Chapter 42 Tobias
TOBIAS
Everyone is on the deck, talking among themselves. William and what remains of his pack are leaning against the railing, the rest scattered in chairs or on the porch swings. Blankets are everywhere, like they’ve been sitting outside for three days waiting for us.
The only one missing is Grant.
The space where he should be feels impossibly loud.
Ivy is the first to see us. “They’re coming now!”
She jumps over the railing and rushes across the yard to us, throwing her arms around me in a tight hug. I cling to her, shaking. This woman has become more than a friend; she’s my sister. I love her dearly.
Taren reaches me next, followed by Neal. Then the others, one by one. Each of their hugs is full of warmth and acceptance. Forgiveness. Gratitude. Love.
Forest’s solid arms are shaky as he hugs me, eyes watery. “Welcome home.”
Jasmine is near the end, but I can’t meet her eyes. “I am so sorry,” I say, voice breaking. “I didn’t mean—”
She cuts me off by pulling me into her arms. Her warm hand cups the back of my head as she kisses my temple. “I’m just glad you’re home, Toby.” Her voice cracks. “You’re my son now, you hear me? You’re family. We all feel that way.”
The words undo me. I press my face against her shoulder and cry. Not from shame this time—but from the fragile, impossible truth that, somehow, I’m still loved.
When she pulls away, she grips my face and kisses my forehead.
Two more people approach after Jasmine. Evan hugs each of us quickly, then Jericho pauses in front of me.
His eyes are wet with unshed tears. We crash together at the same time.
He and I have been through hell because of the coven, yet here we are, standing.
“Thank you for not dying on us,” he murmurs. “Seriously, man. It’s a relief to see you.”
I hug him tighter. “You too.” How was I ever afraid of him? Jericho is an amazing friend. A brother.
Once his mother finally lets go of him, Rowen takes my hand, and we walk the rest of the way home.
“Can we see your fox again soon?” Ivy asks, bouncing on her toes.
“Ivy, come on,” Rowen says. “He literally just changed back.”
“Yeah, but you got to play with him for three days, Ro. We all want to!” She clasps her hands together. “Please! You’re soo cute.”
For some reason, my annoyance comes out as a smile. Screw it. I’ll embrace the cuteness.
“Maybe soon. It’s still all weird. I don’t know how to or anything.”
“You’ll get it.”
Calmness settles over me as we climb onto the porch.
Jasmine claps her hands together. “Come on, everyone. Let’s go inside where it’s warm.”
Slowly, we all shuffle through the door.
Rowen never lets go of my hand. The moment I’m inside, the warmth hits me like a wave.
Not just the kind from the fireplace, but real warmth—the kind that seeps into bone and breath, into the places that have been cold for too long.
It weaves its way inside, melting away the last of the unease.
I’m still here. Better than that, they still want me here. Despite what I did—Jasmine, Rowen, the fight I brought to their door—they still want me.
I get to stay.
This is my home now.
My family.
Rowen must sense my emotions because he wraps an arm around me and gives me a private smile. Pulling me close, he kisses my temple.
“Welcome home, baby.”
The rich aroma of beef stew makes my mouth water. There’s fresh-baked bread too. Sourdough, if my nose is accurate.
The pack gathers in the living room, sinking into chairs or sitting on the floor. The noise, the chatter, the laughter—it all feels too light for what we just came through, yet right too. It makes the victory real. For the first time in three days, I take a long breath. It’s over.
Sage drapes an arm around Red, who curls into his side. Neal takes a seat on the floor with Aster, who’s half-asleep in his arms. Ivy wraps herself in a blanket in the corner chair. The scar by her eye is barely noticeable now.
We all made it. Most of us, anyway.
My gaze drifts to the chair where Grant usually sits at the table. His absence is unbearable. Please let us get him home safe.
The darkness that has been poisoning my mind is gone now. I can fully absorb all of this. And I’m not leaving. That thought will probably continue to hit me for days, weeks. Even months.
Rowen kisses my cheek, then pulls me to the last open spot on the couch, him in the corner with me next to Taren.
For a while, there’s just low conversation. The kind that happens after battle, when everyone’s too wrung out for noise but too alive for silence. Then Forest clears his throat, eyes scanning the room.
“Okay. I’m sure we’re all eager to eat our body weight in stew, but I think it’s time we came together, as a pack, for a quick debrief. Sage filled you in on the death count, I’m assuming?”
Rowen and I both nod, and I dart my eyes to William. His gaze drops to the floor. I never even learned the other shifter’s names. His pack came from another state, but I couldn’t bother to say thank you.
I should’ve.
I will.
I owe them that much.
Forest says, “Everyone who was injured is healing fine.”
There’s a murmur of acknowledgment around the room, a shared exhale. Five dead, a few injured. It could’ve been worse. It definitely could’ve been worse.
When I realize everyone is looking at me, I startle.
Red speaks softly. “What about you, Tobias? Will you share what happened out there?”
I swallow, skin heating. “Honestly, I don’t… remember much. Not clearly.”
“Just tell us what you know.”
I decide to skip over the part about choking Rowen and running away like a coward.
“When I went in,” I say slowly, “it was like something broke loose in me. My animal took over. I could feel him clawing under my skin, if that makes sense. Pushing forward. And I just—let him. Everything after that is… fragments.” I chew my lip, thinking.
“I remember killing a vampire, and biting a couple of wolves. But it was just like overdrive. I don’t know.
” My throat tightens. “Then I heard Rowen. Heard him cry out when Rip got a hold of him. And it was like my world narrowed to that one sound. I didn’t care about anything else. I just needed to get to him.”
Rowen’s hand finds my knee, grounding me.
“You were insanely fast,” Jericho says. “I almost couldn’t track you.”
“For real,” Ivy agrees. “Like Sonic the Hedgehog.”
I laugh weakly.
“You saved my life too,” Forest says. “Do you remember that?”
I blink up at him. “No.”
“One vamp was seconds away from… anyway, you knocked him over and ripped his throat out.” He shakes his head like he can’t believe it. “The vamp never saw it coming.”
Tears sting my eyes. I genuinely don’t remember that.
They wait patiently for me to continue.
“I killed Rip, and then…” I press a hand to my chest, wincing at the memory. “It’s like I can still feel it,” I whisper, glancing at Rowen.
I realize now he hasn’t asked about this part at all yet. Because he was too afraid, maybe?
I take his hand, threading our fingers together.
“When the seal broke, something burned inside me. It wasn’t just magic.
I mean, it hurt, of course. But it felt like a struggle almost, like the bond wasn’t sure who was really in control for a moment.
Then it just… burned out of me. Everything went white. And I knew it was over.”
The memory shudders through me.
“But when it happened…” I pause, wondering if I should say anything about the visions, but after all they’ve done for me, they deserve the truth. “I saw something. At the end, I mean. I don’t even know what it was. Just snippets. A brick hallway and water? I don’t know. It made no sense.”
Taren nods, her tone calm. “That was probably residual energy from Rip. Being linked to him like you were, you eventually would’ve been able to see inside his head too.
Things he wanted you to see. So when the seal shattered, it’s possible that some of his memories rebounded to you. I wouldn’t worry. It’ll fade.”
I don’t trust myself to speak. That was Rip’s memory? Strange.
Jasmine clears her throat. “Can you feel anything now? Like, at all?”
That question stops me cold. I haven’t even looked at the mark since I shifted back.
Slowly, I tug my sleeve up. The warm air hits my bare skin where the mark used to pulse, red and alive. But now it’s just a scar. Pale, faintly raised, and absolutely normal. I touch it in disbelief, a choked sob slipping from me. No light. No heat. Nothing.
Rowen exhales softly beside me. Then he leans in and presses his lips to my temple. “It’s over, hon,” he murmurs. “You’re really free of him.”
The words should make me feel something—joy, relief, triumph—but instead there’s a hollow ache.
Even though my mark is deactivated, the war with the coven continues. Rip’s dead, yes. But Foxx and Orem are still alive. And they have Grant. Until Grant is here, I won’t truly be at peace.
Still, I nod, leaning into him. “Yeah,” I whisper. “Free.”
The silence stretches again until Jasmine breaks it with a sniff, then a clap of her hands. “Okay! Enough doom and gloom. We know what happens after that. Tobias and Rowen frolicked in the forest for three days while Toby adjusted to that cute little tail of his.”
I throw a look her way, which makes everyone laugh.
“But I’ve cried too damn much this week. So we’re going to eat, and then, because a little bird told me Toby misses homemade ice cream, I have a surprise for him.”
Excited murmurs fill the room, yet my heart swells. “Homemade ice cream?”
She beams. “Chocolate and vanilla. Nothing too fancy, since it’s my first time trying it. And there are toppings too. A full sundae bar. You’re welcome.”
Everyone moves to the dining table, as Jasmine and Neal dish up the stew to pass around. I stay with Rowen, not quite ready for something heavy.
Soon, but not yet.
I glance down at my arm again, at the faint scar where something dark once manipulated me. Controlled me. Owned me. The design doesn’t look like much now, not even full lines. But every inch of it is proof that I survived. Proof that I chose my way out. Proof that I fought for it.
Rowen’s thumb grazes the mark, his voice low. “You really are free, Tobias. Even if it doesn’t feel like it yet.”
I lean into him, eyes burning. “I want to believe that, but it doesn’t feel real.”
“Then start here,” he whispers, pressing a kiss just below my ear. “Start with now.”
I kiss him.
The smell of stew fills the air again, rich and grounding. Someone laughs too loudly from the kitchen. Maybe Rowen’s right. Maybe freedom starts small—one breath, one heartbeat, one quiet night in a house full of people who refuse to let me go.
And maybe that’s enough. For now.
“Tobias?”
I look up to see Forest standing near the hall. “Would you follow me, please?”
I swallow hard. Oh, no.
Rowen joins us. We enter Forest’s office, and he closes the door, gesturing for us to sit down. Forest sits across from us.
“I’ll keep this brief as I know we’re all exhausted, but I wanted you to know as soon as possible.” He slides an envelope across the desk to me. “This came for you today.”
My heart sinks at the Prodigy Memorial Hospital logo in the return address corner. The seal of the envelope is broken, but I don’t even care.
“I think the coven wanted to hurt you one more time,” Forest says gently. “Their letter says an anonymous tip reported your whereabouts, and, well, as you can see, Rip never paid a cent of your outstanding bill.”
Rowen curses. But I’m not even a little surprised. I knew from the moment Rip trapped me in that club that he’d tricked me. He never intended to help me.
My hands shake as I pull the paper out, and acid crawls up my throat. The amount is astonishing. Hundreds of thousands of dollars.
I cover my mouth. What am I going to do?
“Our pack emergency fund covered almost all of it.”
I whip my head up. “What?”
Forest smiles. “I’ve also spoken with the hospital today. The rest will be paid off in about a year.”
“Forest,” I breathe. “I can’t—”
“It’s done.” The alpha leans forward, eyes warm. “We’re a pack, Toby. It means we have funds set aside for things like this.”
“Let me pay the last of it off. Please. After all you’ve done for me—”
“If you insist, sure. I can respect a man of honor. But from here on out, you’re one of us. You hear me? Figuratively and literally. You’re an official member of the Clearwater pack.” His eyes soften.
My breath comes out in a rush.
I turn to Rowen, who seems just as surprised as me, eyeing the large bill. “Thank you, Alpha,” he says.
Forest nods at each of us. “That’s all for now. We’ll sort the rest of pack business later. For now, go. Celebrate. You’re alive, and that’s a big damn deal, if you ask me.”
I stand and walk around the desk to hug him. “Thank you. Not just for this, but for bringing me here. Helping me out of that club. I… Gods, I never would’ve imagined all this. But I’m really thankful you took a chance on me.”
He ruffles my hair. “You and me both. Now, seriously. Go. I need to get some of that stew before it’s gone.”