Chapter 26 #2
“I know what it’s like to have someone who doesn’t want you to be happy,” Jasmine continued.
“I know what it’s like to be hunted by a woman who thinks she deserves your life.
And I want to help you because everyone deserves happiness, Lina.
Everyone deserves to be with the person they love without some angry, envious person trying to destroy them. ”
A tear slipped down my cheek. I wiped it away quickly, embarrassed by my own emotion.
“Thank you,” I managed. “I... thank you.”
“You’re not alone in this. Remember that.”
We talked for hours after that. About our lives.
Our experiences. The challenges of being luna, of leading a pack, of balancing our own needs with the needs of everyone around us.
Jasmine told me about her son, about watching him grow up without a father, about the guilt and the fear and the loneliness.
I told her about the twins, about Blake, about the fragmented pieces of my life I was still trying to put back together.
We laughed. We cried. We bonded over shared pain and shared hope.
By the time we looked up, the sun had set and the shop was closing. The sky outside had turned from blue to orange to deep purple, and the streetlights were flickering on.
“I should go,” Jasmine said, standing and stretching. “Ryder will be wondering where I am.”
“Same. Sarah is probably getting worried.”
We hugged at the door of the shop, a real hug, the kind you give to someone who has become a friend.
“Thank you for today,” I said. “I needed this more than I realized.”
“Any time.” She pulled back and smiled at me. “We lunas have to stick together.”
We parted ways outside, Jasmine heading toward the pack’s guest house and me toward Sarah’s. The guards fell into formation around me, silent shadows in the gathering darkness.
When I arrived at Sarah’s, the house was quiet.
Too quiet.
I felt a spike of panic before I noticed the guards at the door, calm and relaxed. Nothing was wrong. Everything was fine.
Sarah met me in the entryway, a finger pressed to her lips.
“They’re all asleep,” she whispered. “Played so hard today they wore themselves out. Passed out before dinner.”
I peeked into the living room and saw them. Rowan sprawled on the couch, one arm hanging off the edge. Thea curled up in an armchair, clutching a stuffed wolf that was almost as big as she was. And Blake in her bassinet, tiny and perfect, her chest rising and falling with each breath.
My heart swelled with love so intense it almost hurt.
“I should stay here tonight,” I said quietly. “If I try to move them now, they’ll wake up and it’ll be chaos.”
Sarah nodded. “I was hoping you’d say that. I’ve already made up the guest room.”
We had dinner together at her kitchen table. Soup and fresh bread and tea. Simple food, comforting food. Sarah told me stories about my childhood, about my parents, about the years after they died when it was just the two of us against the world.
Some of the stories I remembered. Some were completely new. All of them filled in pieces of the puzzle that was my life.
“I’m so grateful you’re here,” I said as we finished eating. “With us. In Ravenshollow. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
Sarah’s eyes went misty. “Oh, sweetheart.”
“I mean it. You’ve always been there for me.
When my parents died. When I was alone and scared and didn’t know how to keep going.
When I had the twins and was overwhelmed and exhausted.
” My voice cracked. “When I was in that coma for a month, you took care of my baby. You kept everything together while I was gone.”
“That’s what family does,” Sarah said simply.
“I know. But I want you to know how much it means to me. How much you mean to me. You’re not just my grandmother. You’re my mother. You’re the person who raised me, who shaped me, who made me who I am.”
Sarah stood up and pulled me into a hug, her thin arms surprisingly strong around me.
“I love you, sweet girl,” she murmured into my hair. “I am so proud of the woman you’ve become.”
We held each other for a long moment, both of us crying, both of us grateful for this connection that had survived everything life had thrown at us.
Finally, Sarah pulled back and wiped her eyes.
“Now,” she said firmly, “you need to go to bed. You’re still recovering, and you need your rest.”
“I’m completely fine.”
“I don’t care. Bed. Now.”
I knew better than to argue with that tone. Sarah might be elderly and barely five feet tall, but she had a will of iron.
I went to the guest room.
The bed was comfortable, the sheets soft, the pillow just the right firmness. I changed into the pajamas Sarah had left out for me and crawled under the covers, exhaustion settling into my bones.
I was just drifting off when I heard a commotion at the front door. Someone knocking loudly, then muffled voices as the door opened. Sarah’s tone was surprised but not alarmed, and then a lower voice joined hers, rougher, offering muted apologies that I couldn’t quite make out.
I relaxed. I knew that voice.
I lay back and waited, listening to the sound of heavy footsteps moving through the house, getting closer with each passing second until they stopped right outside my door.
The handle turned.
Knox stood in the doorway, his hair a mess, his eyes slightly wild. He was still wearing the clothes he had left in this morning, rumpled and dirty from what must have been hours of running and tracking. His chest was heaving, his jaw tight, his whole body radiating tension.
Then he saw me.
The tension drained out of him in a rush. His shoulders slumped. His eyes closed. A shaky breath escaped his lips.
He closed the door behind him and started stripping. Shirt. Pants. Socks. All of it tossed carelessly onto the floor until he was down to just his briefs. Then he was climbing into bed beside me, pulling me against his chest, burying his face in my neck.
“I got so fucking scared, Lina,” he growled against my skin. “Why don’t you answer my calls?”
“My phone died. I’m sorry.”
His arms tightened around me. “I came back to the house and it was empty. You weren’t there. The kids weren’t there. I thought...”
He didn’t finish the sentence. He didn’t need to.
“I’m sorry,” I said again. “We’re at Sarah’s. The kids fell asleep and I didn’t want to wake them.”
“I know. The guards told me.” He pressed a kiss to my shoulder. “But for those five minutes before I found out where you were, I nearly lost my mind.”
“What happened? Did you find anything?”
He told me. About tracking the package through the chain of unwitting human accomplices. About the little boy in Pine Valley who had seen the blonde woman with the baby. About the trackers who had picked up her scent and were currently following it through the forest.
“That’s good,” I said, surprised. “That’s really good. We have a trail.”
“We do. For the first time in months, we have an actual lead.” He paused. “But when I came back to tell you and found the house empty...”
“You panicked.”
“I panicked.” His voice dropped. “And then Noah told me he left you with Jasmine. That he walked away and left you unprotected.”
“I was in my own shop. With guards. With another luna who could probably kill a man with her bare hands.”
“I almost snapped his neck.”
I chuckled. “Don’t be harsh on Noah. He wanted to go with Cole. Cole needed him.”
“I know. I know.” Knox sighed, some of the tension finally leaving his body. “Luckily the guards knew exactly where you were. So I ran straight here.”
“Still panicked?”
“Still panicked.”
I turned in his arms so I could face him. His gray eyes were bloodshot, exhausted, but there was relief in them now. Relief and love and a fierce protectiveness that made my heart ache.
I reached up and touched his face. Traced the line of his jaw. Ran my fingers through his messy hair.
“I’m here,” I said softly. “With you. And safe.”
He leaned in and kissed me.
His lips were warm against mine, gentle at first, barely brushing.
Then he deepened the kiss, his mouth moving slowly, savoring the contact.
One of his hands came up to cup the back of my head, fingers threading through my hair, holding me close.
His other arm stayed wrapped around my waist, keeping our bodies pressed together.
My heart stuttered in my chest. Warmth bloomed behind my ribs and spread outward, filling me with a sense of peace I hadn’t felt all day. I melted into him, my fingers curling against his chest, feeling his heartbeat steady under my palm.
When he finally pulled back, I snuggled closer to him, tucking my head under his chin, tangling our legs together.
“Sleep,” I murmured.
“I don’t think I can. Every time I close my eyes, I see that empty house.”
“Then don’t close your eyes. Just hold me.”
His arms tightened around me. “I can do that.”
We lay there in the darkness, wrapped around each other, breathing in sync. His heartbeat was steady under my ear. His warmth seeped into my bones. His presence surrounded me, solid and real and safe.
Eventually, his breathing slowed. His grip on me loosened slightly. His body relaxed into the mattress.
I smiled against his chest.
“I love you,” I whispered.
He didn’t respond. He was already asleep.
But that was okay. I would tell him again in the morning. And the morning after that. And every morning for the rest of our lives.
I closed my eyes and let sleep take me too.