Home
A jet ride later, we were back, and I was exhausted.
I held Dahlia against my chest, her small fingers locked in the fabric of my shirt like when we’d left Ava’s house.
Her head lolled against my collarbone, her thumb in her mouth.
It was the only thing I’d seen her do that cracked the mask of maturity she’d worn.
In sleep, she finally looked like the little girl she was supposed to be, not the survivor she’d become.
I followed Kade and Uriel in, their footsteps heavy and cautious. They weren’t just my Alphas; they were witnesses. This was the moment we cemented into a pack or shattered for good. My heart slammed against my ribs, but I forced my breathing to stay level for the little girl in my arms.
When they stopped at the entrance of the sitting room, I knew Dane was there. I stood behind them, but saw where he sat in the same chair I’d crawled on all fours to him.
“Dane,” Kade said softly. His voice carried something I’d never heard before—careful and desperate at once.
“I didn’t say anything about taking the jet or disappearing all day without a word. If you were going to sneak around, you should have beat me home,” he snapped. I would usually have flinched, but I knew it came from a good place. He was worried. “Where the hell were you?”
I walked past the Alphas, heading straight for the rug at the center of the room. His eyes widened at the child in my arms, his lips parted. Then he was on his feet, the light from the fireplace cast shadows over us. I ignored Dane, placing Dahlia down on the coffee table.
“Wait here, Dahlia,” I whispered, brushing her bangs from her face.
She nodded, her eyes following me as I walked out.
I rushed up to his room. I wasn’t sure about what I was doing, but I listened to my instincts.
I went to Dane’s room and pulled the hoodie I’d stolen, I snatched Uriel’s sweater from my nest, and Kade’s shirt.
I snagged as many pillows as I could, only three, but I stuffed the clothes in it to make it easier to carry, and added a few more from my nest. Then I grabbed a sheet we’d tangled in during my heat and a blanket from his closet.
I returned to the living room and dropped to my knees on the rug. I didn’t look at any of them—couldn’t. This was something only an Omega could do for their young.
I spread the sheet first, smoothing it flat with trembling hands.
Then Dane’s hoodie, the one I’d stolen, went down like a foundation stone.
I pressed my face into it, breathing deep—campfire and pine—before laying it out.
Kade’s shirt came next, and I rubbed it between my palms, releasing his scent of cherries and chocolate into the fibers.
Uriel’s sweater I folded twice, creating a soft pillow, sandalwood wrapping around the others like the final note in a song.
I layered them, overlapped them, tucked the blanket around the edges until it was a tight, safe circle. Their scents tangled together—pack, family, home. The weighted blanket went around it, and I smoothed every wrinkle, every corner like an enchantment that would keep her safe.
Dahlia watched me from her perch on the coffee table.
As soon as I smoothed the last corner, she climbed down.
The soft padding of her bare feet was the only sound in the room as she came to my side, drawn in by the scent of her family.
The tension finally left her shoulders, and she stepped into the soft bundle, burying her nose into the sleeve of Dane’s hoodie as she lay on it.
“There,” I breathed, smoothing her hair. “You’re home.”
A ragged, rattling sound made me look up.
Dane was right there at our side, his chest heaving as if he’d run a marathon.
He looked at her, his large hand trembling as he reached out to Dahlia.
His movements were slow, as if he were afraid she’d disappear, and he’d wake up to find it had been a dream.
“How?” Dane rasped, his voice breaking. He looked at me, a raw, ache in his gaze.
“Ava was going to give her away, Dane. She was going to drop her at a home tonight.”
The color drained from his face. His hands started shaking—not trembling, but full-body shaking like he’d been thrown back into that concrete room where they’d kept him and Kade as kids.
“A home.” The words were barely audible. “She was going to…” He couldn’t finish.
“She’s choosing her new mates over her own blood.” My heart broke for him.
“We were lucky to have gotten there when we did. If not for Vera…” Kade trailed off.
“It doesn’t matter now,” I said, meeting Dane’s eyes. “She’s here. I’m not running. We’re home, and we’re not going anywhere.”
Dane reached out, his fingers brushing my jaw. “I thought I’d lost everything today. When I came home and you guys were all gone… I thought my stubbornness cost me everything.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I said, my voice thick with emotion and my heart breaking for him. His hand slipped behind my neck, pulling me close until our noses touched.
“I’m sorry, Babygirl. Can you forgive me?” His voice was a plea.
“I’ll spend every day making sure you know this is where I want to be,” I murmured, kissing him.
He kissed me back, his fingers sliding into my hair.
I pulled away, my breathing heavy as Kade and Uriel sat on the couch, sharing the moment with us.
Uriel sighed, relaxing into Kade. My gaze darted to the Alpha at his side.
Kade’s arm was around Uriel’s shoulders.
He winked at me, and I knew I’d succeeded. I’d made it right.
We stayed there for a long time, watching until Dahlia’s breathing leveled out. She hadn’t slept on the jet, too scared during her first flight. Her small body finally surrendering to sleep in the middle of the nest I’d built. My heart felt whole in a way I didn’t expect it could.
Dane stood, scooping her up, blankets and all. We followed him as he carried the entire nest up the stairs and into the room next to ours.
I stood in the doorway of the guest room that was now hers, with Kade and Uriel. Dane placed the nest holding his daughter on the bed. He stared at her for one last moment, then kissed her forehead before heading back to me. We moved aside as he pulled the door shut.
When he looked at me, vulnerability stared back.
It morphed into lust. He didn’t look like a man who was broken; he looked like a man ready to reclaim every inch of a woman he thought he’d lost. His gaze dragged over me before shifting to Kade and Uriel.
He didn’t say a word as he reached out, his large hand wrapping around the back of my neck.
“Our room,” Dane growled, sending a jolt straight to my clit. “Now.”