Chapter 19
DONOVAN
Declan and I moved soundlessly through the forest, our footsteps muffled by the damp earth. The meeting place Finn had provided lay ahead. A secluded clearing deep in the woods.
It felt surreal to be here, chasing the ghost of a brother I thought long dead.
I wasn’t even sure if it was Finn who had sent the email. I had combed over every word, searched for anything that might tip me off, but nothing had felt off about it.
And yet, the doubt lingered.
Still, if I had chosen not to come, I would regret it for the rest of my life.
Beside me, Declan reached out, squeezing my hand once before letting go, a silent reassurance.
“We’ll be fine,” he murmured, his voice low but steady. “We scoped out the area. That’s why we got here an hour early. If we sense something’s wrong—”
“We bolt,” I finished, my voice just as quiet.
Declan nodded, the confirmation grounding me. We had contingencies in place, escape routes mapped out. Even if this was a trap, we wouldn’t go down easily.
The trees thinned as we approached the clearing.
The first thing I noticed was the old cabin, weathered and forgotten by time. Then my stomach clenched as I saw the smoke curling from the chimney.
Someone was here.
I tensed. Next to me, Declan was already reaching for his weapons, his entire body coiled like a predator ready to strike. A shadow moved near the cabin door.
“Peace,” a voice called out, deep but calm.
I froze. A man emerged into the clearing, golden-haired and green-eyed, his features familiar yet wrong in a way that sent a jolt through me.
For a second, my mind couldn’t reconcile what I was seeing.
“Declan, wait,” I said quickly, recognition crashing over me. “Gabriel?”
The vampire gave a small nod, his gaze sharp as it flicked between us.
Then another figure stepped out from behind him, moving forward with a kind of quiet confidence I remembered too well.
Finn.
My throat closed up. His dark hair was a little longer, and there was something new in his expression. A sense of peace, of belonging, that hadn’t been there before.
He looked different, yet so achingly familiar that my chest ached. Before I could speak, Finn moved, slipping past Gabriel and walking straight toward me.
Then he threw his arms around me. I staggered back a step but caught him, my arms coming up to grip him tightly.
Finn clung to me like he had once thought he’d never get the chance to again, and maybe I had thought the same.
“You’re alive,” I rasped, my voice breaking.
Finn let out a choked sound, somewhere between a laugh and a sob. “So are you.”
I held onto him a second longer, feeling the warmth of his body, the solid proof that this wasn’t some dream I was about to wake up from. Then, slowly, we pulled apart.
Declan, beside me, had relaxed slightly, but his stance remained wary, his sharp gaze still assessing Gabriel.
Gabriel’s head tilted, his expression shifting. “We have additional company.”
Finn and I turned just in time to see two figures emerging from the tree line.
My stomach dropped.
Asher.
And beside him stood Gael. A chill ran through me.
Declan went rigid. Gabriel stiffened. Before I could even process what was happening, both of them had weapons drawn.
“We’re not here to fight or cause trouble,” Asher said quickly, raising his hands in a placating gesture.
I barely heard him. I was still staring.
My brother. My older brother.
He looked… different. His face was still Asher’s, but there was something off. His skin was paler, his eyes sharper, his movements too fluid, too unnatural.
Like his body hadn’t quite settled into itself yet.
He wasn’t human anymore.
“Asher, you’re…” My voice cracked.
“He’s a vampire,” Declan confirmed, his voice hard as steel. His weapons stayed firmly aimed at Gael.
Asher let out a breath. “Gael changed me to save me.”
The tension in the clearing thickened instantly.
Declan’s glare darkened, his whole body radiating barely contained fury. Beside him, Gabriel’s lip curled, looking equally unimpressed.
And Gael? Gael just smirked.
He didn’t seem the least bit concerned that two very capable fighters were seconds away from trying to kill him.
If anything, he looked amused. Relaxed. Like this whole situation was a joke to him.
I disliked him immediately.
But Asher… Asher was alive. Changed. Different. But alive.
And if Gael was the one who had made that happen, then… what could I really do about it?
“We have a lot to talk about,” Finn said, breaking the thick silence that hung between us.
I exhaled slowly, nodding. “We do.”
My gaze flickered back to the cabin, its warm glow spilling out. The fire inside crackled softly, promising comfort after the long, cold night.
“Shall we?” I asked.
Finn’s mouth curved into a small smile. “I already started a fire.”
And for the first time in years, standing among my brothers, I felt like I was coming home.
The cabin door creaked open as we stepped inside, the warmth of the flickering fire greeting us after the bitter cold outside.
Behind us, we left our vampire mates standing in the dark. No doubt, they were still too wary of each other to step into a shared space without it ending in bloodshed.
I glanced back over my shoulder.
Declan’s body was rigid with tension, his dark eyes locked onto Gael like he was waiting for the perfect excuse to drive a knife through his chest.
Gabriel stood just as stiffly beside him, radiating his own brand of barely restrained hostility.
Finn, always the one to ease tension with humor, flashed me a grin. “I hope they don’t kill each other.”
I snorted, shaking my head. “Fat chance. Declan still sees Gael as the enemy.”
Finn chuckled, crossing his arms. “Gabriel might beat Declan to it first.”
“It’ll be fine.” Asher’s voice was steady, unbothered. “Our mates will behave.”
I let out a quiet laugh. “You sure about that?”
He smirked. “No. But I like to pretend.”
I sighed, rolling my shoulders before turning back toward the warmth of the cabin. “Our mates know how to keep it together when it counts.”
Finn hummed in agreement as Asher took charge, gesturing toward the worn leather couches in the corner.
“Sit,” Asher commanded, his tone leaving no room for argument.
I raised an eyebrow, smirking as I sank into the couch. “Bossy as ever.”
Finn, of course, jumped on the opportunity. “Yeah, but I wonder, does he boss Gael around too? Or is it the other way around?”
Asher shot him a look, the kind of look that used to make us shut up when we were kids.
But now? I could see the amusement flickering just beneath his stern expression.
Asher was enjoying this, and I found myself enjoying it too.
We all settled in, the firelight casting long, flickering shadows on the wooden walls. The air smelled of aged pine and old books, the scent of home even after all these years.
And we talked.
For hours, we talked.
We shared everything. The battles we had fought, the losses we had suffered, the choices we had made that led us to this moment.
Finn told us about his life after leaving the Guild, about Gabriel, about the impossible decisions he had been forced to make.
Asher filled in the gaps of his own story, of how Gael had turned him, of what came after. I told them about the village, about the sparrow shifters, about Declan.
By the time we finally ran out of words, the fire had burned low, its embers glowing soft and red in the dim cabin. Only a few hours remained before sunrise.
I exhaled, leaning back against the couch. “We’ll stay in contact,” I promised, my gaze moving between them.
Finn nodded. “No matter what.”
Asher’s lips quirked. “You’re not getting rid of us that easily.”
Eventually, they left.
The cabin door clicked shut behind them, leaving only the sound of the crackling embers and the faint wind outside.
I didn’t move. Didn’t get up from the couch.
I felt drained, in a way I hadn’t felt in a long time. But for once, it wasn’t exhaustion born from fear or survival. It was something else.
A kind of weight that had lifted. A kind of peace I wasn’t used to.
The sound of footsteps pulled me from my thoughts.
Declan.
He stepped inside, his gaze immediately finding mine.
His expression softened as he took me in. The way I had all but melted into the couch, the way my body had finally relaxed for the first time in a long time.
“You alright?” he asked, his voice low, rough around the edges.
I smiled. A real smile.
“Never better,” I murmured, reaching for him.
He didn’t hesitate.
Declan crossed the room in two strides, sinking down onto the couch beside me. I pulled him in, wrapping my arms around him, breathing him in.
His body was cool, solid, familiar.
For the first time in a long time, I was happy.
Not just relieved. Not just safe. Not just surviving.
Truly, bone-deep happy.
The kind of happiness that settled in my chest like a steady heartbeat, warm and solid, something I never thought I’d have again.
I pulled Declan closer, my fingers threading through his hair, feeling the way his cool body pressed against mine.
His hands roamed over my back, slow and deliberate, as if memorizing me all over again.
I shivered under his touch, not from the cold but from the way my body responded to him so effortlessly.
I tilted my head, pressing my forehead against his, breathing him in.
His scent was familiar now. Something uniquely him beneath the traces of pine and firewood from the cabin.
I swallowed, my heart hammering in my chest as I murmured, “I love you, Declan.”
He stilled for half a second, then his grip on me tightened.
His lips brushed against mine, just barely, a whisper of contact before he pulled back just enough to look me in the eyes.
His gaze burned.
Not with hunger, not with possession, with something deeper.
“Love you, too, Donovan,” he murmured, voice rough, wanting.
And then he kissed me.
It was slow at first, soft, reverent. His lips moved against mine like he had all the time in the world, like this moment, this feeling, was something he never wanted to rush.
I sighed into him, my hands trailing down his back, gripping the fabric of his shirt like I could somehow pull him closer, closer.
But then Declan deepened the kiss, and my world tilted.
His cool fingers slid beneath my shirt, tracing the bare skin of my waist, sending a shiver up my spine.
I gasped against his mouth, and he swallowed the sound, pressing me back against the couch until there was nothing between us but the layers of clothes we both suddenly wanted gone.
He kissed me like he still couldn’t have enough.
I arched into him, his name slipping from my lips in a breathless whisper, and the sound made something dark flicker in his eyes.
He smirked. “What was that?”
I rolled my eyes, but before I could snap back, he leaned in and nipped at my lower lip, making me groan.
Smug bastard.
I pulled him down to me again, sealing my mouth to his, showing him exactly how much I meant it.
And Declan, to his credit, got the message loud and clear.
THE END