Chapter 25
Lena
It’s been six months since Declan almost took a bullet for me.
Six months since Wesley burst through the back door like some avenging angel and saved us both.
It still feels unreal sometimes. Like my brain hasn't fully caught up with how close I came to losing everything. To losing him. And yet, here we are alive, in love, and somehow stronger than ever.
Declan begged for my forgiveness in the days that followed, even though it wasn’t necessary.
I saw it in his eyes, in every single thing he did afterward.
The way he hovered protectively without suffocating me, how he held me through the nightmares without saying a word, how he looked at me like I was his entire world.
That kind of love it doesn’t need apologies.
But God, it still meant everything to hear him say it.
All the doubts I once had about how he felt, the secrecy, the hesitation, vanished the second he offered to take my place, willing to die just to make sure I walked out of that house alive. That’s the kind of love you don’t question. That’s the kind of love you fight for.
Wesley? Now that was a tougher road. My brother is a stubborn, overprotective, emotionally constipated jackass but he’s my jackass.
It took time, and more than a few heated conversations, but even he couldn’t deny what was right in front of him.
Declan proved himself, not just to me, but to Wes.
Every moment since that day, he’s shown my brother that he’s not walking away.
That he’s in this for the long haul. That he’s my person.
Jeanne, in her usual blunt brilliance, told me the moment she saw the two of them nearly come to blows and then somehow find peace in the wreckage, she knew I’d be a damn fool not to take Declan back.
She visits often now, always carrying some ridiculous gossip or demanding Declan make her a drink.
She acts like she owns the place, but neither of us mind.
Because now this is home.
I moved in with Declan a few months ago. At first, I kept most of my stuff packed. Some kind of mental safety net in case it all went to hell. But now? My toothbrush is next to his. My books are on his shelves. Our lives are tangled together in the most chaotic, beautiful, wonderful way.
“Baby, you almost ready?” Declan’s voice carries from down the hall.
I smile and glance at myself in the mirror, smoothing my hands down the dress I picked just for tonight. It’s nothing fancy, but he’ll still look at me like I hung the damn moon.
“Almost!” I call back, grabbing my lip gloss and giving my reflection one last glance.
We’re heading to Twisted Souls tonight. Zane and Harper from the Vegas charter are coming for a visit, and it’s a big deal. Everyone’s buzzing with excitement and nerves, especially because this is the first time we’ve hosted anyone from Shattered Souls in years.
I walk into the living room and find Declan waiting for me, leaning casually against the doorway, his dark eyes immediately sweeping over me.
“Damn,” he says, low and reverent. “You tryin’ to kill me before we even leave the house?”
I laugh as he crosses the space between us, pulling me into him by the waist. “You clean up nice, too,” I murmur, tracing the leather of his cut.
He lowers his head, brushing his nose against mine. “I don’t tell you enough, but you being here, living with me, every single day I wake up next to you, it feels like I’ve won the fucking lottery.”
Tears prick the back of my eyes as I lean into his touch. “I feel it too, you know. All of it. The chaos, the joy, the ridiculous little arguments over toothpaste caps and laundry. It's mine. You’re mine.”
He kisses me softly, deeply, like we have all the time in the world, and I melt into him like I always do.
“I love you,” I whisper against his lips.
“I love you more,” he says, his voice thick with emotion.
Life has changed in every way possible. I’ve been to a few fights now.
Sat ringside with my man while he cheered on the brutal fights, sometimes getting into some of his own with people watching.
He’d knocked them out and then came to kiss me with bloody knuckles and stars in his eyes.
He’s let me all the way in. No more secrets. No more walls.
It’s messy sometimes. Loud. Wild. But it’s real. It’s ours. And I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
As we step out into the night, hand in hand, I take one last look at the house behind us, the home we’ve built, the life we’re still creating.
Six months ago, everything almost ended.
Tonight, everything feels like it’s just beginning.