing there was a bigger reason to find Frank. If we didn’t, those kids would have gone through what I did.
” He looks at me. “You always do what’s best for us.
You made the right call. I fought the demon who tormented me, and the kids won’t have to. ”
“Do you feel better?” I ask.
“Yeah,” he sighs.
“So, it was worth it.”
“I’m glad we did it, yet pissed we weren’t here when Haven needed us the most,” he grumbles.
“Rylee was,” I whisper, looking toward the house. “Sally was right. We couldn’t know.” Haven couldn’t wait any longer, so she's with Sally, waiting for Rylee to wake. “The woman is dead. Rylee will recover.” I glance at him. “And you can move on.”
“I think I already had,” he mumbles, gripping the rail. “Once she walked into our lives, nothing else mattered. Yes, I still needed to see him, but I would have been alright if I hadn’t. She makes it all better.”
“I’m glad you're happy, Brother.” I sit back. “When Rylee is healed, we can all move on.”
“With Haven,” he says softly.
“Yes, with Haven.” We lock eyes.
“Are you happy?” he asks.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” I frown.
“Do you get tired of taking care of us?” He tilts his head.
“I don’t do much,” I mumble.
“Bullshit,” he grins. “All of us depend on you to be the level head.”
“Bane is the one who helps you,” I say, and I’m not hurt by it.
“He does.” He nods lightly. “But you give us safety so we can be ourselves. You explained everything to Haven. It’s difficult for Bane to express himself. Remy appears in control, yet we all know the chaos he holds inside. You have to be everything, and it must be hard.”
“Hard?” I rub my jaw and look away. “I missed how many years with you and Remy? I wish I could have been there to protect you then; it’s an honor to do so now.
I’m far from perfect. You weren’t here all the times I lost it, and Bane had to reel me in.
Heath grounded me when we had numerous false leads on your location.
There were many days I wanted to fuck it all and give up.
The worst part of it all was not knowing.
” I look at him. “I didn’t know if you were safe, loved, fed, or happy.
My focus was on keeping Bane and me together, yet there were missing pieces.
I still feel guilty in my heart for not spending every day trying to find you. ”
“Hunter, you have to let it go,” he says.
“That’s easy to say, isn’t it?” I laugh lightly. “I’m hoping that with a bit more time, I can. It hasn’t been that long since you weren’t here. I should be grateful we are together now, family again, and living the life I wanted for us.”
“You did this, Brother.” He stands straight.
“Even though you had hard days, you didn’t stop.
You found Heath and had a home ready for me when the time came.
This is our family.” He looks around and at the house.
“These people gather the misfits, no matter your background, and call them family. Today, seeing so many of them coming to support me made it hit home. The kind of shifter doesn’t matter; this is a pack, they are our pack.
I haven’t felt safe enough to open up to any of them, but after the show of support, I’m ready.
I want to give this place to Haven. She deserves a family who truly cares. ”
“I understand it’s hard to trust it,” I sigh, rubbing my neck. “I still find it odd to be in the mix of them.” When you’ve never been able to depend on anyone, suddenly, having dozens of people around you is difficult to adjust to.
“I’ll get used to anything for Haven,” he says.
“We all will.”
“Do you think she's ready to complete the bond?” he asks.
“Yes, but not until Rylee is on her feet.” As much as I would like to do it immediately, today was traumatic for all of us, and I don’t want to push her. My animal is running out of patience, but out of the four of us, I have the most control over him.
“Do you love her?” he asks, glancing at me.
“I do,” I say softly.
“I’ve never been in love. How does it feel? As if your heart is too big for your chest?”
“Yeah,” I smile. “She fills it up with her beauty and kind soul. Don’t question it.
When it’s time, tell her exactly how you feel.
” He nods and looks at his feet. “Are you afraid she doesn’t feel the same?
” Sometimes, when I look at Lawson, I still see the little boy who was taken away from me.
Now, it is one of those times. He looks unsure and scared.
“I never thought I could love,” he admits.
“You’ve loved all your life.” He frowns.
“You didn’t stop loving us even though we weren’t together.
Bane and I didn’t cut off our love just because we weren’t together.
Don’t underestimate your capacity to love deeply.
I’m proud of you.” He shoves his hands in his pockets.
“You’ve become a man who would die for those he loves.
Despite the things you went through, you’ve come out the other side, and I’m proud to be your brother. I’m glad that we share Haven.”
“Shit,” he says gruffly, bowing his head. “Thanks, Brother.” I stand up and move toward him.
“This is a long time coming,” I whisper, stopping close.
“I don’t think I said it straight out since we found you.
” I cup the back of his neck, and he looks up.
“I love you. I missed the fuck out of you. I’m proud to stand by your side now, with Bane and Remy, whole again.
I never, ever forgot you, or the bond we formed as children.
” I touch my forehead to his. “We don’t have to be afraid anymore. No one can separate us again.”
“Never again,” he whispers.
I squeeze my fingers before releasing him and stepping back.
“Let’s get some food. No one is going to sleep. It’s going to be a long night,” I rasp.
“I’m proud of Remy,” he chuckles, moving toward the door. “He hasn’t kicked everyone out of his kitchen.”
“It’s Haven, she softens our rough edges.” We share a smile, and he opens the door.
“We’re lucky fuckers,” he rumbles.
“Yeah.”
As we step into warmth, family, and Haven’s cry of relief as Rylee speaks, the guilt that has been driving me for years disappears. Yes, we’ve been through hell, but we made it through, into a reality none of us thought possible.
This place, our mate, is our safe haven.