54. Chapter Fifty-Four
~Leo~
Crossing back through the portal and navigating the surrounding territories felt strangely surreal now that the immediate danger had passed. The adrenaline that had sustained us throughout the trip began to wear off, leaving exhaustion in its wake, and no one seemed to feel it more than Kalo.
The memory transfer had clearly taken a significant toll on him, even though he continued insisting otherwise every time someone asked.
During the drive home, he gradually leaned further and further against my side until I couldn’t be entirely sure he was still awake.
He did stir when we came to a stop in front of the pack house, and although I longed to gather him in my arms and carry him up the stairs, I had a feeling he wouldn’t appreciate it in front of the others, so I simply let him lean on me instead.
“You need a good night’s sleep,” I told him as we slowly climbed.
“I need a good month’s sleep,” he corrected, stifling a yawn. “You do too.”
“That’s not really biologically possible, but…”
His tired chuckle settled warmly in my chest. “Not literally, Leo.”
Once we reached my room, he stopped trying to pretend he didn’t need any help. With his eyes already closed, he let me take off his shoes and belt, and I settled him comfortably beneath the blankets before turning the light off.
For several minutes, I simply sat there next to him. Moonlight streamed through the windows, painting silver highlights across his bronze skin and illuminating the soft strands of hair that fell across his forehead.
I had never seen anything so beautiful.
Death had come for him, the natural order of the universe demanding his life, and yet somehow, he was still there. Still mine.
My fingers brushed lightly through his hair, gentle enough not to wake him up.
“Thank you,” I murmured quietly, to all our friends who had helped us, to the moon goddess for bringing us together in the first place, and simply to the universe itself. I didn’t know exactly who deserved my gratitude, but I had plenty of it to give.
Eventually, duty called, and I rose reluctantly from the bed and headed downstairs. Even bargaining with Death generated paperwork.
I had barely settled behind my desk when a knock sounded against the open office door and Felix appeared. “Thought you might be here. Couldn’t sleep?”
I gestured towards the folders spread across my unusually messy desk. “Work to do. What about you?”
Felix tossed himself into one of the chairs across from my desk without waiting for an invitation. “Too much adrenaline. Evalina went straight to sleep, so I came down instead of disturbing her by tossing and turning.”
“Good adrenaline or bad adrenaline?” I had to ask.
“A little from column A and a little from column B.”
I knew exactly what he meant, but before I could say so, Darius’ form filled the still-open doorway. “Is this the insomniacs meeting?”
“Shouldn’t you be with your mate?” Felix asked.
Darius grimaced as he stepped inside. “She’s sleeping, and it’s… hard… to be around her when I can’t touch her.”
Felix’s eyebrows rose as his gaze dropped to Darius’ crotch. “I bet it is.”
Darius’ growl only made him laugh.
A throat cleared from the doorway, and I could just make out Vaughan and Calista standing in the darkened hallway.
Vaughan took one look around the room and immediately came to the same conclusion I already had: none of us was getting any sleep anytime soon.
“Let’s move to the boardroom where we can talk properly.”
A few minutes later, we had a video call on the large screen from the Ravenstone pack house.
Alpha Amanda wore a silky, expensive-looking pair of pajamas, while Savannah had thrown on some sweatpants and a hoodie when she’d been summoned from her bed, her hair collected into a loose, messy ponytail.
Amanda studied our collective expressions and immediately frowned. “Your message said you managed to save Kalo from Death, so why do you all look like someone died anyway?”
Vaughan took the lead, filling them in on what had happened since the last time we spoke and they sent us the iron for the reaper trap.
Savannah interrupted regularly with questions while Amanda listened thoughtfully, and it took more than an hour until we finally reached the crux of the story, with Death releasing Visenya and accepting Tarron’s heart instead of claiming me or Kalo.
But it was Death’s cryptic warning just before he disappeared that became the ultimate focus of the conversation. Amanda’s expression grew more pinched with each word as Vaughan faithfully relayed the conversation.
“He specifically said something is coming?” she asked.
“He did,” Vaughan confirmed. “Those were his exact words. He said the dead are restless, something is coming, and he expects to see us again.”
Savannah leaned towards the camera. “So, you think you’re going to need backup?”
“Yes,” Vaughan said frankly, “but I also think you may be targets as well. For months now, every new mating within both of our packs’ leadership teams has been accompanied by some kind of unusual, supernatural event. Spirits, fairies, reapers, genies…”
“Not all of them,” Savannah pointed out. “There was nothing supernatural about me and Jasper.”
Amanda raised her eyebrows in disbelief. “Jasper’s personality was literally split in two.”
“But that was because of science,” Savannah argued. “Not magic.”
“It’s a fine line between the two sometimes,” Calista pointed out. “Either way, it was still very unusual.”
“It might be just our pack,” Vaughan suggested.
“After all, Savannah came from here, and although Kalo played a part in bringing Amanda and Troy together, he’s ultimately Leo’s mate.
So maybe Ravenstone is just collaterally affected rather than the ultimate target, but I’d rather play it safe by keeping you fully in the loop. ”
“I appreciate that,” Amanda assured him. “How do we proceed?”
“We need contingency plans. Immediately.” The Alpha’s gaze swept around the table, and no one disagreed. “If something is coming, we can't afford to wait until it arrives before deciding how to respond. I want a dedicated task force examining every possible threat and scenario.”
Everyone at the table glanced over in my direction even before Vaughan said the words.
“Leo, I’d like you to lead it.”
No time for a honeymoon with my new mate, then. “Of course, Alpha.”
Already, a list began to write itself inside my head.
Felix and Evalina could compile everything they knew about different species we hadn’t encountered yet, from either realm, and what we might need to protect ourselves against them.
Calista could check her hunter networks for any rumblings of trouble.
Darius and his team could reinforce the borders with every kind of anti-magic deterrent we could find.
“I can be the main Ravenstone liaison,” Savannah offered. “I’ll coordinate with you, Leo, and manage things on this end.”
“I’ll have a division of responsibilities and some initial tasks for everyone by noon tomorrow.”
“Sounds good. We’ll be in touch.” Amanda’s eyes glazed over for a second as someone mind-linked her, and her cheeks coloured before she reached for the button to disconnect the call. “Good night.”
I had a feeling her new mate had been calling her back to bed, and at the thought of Kalo upstairs, I started to think that maybe my work could wait for the morning too.
As the room began to clear, however, Darius caught my eye. “Do you have a minute, Leo?”
“Sure.”
The others all filed out, wishing us goodnight, and when we were alone, Darius leaned back in his chair with a sigh.
“What is it?” I asked when he didn’t immediately speak.
“It’s Visenya.”
I might have guessed. “What about her?”
“She and Kalo have a similar history. They both gave up their mortal lives and were bound by magic to a job they didn’t want to do.”
That was exactly why Kalo had connected with her when the rest of us initially failed. “And?”
He dragged a hand down his face. “And now she’s starting over, in a completely new place with nothing familiar, and I want to make her feel safe and welcome and… fuck. How did you do it? How did you win Kalo over?”
That was a loaded question, and one I couldn’t begin to answer in just a few sentences.
But as I thought about it, one thing came to mind. “Have you considered a life-or-death crisis to bring you closer together?”
Darius stared at me for several silent seconds until his eyes narrowed. “Is that a joke?”
My lips twitched. “Maybe.”
“You made a joke.”
He didn’t need to sound quite so surprised. “I have made jokes before.”
“Not very often,” he pointed out. “I think it’s Kalo’s influence.”
I couldn’t be entirely sure he was wrong.
“It’s strange, isn’t it?” he asked.
“What is?”
“A few months ago, Vaughan was preparing to take a contracted mate and the rest of us were single. Evalina lived in another realm, Kalo was trapped inside a necklace, and Visenya was collecting souls. Now, we’ve all found our mates and apparently, there’s some kind of apocalypse coming.”
“Well, when you put it that way, it sounds kind of insane.”
Darius snorted. “It is insane. That was my point, Leo.”
With another sigh, he pushed himself to his feet.
“I should get back to Visenya. Is it creepy to sit in her room all night while she sleeps and make sure she’s safe?”
I’d done exactly the same thing the night after Kalo almost died. “I’m not sure I’m the best person to ask.”
He nodded and turned to go, but I opened my mouth once more before he reached the door.
“The best advice I can give you is not to overthink it. Kalo didn’t come around because of any grand gesture. Every day, I just tried to give him another reason to stay, and eventually, those reasons became enough. Just be there for her and she’ll see the man that you are.”
Darius nodded slowly as he considered that. “I’ll try. Thanks.”
Left alone, I debated going back to my office to tackle the paperwork that still needed my attention, but ultimately headed for the stairs instead.
When I reached my room, Kalo hadn’t moved.
He was still curled beneath the blankets exactly where I'd left him, sleeping so deeply that he didn't stir when I slipped into bed beside him.
The moment I settled against the mattress, though, he instinctively rolled towards me and tucked himself against my side.
There might be more danger ahead, but for that moment at least, we’d won. My mate was alive, right there beside me, and I was going to do my best to enjoy it for as long as it lasted.