Chapter 51
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
ASTER
The week passed in a blur of healing and preparation.
My ankle slowly regained strength, the swelling fading from angry purple to sickly yellow to almost normal.
The bruises on my face followed the same trajectory, the evidence of Easton's violence disappearing day by day until I could look in the mirror without flinching.
Nolan monitored my recovery with careful attention, checking vitals and range of motion and all the clinical markers of physical healing.
It was the other kind of healing that mattered more.
Every night, I fell asleep surrounded by my pack — sometimes in Reid's bed, sometimes in the nest we'd built in the living room, once in the stable with Hope nickering softly nearby.
Every morning, I woke to the smell of coffee and breakfast and four Alpha scents so tangled together they'd become one.
Every day, the echoes of Easton's voice grew fainter, drowned out by laughter and love and the simple, ordinary moments of life at Longhorn Ranch.
Now the week was over.
I stood in front of the mirror in my small room at the bunkhouse — my old room, the one I'd barely used since moving into the main house, but where I'd stored the projects I'd been working on in secret for months.
My hands trembled as I smoothed the fabric of my dress, a simple blue cotton sundress I'd picked up in town weeks ago.
Something clean and soft and new, for this day that would mark the beginning of everything.
The gifts were laid out on the bed behind me — four small pouches wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine, plus the larger bundle of the quilt I'd finally finished.
Pieces of my heart stitched into fabric.
I'd spent countless hours at Marley's shop working on these, hiding in the back room while she taught me techniques and corrected my uneven stitches, keeping the projects secret from everyone.
A knock at the door made me jump.
"Wildflower?" Kol's voice came through the wood, warm and eager, muffled but unmistakably his, that sunshine tone that always made me smile even when I couldn't see him. "You almost ready? Reid's about to wear a hole in the porch from pacing."
I laughed, the sound lighter than I'd expected, and gathered the packages into my arms. "Coming."
They were waiting for me on the porch when I stepped outside — all four of them, dressed in their best clothes, looking at me like I was the sunrise after a long dark night.
Reid in a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal his tanned forearms, his dark hair actually combed for once, his jaw freshly shaved.
Sawyer in black, as always, but a nicer black, pressed and clean, his scars stark against the dark fabric, his pale eyes tracking my every movement.
Nolan in a soft green shirt that matched his hazel eyes, his sandy hair falling across his forehead in those soft waves I loved to run my fingers through.
Kol in a yellow button-down that matched his sunshine scent, practically bouncing on his heels with barely contained excitement, his golden curls catching the afternoon light.
"You look beautiful." Reid's voice was rough, catching on the words like they weren't enough, his dark eyes traveling over me like he was committing every detail to memory, his hands flexing at his sides like he was fighting the urge to reach for me, his cedar scent flooding the air between us with something hungry and reverent. "Aster, you're..."
"Stunning." Nolan finished for him, his hazel eyes soft with wonder, his lips curved in that gentle smile that always made my heart flutter, his pine scent wrapping around me like a warm embrace. "Absolutely stunning."
"What's in the packages?" Kol was eyeing the bundles in my arms with undisguised curiosity, his golden eyes bright and wide, his whole body leaning toward me like a puppy straining at a leash, his sunshine scent spiking with excitement. "Are those presents? For us? What is it?"
"Kol." Sawyer's voice was dry, but there was a hint of amusement beneath the gravel, his pale eyes crinkling at the corners, his scarred arms crossed over his chest in that familiar stance. "Let her breathe."
"It's okay." I moved to the porch swing, settling onto the worn wood that creaked softly under my weight, arranging the packages in my lap with careful hands.
"I wanted to give you these first. While I can still think straight.
" A flush crept up my cheeks at the admission, at the knowledge of what was coming, what we were about to do, heat pooling low in my belly at the thought. "Sit with me?"
They arranged themselves around the swing — Reid on my left, his thigh warm against mine, his hand finding my knee like he couldn't bear not to touch me.
Sawyer on my right, his shoulder brushing mine, his earth and leather scent grounding me.
Nolan and Kol on the porch floor at my feet, both of them looking up at me with such open adoration that my throat went tight.
"I've been working on these for months." I picked up the first small package, the one with Reid's name written on the paper in my careful handwriting, the letters slightly uneven from how much my hands had shaken when I'd labeled them.
"At Marley's shop, in the back room when I told you all I was just visiting.
She taught me techniques, corrected my stitching.
" I ducked my head, suddenly shy, my hair falling forward to hide my burning cheeks.
"I wanted to make something for each of you. Something that meant something."
I handed the package to Reid, watching his large hands carefully unwrap the paper, his calloused fingers surprisingly gentle with the twine, his brow furrowing with concentration.
Inside was a small pouch, carefully stitched from soft leather and sturdy canvas, with a pattern of antlers embroidered across the front in thread the color of cedar bark.
"Antlers." My voice was small, suddenly uncertain, my fingers twisting in the fabric of my dress.
"For the pack Alpha. For the one who leads, who protects, who carries the weight of everyone on his shoulders.
" I swallowed hard. "It's just a pouch, for whatever you want to keep in it, but I thought. .."
Reid didn't say anything for a long moment.
He just stared at the pouch, his thumb tracing the antlers over and over, his jaw tight with emotion, his chest rising and falling with carefully controlled breaths.
When he finally looked up, his dark eyes were shimmering with unshed tears, his expression raw and open in a way I rarely saw from him.
"It's perfect." His voice was rough, cracked at the edges like something inside him was breaking open, his hand coming up to cup my face with a tenderness that made my heart ache.
"Aster, it's... no one's ever..." He couldn't finish, just pulled me against his side and pressed a kiss to my hair, his whole body trembling with something I recognized as love too big for words, his cedar scent wrapping around me like a promise.
I reached for the next package, handing it to Sawyer.
He unwrapped it with less ceremony than Reid, tearing the paper aside with impatient fingers, his pale eyes sharp with curiosity.
Inside lay another pouch, this one with a pattern of mountains embroidered in grays and deep purples, peaks rising across the fabric like the horizon.
"Mountains." I watched his face, trying to read his expression beneath the scars and the stoic mask he wore, suddenly worried I'd gotten it wrong.
"For strength. For someone who's solid and steady, who weathers every storm.
" I bit my lip. "For someone who came from hard places but didn't let them break him. "
He went very still, his scarred fingers tracing the embroidered peaks, something flickering behind his pale eyes that looked almost like pain.
Then he pulled me into a fierce kiss, his hand tangling in my hair, his lips hungry and grateful against mine, his earth and leather scent flooding my senses.
When he pulled back, his pale eyes were burning with an intensity that stole my breath, his jaw tight, his chest heaving.
"Mountains." His voice was gravel and smoke, rough with emotion he rarely let himself show. "Yeah. That's... yeah." He pressed his forehead to mine, breathing hard. "Thank you."
Nolan's package was next — another pouch, this one embroidered with delicate pine trees in shades of green, their branches reaching toward an unseen sky.
"Pine trees." I pointed to the careful stitching, my voice picking up speed with nervousness, remembering all the times I'd had to redo this one until the branches looked right.
"For healing. For someone who's always taking care of everyone else, who makes everything feel safe and calm.
" I met his hazel eyes. "For someone whose scent smells like coming home. "
Nolan took the pouch with trembling hands, his fingers tracing the pine trees with such gentleness, like he was afraid they might disappear if he touched them too hard. His hazel eyes were bright with unshed tears that caught the afternoon light.
"You made this." His voice was soft, wondering, almost reverent.
"You noticed... you paid attention to...
" He couldn't finish, just leaned forward and pressed his forehead to mine, his breath warm on my face, his pine scent wrapping around me like a blanket.
"Do you have any idea how much this means? How much you mean?"