Mine
The silence in the basement was heavier than the scent of blood. I stood frozen, staring at the space where Dane had been. The front door slammed, the sound echoing down here. The roar of his Audi was muffled in the distance.
He didn’t say goodbye.
The cold settled into my bones, seeping through the shirt that smelled like Kade. I wrapped my arms around myself, but it didn’t help. The chill wasn’t from the basement, it was from the hollow space Dane left behind.
“Come on, Lumberjack,” Kade said softly, his hand on my shoulder. Not pulling, just… there. “Let’s get you upstairs.”
I let him guide me up the concrete steps, Uriel close behind. My legs felt like jello. When we reached the kitchen, Kade pulled out a chair, and I sank into it.
Uriel took a seat beside me, his eyes filled with sadness. “You guys didn’t mark me.” It wasn’t an accusation, just the truth.
“As much as I wanted to, no, we didn’t,” Kade said as he straightened. He placed his palm on my forehead. An action I recalled from when I was in heat. “It wasn’t the right time. You have to make things right with Dane.”
“He hates me,” I whispered.
“He doesn’t hate you.” Kade tilted my chin up with his finger. “He’s hurt. We both are, Lumberjack, but there is a difference.”
“I don’t know how to fix this—with both of you. Even you, Uri. I’m sorry. I couldn’t scent you, but that’s not an excuse for how I treated you when we…” I trailed off.
Uriel smiled at me.
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for. You did what you needed to for you. I’m not mad at you, Vera.”
“That only makes me feel worse,” I laughed bitterly.
Kade’s jaw tightened, and he ran his fingers through his black hair. His knuckles were red. “You want to fix things with me?”
“Yes.”
“We’d do anything for you.” He was referring to Amos. I nodded. “Make it right with Dane. The way to my heart is through my brother. He let his guard down for the first time since we were kids, and you hurt him. Until he’s whole again, we’re not whole.”
The truth hit me. “Okay. I have an idea, but I need your help.”
“What are you thinking?” He sat beside me, tilting his head as his hands held the seat between his legs.
I took a shaky breath. This was going to sound crazy, but my instincts told me it was the right choice.
“Dahlia. I want to talk to her mom, convince her to let Dane see her. It’s a long shot, but I have to try.”
Kade went very still. “Her mom, Ava, isn’t that easy to talk to. She’s cruel. She uses that little girl as a weapon because she knows it’s the one thing that can bring Dane to his knees.”
“I know how to handle Mothers. Let me try.” I stood up, meeting his eyes. Something cracked in Kade’s expression—hope, maybe. “You and Dane grew up in foster care. The two of you only had each other. I want to give that back to you. I’m family, but I also want to do this for you two.”
“You think you can… talk to her?” Pain and hope swirled in Kade’s hazel eyes. Something vulnerable he usually kept hidden behind his manic grin.
“I have to try. I can’t lose you guys,” my voice cracked.
“She could slam the door in your face, and I wouldn’t be able to kill her,” he said quietly.
“Good. I wouldn’t want you to do that, anyway. I’ll deal with whatever she does. This is me fighting. This is me proving I’m not running away anymore.”
Kade pulled me into a crushing hug, his face buried in my hair.
“You’re fucking insane,” he whispered.
“Like you,” I whispered. He released me, chuckling.
Uriel stood up and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. Kade exchanged a look with him.
“We’re not leaving your side,” Kade said.
“Yes!” I cheered. I jumped up and wrapped my arms around Kade’s neck, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “That’s fine. I have savings. I can get us the first flight out to… wherever she lives.”
Kade snorted, but his hands landed on my waist.
“You’re cute. Get dressed. Something that doesn’t scream ‘I just went through my heat’. We have a jet. We leave in an hour.”
“Of… course you do,” I laughed. Kade slapped Uriel’s ass.
“You too,” Kade said to Uriel.
Uriel and I looked at each other. Hope bloomed.
“We’ll get him back,” Uriel murmured as we climbed the stairs to Dane’s room, where we raided his closet. Surrounded by Dane’s scent, the weight of what I’d done settled over me again. Uriel swiped away my tears, kissing me sweetly before he helped me find something to wear.
***
The jet was all polished leather and dark wood. I’d never been on a private plane before, and under different circumstances, I would’ve marveled at it. Instead, my stomach churned with nerves. Two hours later, we touched down in Bornia.
A black SUV was waiting for us as soon as we stepped off onto the tarmac.
Kade didn’t waste time with the driver; he grabbed the keys and dismissed him.
Bornia was warm, the sun bright and harsh after the gloom we’d left behind.
Uriel opened my door for me, and I kissed him before he closed it and hopped in the back.
We drove through quiet suburbs until we pulled up to a small, weather-worn house with peeling paint.
My stomach twisted as we got out of the car.
“Ready?” Kade asked.
Uriel got out first, his hand resting at the small of my back, scanning the street. Kade grabbed my hand and led me forward.
We walked up the cracked driveway together. My hand trembled as I reached out and knocked.
The wait felt like an eternity. Then, the sound of a lock turning was followed by the door swinging open.
My eyes dropped to where a little girl stood in a faded princess shirt two sizes too small, the hem riding up to expose her stomach.
Her shorts were so short they looked like underwear.
She had tanned skin and long, dark hair that fell in messy waves over her shoulders.
Wispy bangs tickled her forehead. Her nose was slightly upturned, and the stubborn set of her jaw reminded me of him.
But it was her eyes that stopped my breath.
Steel-gray. Piercing. Dane’s eyes.
She tilted her head, looking at us with the kind of calm assessment no four-year-old should have. My eyes furrowed when she didn’t ask who we were. She didn’t call for her Mother, but she moved out of the way, allowing us in.
My heart cracked.
Instead of walking in, I crouched down to her level. “Hi,” I said softly. “Is your mommy home?”
Dahlia nodded, and pointed to a doorway. “In the back.”
The ease of it, the way she let three strangers into her home without hesitation, made my stomach turn. This wasn’t trust. This was learned behavior. Adults came and went.
I looked up to where Kade stared down at her. His eyes locked on his niece, a girl who didn’t know him. I saw something break in his eyes.
“Thank you, Ghostie,” he said, his voice rough.
Dahlia paused, tilting her head like she was trying to remember something. Then the moment passed, and she padded into the house without a word.
I fought the urge to blink, so I didn’t cry. We followed her in.
The house felt cold despite the heat from outside. There were no toys scattered on the floor, no drawings on the fridge. There was nothing here that said a child lived here.
This wasn’t a home.
“Dahlia? Who’s at the door?”
A woman appeared from the hallway, wiping her hands on her denim shorts. She froze when she saw Kade.
Ava.
She looked tired. Worn down. Behind her, I could see a stack of cardboard boxes in the hallway.
“Kade,” she scoffed. She had bags below her brown eyes rimmed with red. “What are you doing here?”
“We came to talk,” I said, stepping forward. “About Dahlia.”
Ava’s gaze cut to me. “And who the fuck are you?”
“Vera. I’m Dane’s mate.”
Something flickered in her expression—surprise, maybe resentment. “His mate. Right.” She laughed, but all I heard was bitterness. “Did he send you?”
“No. He doesn’t know we’re here.”
“Good. Because I don’t have time for his bullshit right now.” She crossed her arms. “If you came to beg on his behalf, save it. I’m done with this.”
“Done?” Kade’s voice was cold.
“I found them, Kade. My mates. Real mates. Not some twisted fate with your brother.” Ava’s tone was desperate, her eyes darting to where Dahlia stood beside me. “They want me, but they won’t raise her. I was going to drop her at the home for kids.”
My heart skidded to a halt, and it felt like the blood in my veins froze over.
After everything Dane and Kade had been through, she should know better. She knew what foster care did to them, yet she was willing to hand her daughter over to the same fate. I bit down on my tongue to stop the slur of words from flying. Kade’s knuckles cracked.
“Take her now, or never. I’m choosing me,” Ava said, gesturing at the little girl who remained silent.
It was so unfair.
Behind me, Uriel growled, low and dangerous.
Dahlia stumbled back away from the sound.
I dropped to my knees in front of Dahlia.
Up close, the gray of her eyes was even more devastating.
She didn’t cry. Didn’t beg. She was a reflection of my soul before I met my Alphas.
She waited, patient and resigned, for strangers to decide her fate.
“Dahlia,” I whispered, reaching out to tuck a wispy bang behind her ear. “Would you like to come with us? We want to take you to your Daddy. He’s waiting for you.”
Hope filled those familiar gray eyes as they searched mine. Finally, she nodded. “Yes, I want to go to Daddy.”
My throat closed. Those gray eyes, Dane’s eyes, stared at me with hope she shouldn’t have had to lose in the first place. I thought of him, carrying the weight on his shoulders believing he’d lost her. Not anymore.
She reached out, her hand open. I held her little palm in mine. She was so cold.
“Where’s her stuff?” I asked Ava, desperate to get Dahlia out before she could change her mind.
“She’s wearing it,” Ava snapped. “I threw the rest out yesterday. I’m moving in an hour.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Kade said, his voice curt. “We’ll get her everything she needs.”
He turned and walked toward the door, and Uriel’s hand on my lower back urged me forward.
I started to lead Dahlia out, but she stopped.
She looked up at me and lifted her arms. I scooped her up, her small frame settling against my chest like she belonged there.
Mine. The first tear escaped as I carried her toward the car.
Dahlia didn’t look back at her Mother. She buried her face in the crook of my neck, her hands gripping my shirt.
I held her tighter.
“You’re safe now,” I whispered. “We’re taking you home.”