Chapter 38 Kit
Kit
The log chalet felt like living in a Christmas card—all warm honey-coloured wood and flickering firelight, with snow pelting the windows in thick sheets. The storm had been building for hours, turning the world beyond the glass into a white void.
I still couldn’t quite believe we were here.
Seb had somehow hired two coaches to meet us on the main road. Don’t ask me how he managed it from the side of a bloody mountain in the middle of the night—the man operated on a level I’d stopped questioning years ago.
The coach drivers had kicked off a proper fuss in German when they saw what we wanted to bring aboard.
Apparently Seb hadn’t actually mentioned they’d be picking up a hundred animals, not humans.
Took a large sum of money being instantly transferred into their bank accounts for them to finally agree to the modified passenger manifest.
While we drove, I very slowly worked my way through the wolves, one at a time.
Encouraging them to shift back wasn’t like flicking a switch—these weren’t pack wolves who knew me, trusted me.
They were broken things, fragments of people who’d been carved apart and stitched back together by Greywatch’s bloody experiments.
The first few were the worst. A young woman, maybe twenty-five, who’d shifted back screaming, clawing at her own skin like she was trying to tear something out from under it.
Rory had wrapped her in a blanket whilst Isla murmured soft words.
Another man—older, scarred—had come back speaking only Russian, his eyes vacant as windows in an abandoned house.
Each shift took everything I had. The effort of reaching into their fractured minds, finding the human thread amongst all that synthetic wolf programming, left me shaking. Felix pressed water bottles into my hands, steadied me when the exhaustion made my legs wobble.
Some fought the change. Others seemed grateful for it, collapsing into tears the moment they remembered their own names. By the final wolf, I was operating on fumes and stubbornness alone.
But I’d done it. We’d done it. We’d got them out.
All of them. Every single wolf Greywatch had broken and twisted into weapons.
They were free now. Something in my chest—some weight I’d been carrying since Pakistan, since Cara died in my arms with Greywatch’s lies still ringing in our ears—finally loosened.
I did it, Cara. Rest easy now.
We reached Saas-Almagell just before dawn with a hundred humans crammed into two coaches, lots of them wrapped in emergency blankets, all of them traumatised beyond measure.
Equally, the coach drivers had gone pale and quiet.
Thankfully, Felix had disabled their internal CCTV, because otherwise they’d have quite the story to tell.
Saas-Almagell, a remote valley tucked near the Italian border, felt like the edge of the world.
Seb, being Seb, had commandeered an entire ski resort that was closed for renovations, scattering our shifters across the luxury chalets in small groups while we rested and regrouped.
Dr Hartwell, who’d helped us after Scotland, was already on a plane to us, to see about removing each wolf’s chip before we got them home.
I sat curled against Felix on a small sofa near the fire, my arm wrapped around him.
I’d started the evening maintaining a respectful distance—unsure if he wanted me draped all over him in front of the others—but he’d immediately collapsed into me, his head finding the hollow of my shoulder like it belonged there.
Across from us, Theo occupied the single armchair with Rory curled on his lap like an oversized cat, head tucked against Theo’s chest. Rory had been asleep for the past hour, exhausted from our mountain adventure, but Theo’s hands never stopped stroking his hair—as if he needed constant proof that Rory was actually there and breathing.
Priya and Flynn were sprawled across a rug in front of the fireplace, sharing a thermos of something that definitely wasn’t hot chocolate, based on the way Flynn kept giggling.
“I still can’t believe you two disobeyed direct orders,” Seb snapped from his position by the window, arms folded as he glared at the storm. “You were supposed to stay put in London.”
“And miss all the fun?” Priya grinned, not looking remotely apologetic. “The chalets have hot tubs, Seb. Hot tubs. When was the last time any of us had a proper holiday?”
“This isn’t a holiday!” Seb’s voice cracked with exasperation. “I can’t believe you left the hotel completely unguarded. It’s like nobody listens to me at all!”
“Dolly’s looking after things,” Flynn offered helpfully, which only made Seb’s expression turn more thunderous. “Just be glad we didn’t bring Freddy along.”
I took a sip of my hot chocolate—thankfully, our kitchen had been well stocked—and relished the feel of Felix’s thumb tracing gentle circles on my wrist. The simple touch sent warmth flooding through me, chasing away the last of the mountain cold.
“So, how exactly did they snatch you, Kit?” Priya asked.
I rubbed my beard—the stubble had grown out during my short captivity.
The whole ordeal felt like a lifetime, even though it had only been days.
“I got off at Arnos Grove,” I said, staring into the fire.
“There was no sign of that vampire I was meant to meet—better follow up with that when we get back. Anyway, I walked all the way down the platform to find him.”
The platform had been eerily quiet that night, the train rumbling away into the darkness. Just me and the fluorescent lights buzzing overhead like trapped insects.
“Then I heard something from the tunnel—almost like someone in distress? But not quite. A strange sound. So I went to check.” I shook my head, disgust at my own stupidity rising in my throat.
I should have backed away. Should have done anything except step closer into that black mouth.
Instead, I’d moved forward, squinting into the void.
“Should’ve known it was a trap. Next thing I knew, there was something behind me, and I was being hit on the back of the head. Probably drugged shortly after that.”
Flynn made a sympathetic noise from his spot on the rug. “That’s rough, mate. Could’ve happened to anyone.”
“No, it bloody well couldn’t have.” I shook my head, jaw clenching. “I’m supposed to be better than that. All that military training, five years working for Killigrew Street, and I walk straight into the most obvious trap in the book because I heard someone crying for help.”
The fire crackled, sending shadows dancing across the wooden walls. Felix shifted against me, and I felt rather than saw his frown.
“You shouldn’t beat yourself up for wanting to help someone. That’s… that’s what makes you good at this job,” he said. “But at least ask me which stations have CCTV next time,” he added, mumbling into my shoulder.
“Has White replied to your last message?” I asked Seb.
Seb turned from the window, his expression grim. “Not yet.”
“And you really think it was her that embedded my location for Felix to find?”
Felix tensed beside me, and I ran my hand down his arm in reassurance.
Seb was quiet for a long moment, his gaze drifting to the fire. “I believe so. When I rang her to tell her what Felix had found, she didn’t explicitly admit to it.”
“But?” I pressed.
“But she certainly didn’t sound particularly surprised.”
“Maybe it was the only way for her to safely help us,” Theo said quietly, his dark fingers threading through Rory’s golden hair. “But it’s good to know she does have our back.”
Seb huffed, a sound somewhere between agreement and frustration.
Tomorrow—well, later today after we’d all properly slept—I’d have to sit down with Rory, thank him properly for what he’d done.
My throat tightened at the memory of being on that operating table, scalpel in my neck, and him bursting through that door, rifle blazing, ready to tear apart anyone who’d hurt me.
Seb’s gaze suddenly snapped to Felix, whose breath hitched.
“Felix—”
“I’m sorry!” Felix blurted out, clinging onto me impossibly tight. “Please don’t fire me!”
Seb blinked. “Fire you?”
“For running off to Switzerland without your permission. Rory might have followed me, but it was all my idea.”
“Yes, well,” Seb snapped, his glare sweeping over Flynn and Priya, who were still passing their flask between them with conspiratorial grins.
“It appears my orders are more like guidelines anyway.” His voice lost some of its sharp edge.
“I’m glad you did it. And I want you to know, Kit, that my hesitation in not immediately coming here…
” He trailed off, mouth pressing into a grim line.
“Sebastián,” I said, meeting his gaze, “it’s okay. I understand completely.”
Because I did. It was Seb’s job to protect all of them, all of us, and it would have killed him inside to do nothing while also knowing that rushing in blind could get everyone slaughtered.
Seb nodded, relief flickering across his face.
Theo pressed a gentle kiss into Rory’s hair as he stirred slightly in his sleep, mumbling something unintelligible before settling deeper into Theo’s chest.
When were the others going to leave our chalet to return to theirs? I was beyond grateful to see them all, but I quite wanted Felix alone. To talk to him properly. To lay him down by that rug Priya and Flynn were currently occupying and show him exactly how—
Theo suddenly cleared his throat, making eye contact with me.
Fuck. He’d read my mind.
“We should all get some proper sleep,” Theo said diplomatically, shifting Rory more securely in his arms.
“But the fire’s so lovely!” Priya protested, gesturing dramatically with the flask. “And my chalet is miles away through all that snow!”
“Your chalet is fifty metres away,” Seb said dryly.
“That’s like fifty miles in a blizzard. We might get lost,” Flynn added solemnly, which sent Priya into another fit of giggles.
Theo and I exchanged a look. This could go on all night.
“Come on,” Theo said firmly, standing with Rory still cradled in his arms like he weighed nothing. “Everyone out. Kit needs rest.” He had the cheek to wink at us. “And so does Felix.”
“Fine, fine,” Priya huffed, allowing Flynn to haul her to her feet. “But if we freeze to death in the snow, it’s on your conscience.”
They bundled into their coats, still bickering about the weather and the injustice of being evicted from the warmest chalet.
Then they were gone, disappearing into the swirling white darkness, leaving me alone with Felix.
The sudden silence felt deafening after the chaos of voices and laughter. Just the crackle of the fire and the wind howling outside, wrapping us in perfect isolation.
Felix’s heartbeat spiked—sharp, rapid thuds—and I pulled him properly onto my lap, pressing my hand flat against his chest.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong.” His voice came out breathless, wonder threading through each word. “Everything’s… everything’s perfect.”
Felix slid off my lap with sudden purpose. The fire crackled behind us as he crossed to the corner of the room where he’d dumped his rucksack hours ago. “I have something for you,” he said, rummaging through the bag.
Like some sort of magic trick, he pulled out a small terracotta pot, cradling it like precious cargo. The plant inside was impossibly delicate—heart-shaped leaves gleaming with distinctive pink streaks against dark green in the firelight.
“It’s a Philodendron Pink Princess,” Felix said, approaching me with shy steps. His cheeks had gone pink to match the plant’s variegation. “For you. Some of her leaves might be slightly crushed.”
I stared at the offering in his hands, something warm and tight rapidly expanding within me.
“Felix…”
“She’s called Princess,” he added quickly, thrusting the pot towards me. “I think she’s going to be a diva.”
I turned the pot in my hands. Princess sat there looking regal and completely unbothered by her ordeal, pink streaks catching the light.
“Is she now?” I looked up at Felix’s anxious face. “And this was in your bag the whole time?”
“No, she was very sensibly hiding out in the safety of the Range Rover,” Felix said, wrapping his arms around himself.
“But still…” I shook my head in amazement. “You brought her here all the way from London?”
“A perfectly normal thing to do!” he blurted out.
“Aye, aye,” I said quickly, setting Princess carefully on the side table. “Of course it is. I love her. And she’s now officially my very favourite plant.”
Felix smiled at me. With teeth.
I patted my lap. “Now come back here.”
He obliged, settling back on me, and I cupped his face, thumbs stroking across his cheekbones.
“You were ridiculously brave today. And brilliant.” My voice thickened. “And absolutely stupid—but I’m so proud of you. So grateful you saved my life.”
Felix shook his head, eyes bright in the firelight. “You were amazing too. We couldn’t have saved those wolves without you.” His brow creased with worry. “I just… I hope you don’t feel like you’re missing out. On pack life, I mean. On being an alpha.”
“Missing out?” I pulled him closer, until there wasn’t a breath of space between us. “Felix, I don’t need any of that. I don’t want it. I’ve only got room in my heart for my true family. For you.”
His lips parted slightly at that, colour flooding his cheeks.
“Is your neck okay?”
My fingers found the closed wound. It was definitely still sore. “Shifting sorted that. Don’t you worry.”
He frowned, and I brought my lips to the crease across his forehead.
“I owe you my life,” I whispered against his skin. “I’ll spend the rest of eternity grateful for what you did.”
“You owe me nothing. It’s what…” Felix’s voice dropped. “What you would do for your soulmate.”
The last word came out so quietly I almost missed it. Almost.
“I heard what you said earlier.”
“Which part?” His blush deepened, spreading down his neck.
“The part where you said you love me. And… that other part where you said you wanted to bind yourself to me for life.” I searched his eyes, my wolf practically vibrating with hope and need. “But if you’ve changed your mind—”
“No!” It burst out of him with fierce intensity. “I meant it. I meant every word.”
“There’s still no rush,” I said carefully, even as my wolf howled in protest at the very suggestion of waiting. But did he really understand what he was giving me? Did he truly want to be mine forever?
“Yes, there is.” Felix’s hands fisted in my new shirt, pulling himself closer. “Because now I can feel it, too. The bond. And I feel… incomplete. Like I’m half broken. Like I need you. Need you to survive.” He looked directly into my eyes, pupils dilated. “Please, Kit. Please.”
The begging tone in his voice had a growl rumbling deep inside me, my canines aching to sink into the tender flesh of his throat right there by the fire.
“Felix,” I breathed into his ear. “My love. You know I could never deny you anything.”