Chapter Seventeen
The relief had hit them all at once: sharp, overwhelming, almost painful.
When Anabelle had finally woken up, breathing steadily, eyes clear despite the exhaustion etched into her face, it had nearly brought them to their knees.
No lingering surge of power. No backlash.
No signs of burnout beyond the bone-deep fatigue she couldn’t hide.
She was alive, aware, okay. It had taken every ounce of control they had not to react like lunatics.
Now it had been a day and a half since she’d opened her eyes, and they were halfway through the journey. Miles of open road stretched ahead of them, the world blurring past in long, quiet ribbons of asphalt and sky.
Joshua gripped the steering wheel tighter as he drove, his thoughts looping endlessly back over the last forty-eight hours. He still couldn’t place his emotions. They refused to settle into anything neat or familiar.
The moment those barriers had fallen, when the light had collapsed inward and Cameron had emerged carrying Anabelle’s limp body, something inside Joshua had snapped.
His wolf had surged forward without permission.
The growl that ripped out of his chest had been feral, uncontrolled, echoing across the road so violently it had taken three of his brothers to restrain him.
He barely remembered their hands on his shoulders, the shouted commands, the grounding scents.
All he remembered was the singular truth roaring through his mind. Mate.
Protect.Serve.Love.
It had hit him like a freight train. One moment, he’d been quietly terrified that the bond would never fully settle for him the way it had for the others: worried there was something in him too broken, too jagged for something that pure.
And the next? The bond detonated. So strong his wolf refused to give him control back.
Gods. Joshua exhaled slowly, eyes fixed on the road ahead, knuckles white against the wheel.
His chest still felt tight when he thought about it...about her. About the way her bright blue eyes had fluttered open later, unfocused at first, then landing on him with a quiet intensity that had nearly stopped his heart.
And then there was her defiance. The way she lifted her chin every time she challenged one of them, which had been often. The glint in her eyes when she refused to be intimidated, even exhausted, even hurt. She didn’t cower. She stood.
She was perfect. So goddamn perfect it scared him.
He swallowed hard, praying, really praying, that he wouldn’t screw this up. That he wouldn’t be the one to break something precious just by being himself.
In the passenger seat, Cameron watched her through the rearview mirror. She hadn’t said much since asking those first few questions. When she did speak, it was always to Emmett: soft, reassuring, grounding him with a calm she didn’t seem to grant herself.
Cameron had tried. Gods, he’d tried. Small questions. Neutral conversation. Anything to check in on her, physically, yes, but also mentally, emotionally. He’d learned long ago that wounds you couldn’t see were often the ones that did the most damage.
But she’d shut him out completely. Polite. Distant. Guarded. A wall. Much like the one she’d thrown up on instinct, layers of raw ether interwoven with intent, shielding her brother from a monster without her even understanding how.
When Cameron had brought her back to the car, he hadn’t been able to let go. Not even when his arms ached. Not even when Dominik had quietly fetched the healing salve for her head and shoulder, applying it with careful precision because Cameron simply… couldn’t move.
He’d needed to know she was okay. Had needed to feel her breathing.
Her warmth. The steady presence of her body against his chest. Speaking to her, though?
Nearly impossible when she didn’t want to.
It was like pressing his palm against solid stone.
Still... he understood. She was protecting herself the only way she knew how.
Gods, she was powerful. Cameron had never seen anything like that barrier. Never felt magic layered so instinctively with love and fear and purpose. She’s perfect for us, he thought.
And if she ever let him...He would spend the rest of their lives proving that she was safe now. That she didn’t have to stand alone anymore. That whatever walls she’d built to survive, she could lower them at her own pace. They weren’t going anywhere.
Rian sat with his forearms braced against his knees, gaze drifting to the seat across from his, more often than he cared to admit.
Every time Anabelle fretted over Emmett, tugging his jacket closed, adjusting his seatbelt, murmuring reminders for him to drink water, something warm and dangerous bloomed in his chest.
All he could picture was her like this one day with their children.
The thought hit him so hard it nearly stole his breath.
The way she’d kneel to their level, patient and fierce and soft all at once.
The way her attention never wavered, how her love showed not in grand gestures but in constant, steady care.
He knew he was getting ahead of himself.
No. He was definitely getting ahead of himself.
But gods, the thought wouldn’t leave him alone.
His wolf certainly wasn’t helping. It sent him vivid, unapologetic images: Anabelle glowing with life, carrying his pup, her wildflower scent rich and intoxicating, her hand resting protectively over her belly while she looked at him with trust in her eyes.
Rian swallowed hard, heat creeping up his neck. Gods. She was perfect. More than he’d ever thought possible.
And all he wanted, needed, was to be there for her in whatever way she’d allow. To protect her. To love her the way he believed she deserved. She already had all of him. He just had to make sure she knew it...one day, when she was ready to hear it.
Dominik’s thoughts were… very different. He sat in silence, eyes forward, posture composed, but his mind churned relentlessly beneath the calm exterior. He was worried.
Worried about the future, about how Anabelle would take the Queen’s explanation, about whether she’d feel cornered again, about how fragile her freedom truly was in a world governed by rules she’d never agreed to.
Worried about the bond. About whether there would ever come a day when she wouldn’t be apprehensive around them. Around him.
But more than that...He was worried about the consequences.
The demon they’d been tasked with capturing, of bringing back to Zaninsk to await trial, hadn’t just been killed.
It had been erased. Reduced to ash and bone by the uncontrolled power of an inexperienced caster who had manipulated ether in a way Dominik had never seen...
never even heard of. The council would not ignore that. Especially his High Leader.
The demon wasn’t overly dangerous, not enough to warrant removal, yet, How were they going to explain it? How would they react knowing they failed their assignment. What would be their punishment?
And Anabelle? Gods, she absolutely needed a protection team behind her.
And while he was grateful, truly grateful, that it was him and her other mates assigned to that role, it also put him constantly on edge.
Because protection meant danger. It meant scrutiny.
It meant eyes on her from every direction.
Dominik wanted to love her. To care for her. To build something steady and safe around her. And though protecting her was an honor…He wished, selfishly, that one day she wouldn’t need it at all. That she could simply be. Safe. Free. Unafraid.
Anabelle’s voice cut through the heavy silence like glass.
“Sorry...could we, um… stop soon?” she asked, fingers tightening briefly around Emmett’s sleeve. “Just for, like, ten minutes. We need a bathroom. And maybe some food.”
Four heads turned toward her instantly.
“Of course,” Joshua said without hesitation, already scanning the road ahead. “There should be a stop about five minutes up.”
True to his word, they pulled off shortly after, an all-night roadside station glowing warm and yellow against the dark stretch of highway.
The moment the car came to a stop, Anabelle unbuckled Emmett and climbed out with him, the cool air washing over her face.
“Are you coming too?” Emmett asked suddenly.
Anabelle turned sharply at the same moment Dominik stepped out of the car behind them, moving in their direction.
“Yes,” Dominik said, stopping a respectful distance away. “I was going to grab some snacks for the road. Want to help me choose?”
Emmett’s face lit up instantly. “Yesss! Can I, Sissy?”
She smiled down at him, soft and genuine. “Of course, sweetie. Anything you want.” Then she glanced at Dominik with a smirk. “Your friend will pay for it all, won’t he?”
Dominik froze for half a second, then something like awe and eagerness crossed his face. “It would be my honor to get you both fed,” he said earnestly.
She rolled her eyes, already turning toward the store. “You’re ridiculous.”
Inside, under the hum of fluorescent lights, she found herself watching him more closely than she meant to. He wasn’t hovering. He wasn’t crowding. He kept his distance when she needed it and stepped in only when Emmett tugged a sleeve or needed help reaching something on a shelf.
She thought about everything that had happened, they hadn’t lied to her...
not outright. They were just… careful. Unsure.
Afraid of saying the wrong thing. She knew they hadn’t meant to scare her like they did.
And she wasn’t blaming herself either for her reaction...
any human would have panicked with four men like that approaching them out of nowhere.
But maybe…Just maybe… They weren’t as bad as her instincts first screamed they were.
When she returned to the car after using the bathroom, everything had already shifted.
Dominik was helping Emmett open his drink, murmuring something low that made him giggle.
Joshua sat in the driver’s seat, pretending not to stare at her through the rearview mirror, though she’d noticed he’d been doing that the entire drive.
Rian was already handing her food: sandwiches wrapped neatly, and a hot coffee he handed to her with quiet care.
She nearly moaned at the warmth of it in her hands.
Cameron leaned against the inside of the door, watching her like he wanted to ask how she was feeling, again, but respected her enough not to push. She catalogued it all. Filed it away.
Then she spoke. “Could you at least tell me what you are?”
The car went still. They hadn’t expected her to initiate conversation again. Relief rolled through them all, subtle but profound.
Rian was the first to answer. “Joshua and I are shifters. Wolves.”
Cameron followed easily. “I’m an Elemental Fae. Double affinity...Earth and Fire.”
Then she looked at Dominik.
He hesitated, eyes fixed on the floor of the car. “I’m a...” He winced. Gods, would she be afraid of him after what she’d been through?
“I think I know,” she said gently.
Dominik’s head snapped up so fast it startled even him.
“Don’t worry,” she continued calmly. “I’d never assume all individuals are the same.
That’d be like saying all humans are the same...
and we are definitely not.” A corner of her mouth lifted.
“Some of us are considerably more evil than others.” Then, softer, “So… it’s okay.
As long as you never hurt us, I’m fine.”
Dominik released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “Gods, Anabelle. Never. I’d tear out my own heart first.”
“All of us would,” Rian added immediately. “We’d never hurt you.”
She stared at them for a long moment. Then she laughed, bright, unrestrained, real.
“Jesus Christ,” she said, shaking her head. “You are all dramatic.”
Every single one of them felt their hearts expand at the sound. And in that quiet moment, each of them made the same silent vow...They would do everything in their power to hear her laugh again.