43. Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Three
Emma
I step out of the steamy bathroom, towel wrapped around me, skin still flushed and tingling after my night with Phoenix.
Every bond inside me burns bright and steady, warming my chest from the inside out.
Asher, Soren, Phoenix—each connection sings with certainty, their love anchoring me so deeply there isn’t any space for fear or doubt anymore.
I am cherished. Claimed. Seen in a way I know is right, down to the marrow of my bones.
I catch sight of myself in the bathroom mirror and I have to stare.
My hair falls in light blonde tangles over shoulders that are softer now.
I no longer look sallow, or pale like a cadaver.
My cheeks are pink, my lips bitten. I look alive, even luminous.
There’s a glow to my skin that wasn’t there before.
I run my fingertips over the silvery marks on my neck where my alphas gave me their claiming bites. The marks shimmer, soft and beautiful. Bond scars that signal to anyone, to everyone, exactly who I belong to and who belongs to me.
I look closer, my heart stuttering, to the mess of scars left by Pack Carmichael. The old bite marks—the mangled, angry wounds they left behind—look different. The scars aren’t raised or red the way they used to be. They’re flatter, paler, as if the rage has burned out of them.
Shock stirs through me. Real, shivering disbelief.
They’re healing. The wounds those monsters left are fading .
The hissing, hateful chorus that messed with my mind is simply gone.
There’s nothing left. Not even a distant echo.
There is only peace, only the certainty of my alphas’ bonds woven deep inside me.
The last remnant of Pack Carmichael will disappear after the gala. Once we catch them, once everyone knows what they’ve done, there will be nothing hanging over my head.
Two days.
In two days’ time, I’ll truly be free.
There will be no more hiding. No more darkness. No more doubts.
There will only be living.
I dress in soft, comfortable clothes, my body still singing with contentment. The bonds inside me are warm and bright, urging me out of my room and into the heart of the house. I pad barefoot down the hallway, excitement rising with every step to find my alphas. My mates. My pack.
As I reach the kitchen, I slow, breath catching in my throat. The sight of them together, their scents swirling through the air, mixing with coffee and morning sun, stops me cold.
They’re heartbreakingly handsome. Solid, sure.
Completely mine.
“Moonbeam!” Asher crosses the room and slides his arms around my waist, tilting my face up for a deep, slow kiss that makes my heart race.
When Asher has finished kissing me, Soren presses a kiss to my forehead and then my mouth, his hand lingering at the back of my neck before Phoenix grins and swoops me up, kissing me all hot and lingering, leaving me dizzy and flushed and needing my…nest.
An undeniable urge tugs at me to comb through the whole house and gather every soft thing, every pillow and blanket, and make the nest perfect. My fingers twitch with a restless spark of longing unfurling through me.
Heat prickles under my skin, lighting up my nerves in a quick, hungry wave.
Pressure builds in my lower belly, a deep, tightening cramp that has me curling my toes and pressing a hand against my side.
My scent thickens in the kitchen, honeysuckle, vanilla, something richer beneath the surface.
Asher’s nostrils flare. He straightens, eyes darkening as he studies me.
“Are you all right, Emma?” he asks.
I pause, trying to read my own body. The cramp fades, just a ghost when I try to find it.
The blaze beneath my skin cools, leaving me almost embarrassed for the false alarm.
My heart thuds unevenly. If I went into heat before the gala, right before Leah’s rescue, it would be a disaster.
I'd need all three of my alphas to tend me through it, and we’d lose our chance to get Leah back.
Just a couple more days and then biology can take over. Then I will look forward to this heat.
I shake my head lightly and wave him off when he approaches. “I’m fine,” I say, giving him a quick smile. I force my hands to steady as I reach for my coffee, pretending not to notice the concern etched on their faces.
“Are you sure, Butterfly?’ Soren asks.
“There is something I want to run by you all,” I say.
All three of my mates give me their undivided attention and I will any heat that bubbles up to go the hells away.
I clear my throat softly, meeting their eyes as my pulse quickens. “There's something Mira and I talked about. We both agreed it’s important for us to be at the gala when you bring Leah out.”
Taking a steadying breath as tension tenses their bodies, I continue before they can speak the protest I see building on their lips, willing them to understand.
“After everything she’s been through, Leah won't trust any alpha who approaches her, no matter how gentle or careful you are.
The only way she'll trust anyone enough to let herself be rescued is if Mira and I are both there, too.”
“Tough Girl…” Phoenix starts, shaking his head.
“Please, hear me out. You’ll have your hands full with the commissioner and Pack Carmichael, and gods knows how many officers trying to stop you.
They’re going to put up a fight. You can’t look after Leah and stop someone like the commissioner at the same time.
Mira and I will hide with Leah. You tell us where and how and we’ll get her out.
” I watch their faces carefully, bracing for argument but refusing to let my determination slip.
“We won’t get in the way. But we need to be there for her. For all of us.”
Soren stares at me, jaw working. Tension bunches his shoulders and creases his brow, but he doesn’t shoot down my idea; he just stands there quietly, considering, his thumb rubbing circles over the edge of the counter.
Phoenix leans back against the fridge, arms crossed over his chest. He glances at Soren, then at me, searching my face.
“I don’t like it,” he admits, voice rough with worry, but there’s no heat behind the words.
“But you’ve got a point we hadn’t thought of before.
You’re right. Leah’s been in hell. She needs faces she trusts when shit hits the fan, and a calm omega will be a hell of a lot easier to handle given the shit that’s going to go down.
I won’t pretend I want you anywhere near that mess but if you really think it’ll help, I won’t shut the damn idea down. ”
Asher draws in a deep breath, his hands braced on either side of the sink. His pulse ticks visibly at his throat, clearly from the strain of trying to balance protecting me with respecting my choices. He searches my eyes for any crack in my resolve.
Then, with a heavy exhale, he nods. “I don’t like the risk either, but if Leah sees you and Mira first, it might make all the difference.
She’ll trust us because you’re there.” He cups my face, brushing his thumb along my cheek.
His touch is gentle but his grip firm, grounding.
“Promise me, if anything does go sideways, you get out with Soren and you run no matter who's with you. You’re the most important person to us no matter what we’re trying to do. Understood? ”
Soren’s soft gaze roams my face despite his worry. “We’ll set up every exit route, keep you in eyeshot the whole time.”
Phoenix shoves his hands in his pockets and lets a reluctant smile tug at the corner of his mouth. “I guess this means we're shopping for an evening gown for our omega.”
Their acceptance, no protest, just fierce concern and careful planning, settles something deep in my chest. These men always surprise me. Their trust and faith make me feel less like a risk and more like a partner. More like a pack.
“And a disguise. We can’t disguise her designation, but we can make her unrecognizable,” Asher says. “I don’t want Pack Carmichael to have the slightest hint you’re you.”
I nod, because he’s right. I don’t want the Carmichaels to recognize me either. I don’t want to cause any trouble at all. All I want is freedom for my pack, and Leah.
***
I slip into the gown I found in the expansive wardrobe adjoined to my room.
. Mira’s alphas really did think of everything—matching shoes, jewelry, even delicate underthings I never would have chosen for myself but somehow, they fit perfectly.
I hope the house, if Mira truly wants me to have it, comes with all of this.
Of course, her offer to give me the house is too generous, too big.
It’s something I haven’t let myself think about for more than a flicker.
I wonder how her alphas feel about the idea, about Mira giving away a house they bought for her.
When things settle, I’ll ask Asher to find out for me.
I need the particulars before I can really let myself accept something so monumental.
The dress, though… I have to look like I fit in at a gala, even if worms squirm in my stomach.
The dress glides perfectly over my frame, like it was made for me.
Sky blue and soft as seafoam, accentuating whatever curves I have.
I lean over the bathroom countertop and do my makeup as best I can, fumbling with palettes and brushes, uncertain with each stroke.
No need for makeup locked in any basement, but I’m happy with the results.
My eyes look bigger, my mouth a pouty pink.
I tug on the wig, adjusting it until the dark, loose curls spill over my shoulders and down my back, transforming me into someone unrecognizable.
A stranger stares back from the mirror—soft-cheeked and delicate, eyes bright and luminous, lips flushed and full.
I don’t look like the girl who stared back at me from the mirror in the hospital bathroom, skin stretched tight over bones, hair lifeless and dull.
I don’t look like a ghost of an omega, hunted and hollow-eyed.
Tonight, I’m someone from a regular fairytale.
Someone who could belong at a gala.
Someone not afraid of what the night might bring.
I run my hand over the fabric of the gown, feeling my ribcage beneath.
My hips are still too narrow, my bones sharp beneath the silk.
My body’s filled out a little—my alphas have insisted on feeding me, on making every meal a mission to rebuild what was starved away—but I’m still a waif.
Still too fragile, but tonight, wrapped in color and new softness, I look more omega than ever.
More like I could belong somewhere, even for just one shimmering night.
The beach has done me good. There’s a golden wash to my skin now, warm and healthy, nothing like that ghost-pale shade I wore for years. I look alive. Real. Not a shadow sneaking through someone else’s world. For a moment, my reflection makes me smile.
I promise myself that once this is all over, I’ll make time for exercise. Walks and runs right here on my own sand, letting the salt and the sun finish what my alphas started. I want to grow strong, to fill out every inch of this body.
But those days are for tomorrow.
For now, I have a sister to rescue.