Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Sierra
It’s been three days.
Three days of silence. Three days of staring at my phone, willing it to ring, and hating myself for it.
I expected flowers. I expected Cole to show up with a boombox, or Jalen to leave baked goods on my doorstep. I expected the relentless pursuit they’re known for.
Instead? Radio silence.
I’m sitting at my desk, trying to focus on the mood board for the Traynor event, when the front door of my office chimes.
My receptionist buzzes my intercom.
“Sierra? The Knightley Pack is here.” Her voice drops to a whisper. “All of them. Should I call security?”
My heart hammers against my ribs. “No. Send them back.”
I stand up, smoothing my skirt, trying to look like the CEO I am and not the omega who has been sleeping in a nest of scented blankets and Cole’s stolen shirt for three nights.
The door opens.
They file in. They look terrible.
Dax has dark circles under his eyes. Cole’s usual easy grin is gone. Jalen looks like he hasn’t slept in a week, and even Malik’s perfect suit looks a little rumpled.
They don’t rush me. They don’t try to scent me. They stand on the other side of my desk like they’re facing a firing squad.
Malik steps forward. He’s holding a thick file folder. He places it on my desk.
“What is this?” I ask.
“The Sterling wedding,” Malik says.
I freeze. My white whale. The contract they stole. The one that hurt the most.
“We resigned,” Dax says, his voice gravelly. “This morning. We told the Sterling pack that, due to unforeseen scheduling conflicts, we couldn’t give their event the attention it deserved. And we strongly recommended they hire the only planner in the city capable of executing their original vision.”
I stare at the folder. “You... you fired the Sterling pack?”
“We transferred the contract,” Malik corrects. “We already spoke to their lawyers. We returned the deposit. We also transferred the venue hold to your name. And we covered the cancellation fees.”
“Why?” I whisper. “That contract is worth six figures.”
“Because it was yours,” Jalen says quietly. “We didn’t win it because we had a better idea. We won it because we used our size to bully the vendors into exclusivity. It was a dirty win.”
Cole steps up, and he looks unusually serious.
“We also sent an email to the sweet shop, the florist, and the lighting tech we poached. We released them from their exclusivity clauses with us. They’re free to work with you again.
In fact, we offered to subsidize their rates if they signed with you. ”
I look from the folder to their faces. This isn’t flowers. This isn’t chocolate.
This is bleeding.
They are professionally bleeding for me. They are dismantling the advantages they spent years building, just to level the playing field.
“You’re giving up the biggest wedding of the season,” I say, my voice trembling. “To me.”
“We don’t want to be your competition, Sierra,” Dax says. “We never wanted to crush you. We were intimidated by you. You did more with nothing than we did with everything, and it scared the shit out of us.”
“We want to be your partners,” Malik says. “But until then, we want to be your equals. No more bullying. No more poaching. If you win, we want it to be because you’re the best. And we know you are.”
Tears prick my eyes, but these aren’t heat tears. These are tears of relief. Of validation.
They see me. They respect me.
“Is that enough?” Jalen asks, his voice cracking. “To prove we’re serious? Because if not, we’ll stop the business. We’ll close it down. Just tell us what to do.”
I look at the file. Then I look at them.
The wall I put up in the parking lot crumbles.
“You don’t have to stop doing business,” I say, a small smile tugging at my lips. I walk around the desk. The moment I move, the tension in the room snaps.
“You gave me back my wedding,” I say, stopping in front of Dax.
“It was always your wedding,” he rumbles. “We were just holding it hostage.”
“I missed you,” I admit.
That’s all it takes.
Dax closes the distance, wrapping his arms around me and burying his face in my neck. The others collapse around us, a tangle of limbs and desperate scents. It smells like apology and relief and home.
“I’m keeping my apartment,” I say into Dax’s chest.
He stiffens. “Sierra—”
“For now,” I clarify. “I’m keeping my apartment until the lease is up. I need to know I have a place that’s mine. But...” I look up at Malik. “I suppose I can spend most nights at the house. If the offer still stands.”
“The offer stands forever,” Malik says, pressing a kiss to my temple.
“And about the business,” I say, looking at the Sterling file. “I’m taking this contract. I’m going to crush it. And you four are going to watch me do it.”
Cole grins, and the light finally comes back into his eyes. “We’ll be the ones cheering the loudest.”
“But,” I add, “maybe for the Traynor event... we could collaborate? As a test run?”
Jalen’s eyes light up. “A test run?”
“Smith and Knightley,” I test the words. “If we don’t kill each other working together on one event, we can talk about a merger.”
Dax kisses me, hard and possessive. “Deal.”
I look at my office. Three years of independence. Of building something entirely my own. Of proving I could make it without a pack, without family, without anyone but myself.
Then, I look back at them.
Four alphas who’ve shown me what it could be like to not do it alone. Who’ve taken care of me, protected me, made me laugh, made me feel safe and wanted and cherished.
Who just confessed they’re in love with me.
Who are looking at me like I hung the moon.
My omega has no doubts. She’s been purring since they walked into the room, thrilled at the idea of going home with our pack, our alphas.
And for once, my logical brain isn’t arguing.
“Okay,” I whisper.
“Okay?” Dax’s eyes search mine like he can’t quite believe it.
“Take me home.”
The words have barely left my mouth before Dax pulls me against his chest with a sound that might be relief or triumph or both.
Malik’s hand finds my back, steadying. Cole’s laughing, and Jalen’s arms wrap around all of us, creating a bubble of pack scent and safety right there in the middle of my office.
“Thank fuck,” Dax mutters against my hair. “Because I was fully prepared to kidnap you if necessary.”
I laugh through my tears. “That would have been very illegal.”
“Would have been worth it.”
“Very romantic though,” Cole adds. “Sweep you off your feet, carry you to our lair—”
“Your lair?” I pull back enough to look at him, eyebrows raised.
“Our den? Our home? Whatever you want to call it.” He grins. “Point is, you’re coming with us, and I’m so fucking happy I could burst.”
“We all are,” Jalen says softly, and when I meet his eyes, I see they’re wet too. “You have no idea how scared I was that you’d say no.”
“I was terrified you wouldn’t come back,” I admit.
“Of course we did,” Cole says like it’s obvious. “Did you really think we’d just let you go? After everything?”
“I didn’t know what to think,” I confess. “Three days felt like goodbye.”
“That was us being idiots,” Malik says. “We seem to do that a lot when it comes to you.”
“You do,” I agree, but I’m smiling now, the tears finally slowing. “You really do.”
“So we’ll work on that,” Dax says. “Starting now. Starting with taking you home and showing you exactly what you mean to us.”
The promise in his voice makes me shiver.
“I should probably grab a few things,” I say reluctantly. “From my apartment. Just enough for tonight.”
“We’ll come with you,” Jalen offers.
“All of you?”
“All of us,” Cole confirms. “We’re pack now, right? We do things together.”
Pack.
The word settles over me like a warm blanket. After years of being alone, I have a pack.
Cole takes my hand, threading his fingers through mine. Jalen’s arm settles around my shoulders. I’m surrounded by pack scent and pack presence, and my omega is practically purring with contentment.
This is right.
This is home.
Even before I see where we’re going, I know it’s home.
Because home isn’t a place.
It’s them.