15. Lily
Lily
I barely make it to my room before my legs give out.
My body trembles as I stumble through the door, vision blurred with tears and breath coming in sharp, panicked gasps. The vice around my lungs tightens with each step until I collapse onto the bed, all the strings holding me upright suddenly cut.
I’m tired. So tired of feeling this way.
I curl into myself, hugging my knees so tight it hurts as a keening sound escapes my throat. My whole body rocks with violent sobs, tears soaking into my jeans as I try desperately to hold the broken pieces together.
But it’s useless.
The terror of the attack, the suffocating fear that’s haunted me for months—it all crashes over me in relentless waves until I’m drowning.
I thought I was finally safe here. But the break-in shattered that illusion like glass. Will I ever be free of him? The thought sends fresh shards of panic through me. I can’t go back. I’d rather die than be under his control again.
Part of me wants to run, to disappear somewhere he’d never think to look. Change my name, my hair, start over completely.
But even as the thought forms, I know it’s hopeless. Damian has eyes everywhere. His men are probably watching the Haven right now, waiting to snatch me the moment I step out alone.
I’m trapped, a bird in a gilded cage, forever at his mercy. The realization tears another wail from my throat as I bury my face in my knees, my whole body shaking. It’s like being lost in an endless dark tunnel with no light in sight.
Time loses all meaning as I drown in my own terror, the roar of my heartbeat drowning out everything else.
Until a soft knock cuts through the haze of tears.
Panic surges before a gentle voice calls out: “Lily? It’s us. Can we come in?”
Something in my chest loosens as their mingled scents reaches me. I uncurl myself and stumble to the door on shaky legs.
Leo opens his arms the moment I appear, and I crumble into his warmth with a choked sob. He guides us to the bed, pulling me onto his lap as Alaric and Raph settle on either side, their thighs creating a protective cage around me.
Leo holds me tighter, one hand cradling my head to his chest while the other traces soothing circles on my back. “You’re safe now, Lily. We’ve got you,” he murmurs.
Alaric’s palm finds my knee, warm and steady. “We won’t let anything happen to you. Not now, not ever.”
Raph’s fingers brush my cheek as he tucks back my hair, cedar mixing with bourbon and Vanilla until I’m cocooned in their protection. “Damian’s never touching you again, sweetheart. We’ll make damn sure of that.”
A breath I didn’t realize I was holding slips free, the dread dissolving under their presence.
“I don’t understand,” I whisper, glancing between them. “Why are you all doing this for me? You barely know me…”
Alaric’s hand tightens on my knee as he leans closer. “Lily… don’t you feel it?”
He doesn’t need to elaborate because I do feel it. That inexplicable pull, like an invisible tether drawing me to them. Even through the terror clouding my mind when I first arrived, I think I felt it. A bone-deep sense of… belonging.
I’d convinced myself I was too broken for anything beyond survival. But here, wrapped in their embrace… I can’t deny it anymore.
I found my pack.
“I feel it,” I breathe, wonder and certainty blooming in my chest. “I tried to ignore it at first, but… it’s always been there. This connection. Like I was meant to find you.”
Raph’s fingers thread through my hair, impossibly gentle. “We were meant to find each other,” he corrects, his scent warming with affection.
“We’re meant for each other, baby.” Alaric’s thumb traces soothing circles on my knee. “I think we knew from the moment we met you.”
Leo’s arms tighten around me. “We’re here for you,” he murmurs into my hair. “We’ll keep you safe forever, princess. That’s a promise.”
I believe them with every fiber of my being.
Cradled between my Alphas, I know I’m not alone anymore. Tears sting my eyes, but for the first time in forever, they’re not from fear.
With my pack by my side, I know I can face anything.