Chapter Six
Berkley
After the door clicks shut behind me, my breath rushes out in one long whoosh.
Did that really just happen?
I went from zero experience to... whatever that was. A full-body, soul-deep, heart-pounding group rubdown that left me feeling cherished, claimed, and absolutely wrecked in the best possible way. And the craziest part? I already want more.
A giddy laugh bubbles up inside me, quiet but unstoppable. My cheeks hurt from smiling.
Through the thick door, I can hear muffled voices—low and overlapping. They’re probably still talking, maybe about me, maybe about what’s next. But the words are too jumbled to make out, and I don’t want to intrude. They deserve their own moment.
So, I head down the hall toward Reign’s room. The door’s cracked just slightly, a soft invitation. I knock gently anyway—just a warning tap—then push it open and slip inside.
“Well, look what the dirty cat dragged in,” Reign drawls, lounging on her bed with a smirk and a slow golf clap, like I just won gold in the emotional Olympics.
“Technically, I walked,” I say, arching a brow and dropping onto the edge of her mattress. “But hey, applause is applause.”
She snorts. “That’s fair. You deserve a standing ovation for managing all three of them without combusting. Or going deaf.”
I grin, heat brushing my cheeks. “We’re officially a thing now,” I admit, voice softer than before, but sure. “Me, your brothers, and Em.”
Reign lifts one brow. “I suspected.” She lets out a low whistle, then laughs. “Guess that makes you the bravest person I know.”
My smile lingers, but something quieter settles behind it. “Thank you,” I say, meeting her eyes. “For not making this weird. For being okay with how I feel about them.”
“Berk,” she says, sitting up straighter. “I’ve known for a long time. You’re not exactly subtle, you know.”
I let out a quiet laugh. “It’s just... I never wanted you to think you were on the outside of something. You matter too much for that.”
She shrugs, but there’s a softness in her eyes. “I’ve never felt excluded. Not once. You guys have always made me feel like part of something bigger. We’re family. I’m happy you’re finally together—for real.”
A wave of emotion rises in my chest, but I push it down with a steady breath.
“We’re keeping it quiet for now,” I add. “Just our group. I want to tell my dad when I’m ready. And... I’m not ready to share them with the world yet. Not when it still feels like mine.”
Reign nods as if she understands perfectly. “That’s probably smart. People can be loud with their opinions.”
“Exactly.”
She’s quiet for a beat too long. Her gaze drifts toward the window, and her smile fades just enough to notice. There’s something far away in her expression—like she’s listening to a thought she hasn’t decided whether to speak aloud.
I study her for a moment, my voice dipping lower. “Reign?”
She doesn’t answer right away. Just continues staring through the glass like the truth is waiting for her on the other side.
When she finally turns to face me, my breath catches. She’s wearing a look I don’t recognize—blank, polished, guarded. A mask. And that startles me more than anything else could, because I’ve known this girl since we were in diapers, and I’ve never seen her hide from me like this.
Something inside me prickles.
“Hey,” I say softly, careful not to spook whatever she’s holding back. “You good?”
She shrugs, noncommittal. Casual. Too casual. “Yeah. Just tired.”
“Mm-hmm.” I narrow my eyes, dropping onto her bed with dramatic flair. “Tired and broody? Sounds like Dylan drama.”
Her mouth twitches like she wants to deny it, but then she sighs instead, sinking down onto the edge of her desk chair. “It’s... complicated.”
“It always is with him.” I cross my arms and lean back like I’m preparing for a story. “So, is this ‘he ghosted you but still watches all your stories’ complicated, or ‘I think he’s cheating but I have no proof and won’t let the boys maim him for me’ complicated?”
That earns me a small laugh, but it fades fast.
“Honestly? The second one.”
I nod, unsurprised. “You know they’d happily go full vigilante for you.”
She snorts. “I had to practically sign a blood oath to keep them from showing up at his house with baseball bats.”
“Well, yeah,” I deadpan. “They’ve been itching to commit light assault for weeks now. Ronan’s been sharpening a shovel. Sharpening a shovel, Reign.”
That earns me a genuine laugh, one that flickers life in her eyes. But it’s short-lived, and just like that, the mask slips back on.
“You sure that’s all that’s bugging you?” I ask gently. “You can tell me anything. You know that.”
She nods, but it feels like a door softly closing. “Yeah. That’s it.”
I don’t press, even though I want to. My gut is saying there’s more. But she’s not ready. And I respect that.
Before I can say anything else, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I glance at the screen and groan. “Ugh. My dad. Apparently, I’m being summoned for dinner. I was supposed to be home twenty minutes ago.”
“Yikes.”
“He threatened to start without me and eat the last roll.”
Reign gasps. “Monster.”
“Right? Pure evil.” I pull to my feet with a sigh, dragging it out like I’m being forced to leave a tropical island. “I wanted to hang out longer.”
“Same,” she murmurs.
“Well, then...” I grin, pointing at her with exaggerated sternness. “You owe me a girls-only slumber party this weekend. No boys allowed. Zero brooding. Maximum snacks.”
She smirks. “Deal. But I’m picking the movies.”
I gasp. “You’re gonna make me watch some indie art film where no one speaks for forty-five minutes, and someone dies for no reason.”
“Exactly.” She flashes a mischievous grin.
I roll my eyes but smile as I grab my bag. “Love you, Reign. I’m here, okay? Whenever you’re ready.”
Her expression softens. “Love you too, Berk.”
I head for the door but take a sharp detour down the hall—because there’s one more thing I need before I leave. Otherwise, I’ll have a full-blown Ronan situation on my hands. And when that man makes a promise—or a threat disguised as a promise—he follows through. Every. Time.
Ronan means what he says, always.
He doesn’t fib. Doesn’t sugarcoat. Doesn’t dance around the truth or dress it up in pretty words to soften the blow.
He just lays it out there, straight and sharp.
And somehow, it never feels too much, at least not to me.
It’s one of the million reasons I love him so much.
With Ronan, I always know where I stand.
There are no games. No second-guessing. Just him, in all his blunt, chaotic, beautiful honesty.
Well... unless it came to this. To us.
I’m honestly surprised he kept his emotions buried for so long.
He’s not the secretive type, not with me.
But maybe I was a little blind. A little stubborn.
And definitely in a lot of denial. Looking back now, it’s painfully obvious.
The long looks and quiet protectiveness.
The way his jaw would tighten when someone got too close.
It was always there—I just wasn’t ready to see it.
Honestly, I’m kind of shocked our families didn’t call it out more. You’d think someone would’ve taken one look at the way those boys hovered around me and gone, “Yep. That one’s a goner. Probably all of them.” But no one said a word. Maybe they were waiting for us to figure it out on our own.
Well, we have.
And now that I see it—see them—I’m never looking away again.
So yeah, I’m going to grab my goodbye kiss.
Or three. Maybe linger a little longer than necessary.
Because I’ve got a dad waiting for me for dinner.
.. but I’ve also got a heart that belongs, unapologetically, to the boys I just left behind.
And one of them will absolutely chase me down in nothing but socks and glitter if I forget to say goodbye properly.
I slip back into Ronan’s room like I’ve got a keycard stamped “forever access.” No knocking. No hesitation. Just the quiet certainty that I belong here now—because I do.
His head snaps up the second I cross the threshold, and that crooked grin of his stretches impossibly wide, lighting up his entire face. “There she is,” he says like I’ve just descended from the heavens.
Before I can blink, he’s across the room, lifting me like I weigh nothing and tossing me over his shoulder with a triumphant little growl. A solid swat lands on my ass, and I yelp through a laugh, playfully swatting his back.
“Ronan!” I squeal, but I’m already grinning like an idiot.
He spins once—just because he can—then slowly, deliciously, drags me down the front of his body until my feet touch the floor again.
His arms don’t let go, though. One wraps tight around my waist while the other cups the back of my neck like he’s anchoring me to the earth.
His gaze meets mine, all soft warmth and something deeper I can’t name.
“I’m glad you came back,” he murmurs, quieter now, voice dipped in something vulnerable. “I was already missing you.”
My grin softens as I lean in and kiss the tip of his nose. “I was gone for all of twenty minutes, dramatic much?”
He shrugs as if it’s a medical condition. “Felt like a lifetime. My soul was withering.”
I laugh and press my forehead to his. “You’re ridiculous.”
“But yours,” he counters with a smirk. Then his mouth is on mine—deep, lingering, full of heat and something dangerously close to forever. My fingers curl into his shirt, clinging for just a second too long before I pull back with a reluctant sigh.
“I hate to break up the moment,” I whisper, “but I got a text from my dad. I completely forgot we had dinner plans tonight.”
He groans like I’ve told him the world’s ending. “Nooo. We just got you back.”
“I know, I know. But I made plans to have a sleepover with Reign this weekend,” I add with a wink. “You boys have to share.”