Chapter 15 #2
"She's so pale," Tae-min whispered, his voice thick with tears as he knelt at the edge of the nest, his hands shaking slightly where they gripped the blanket. "And thin. She's so thin. Has she been eating anything?"
"Min-jun's food deliveries," I said, not taking my eyes off her face, watching the way her breathing had already started to deepen and steady. "And whatever she ate at the restaurant today. But it hasn't been enough. The soul sickness burns through energy fast."
"Then we make sure she eats," Hwan declared, his voice fierce despite the tears still tracking down his cheeks, his golden eyes blazing with determination as he moved to kneel on her other side. "Whatever she wants, whenever she wants it. We don't let her go hungry again."
"We won't," Jin-ho agreed quietly, his gaze fixed on Keira with an intensity that bordered on reverent, his ink-stained fingers curling against his thighs as he settled near the head of the nest. "We won't let her suffer anymore. Not if we can help it."
A sound escaped her — a soft whimper, barely audible, followed by a shift in her scent that spoke of dreams and fear and things she couldn't escape even in sleep. All five of us tensed, our instincts screaming at us to comfort, to protect, to make whatever was hurting her stop.
"She's having a nightmare," Min-jun said, his voice tight with helpless anger, his hands fisting in the fabric of his jeans as he leaned closer to her. "Should we wake her?"
"No." I shook my head, reaching out to brush a strand of hair from her face, my touch as light as I could make it, my fingers trembling slightly against her fevered skin.
"Sleep is what she needs most. But we can.
.. we can try to help. Surround her with our scents. Let her feel that she's not alone."
It wasn't something I'd ever done before — none of us had. But it felt right. It felt like what pack was supposed to do.
Slowly, carefully, we arranged ourselves around her.
I stayed closest, my hand resting lightly on her shoulder, the deep indigo bond pulsing steadily in my chest. Tae-min curled up near her feet, his crimson bond humming with protective energy, his body positioned like a guard dog ready to spring.
Hwan settled at her other side, his golden amber bond warm and steady, his fingers hovering near her arm like he wanted to touch but wasn't sure if he should.
Jin-ho positioned himself near her head, his violet bond quiet but present, his dark eyes watching her face with unwavering attention.
And Min-jun took the spot between Jin-ho and Hwan, his rose pink bond soft and gentle, his forest-and-cedar scent wrapping around her like a second blanket.
Five alphas.
Five bonds.
One omega.
One pack.
The effect was almost immediate. The whimpers stopped. The fear-scent faded. Her breathing deepened, steadied, and the crease between her brows smoothed out as sleep finally claimed her properly.
"It's working," Hwan breathed, wonder threading through his voice, fresh tears spilling down his cheeks — happy ones this time, or at least hopeful. His hand finally made contact with her arm, just a gentle brush of his fingertips against her sleeve. "Look at her. She's actually relaxing."
"Being surrounded by pack helps," I said, repeating what I'd told them earlier, but understanding it on a deeper level now as I watched the color slowly start to return to her cheeks. "The bonds need proximity to stabilize. The more time she spends with us, the stronger she'll get."
"Then we don't leave," Tae-min declared, his voice fierce despite its shakiness, his dark eyes fixed on Keira's sleeping face, one hand reaching out to rest near her ankle like he needed some point of contact. "We stay here. All of us. As long as she needs."
"We have schedules," Jin-ho pointed out quietly, though his expression made it clear he'd rather cancel every single one of them, his brow furrowed with conflict as he glanced between Keira and the door. "Rehearsals. Appearances. The collaboration project—"
"Can wait." My pack alpha voice rang through the room, surprising even me with its conviction, my hand tightening slightly on her shoulder. "All of it can wait. She's more important than any schedule. She's more important than anything."
No one argued. No one even tried. Because we all knew it was true.
Because we'd all been waiting for her, looking for her, dreaming of her long before we'd known her name or her face or the sound of her voice.Now she was here.
Sleeping in our nest, surrounded by our scents, slowly healing from twelve years of fear that had nearly broken her.
We would not fail her.
I would not fail her.
"Get some rest," I told the others, keeping my voice soft so as not to disturb her, my thumb tracing small circles on her shoulder. "We'll take shifts. Someone should always be awake, watching her, in case she needs anything. But we all need sleep if we're going to take care of her properly."
"I'll take first watch," Min-jun offered immediately, his gaze never leaving her face, his body shifting into a more alert position even as he remained close enough for his scent to reach her. "I won't be able to sleep anyway."
"I'll stay up too," Tae-min added, shifting slightly closer to her feet, his hand settling more firmly near her ankle, his dark eyes determined. "Just in case."
I didn't argue. I knew they needed this — needed to be close to her, needed to see with their own eyes that she was real and breathing and finally, finally here.
I settled back against the pillows, letting my hand rest lightly on her shoulder, feeling the deep indigo bond pulse steadily in my chest. The others arranged themselves around the nest, some sleeping, some watching, all of them present in a way that felt right and necessary.
Somewhere deep in my chest, beneath the worry and the fear and the overwhelming love I couldn't begin to process, a small voice whispered that maybe — just maybe — everything was going to be okay.
She was home now.
She was pack, and we were never letting her go.