Chapter 32
Afew days later…
Griff
The sky was low and gray, threatening rain, but it was holding off for the time being.
Sera stood near the end of the dock with her pack gathered around her, all of them dressed in clothes that would survive salt water and bad weather.
Logan had a coil of rope looped over one shoulder.
Aidan and Declan were checking the fastenings on the nearest boat with matching frowns.
Jamie and Edward guarded the pier and gangplank like they were just waiting for someone to give them an excuse to flip it up and go.
Tamsin walked toward Sera, coat flapping around her legs, hair tied back against the wind. I kept a few paces behind with Elias. Nox, Eamon, and Bishop spread out around us without needing to be told.
The two women met in the middle.
They didn’t say much at first. They just wrapped each other in a hug that was hard and solid and short.
“You sure about this?” Tamsin asked when they stepped back.
Sera blew out a breath that edged close to a laugh. “I’m going back to a bunch of ex-anti-wolf fanatics to help them hunt a bunch of crazy lycans. Of course I’m not sure.”
“But you’re going anyway,” Tamsin said.
“Yeah,” Sera replied. Her mouth quirked. “Somebody has to make sure they don’t kill anyone else.”
Her wolves shifted slightly around her. Logan stood near her shoulder, Declan and Aidan flanked her, Jamie paced restless at the back, and Edward was already looking at the water like he was impatient to get moving.
“You’ll have what remains of the Watch waiting for you on the Isle of Man,” Elias said. “The ones who chose not to follow Dane. They’ll listen to you.”
“They’d better,” Sera said matter-of-factly. “Or I’ll make them.”
“You do realize you’re going to be in charge of them,” Nox said. “That’s terrifying.”
“For them,” Sera shot back with a smirk.
Zara snorted from further down the quay.
She was already halfway aboard one of the other boats, leaning on the railing with Magnus and Killian behind her like the two halves of a very large, very capable wall.
Tobias and Callum were loading the last of their supply crates.
Thorne did a final check of knots and tarps.
Zara’s energy practically hummed. She kept looking out toward the open water, then back at the city, like both were calling and she was just deciding which to answer first.
“Try not to pick too many fights on the way,” Tamsin told Sera.
“No promises,” Sera said. Then she sobered. “Send word if things start to go sideways here.”
“Same to you,” Tamsin said. “If you run into more lycans than you can handle—”
“We’ll handle them,” Sera said. “And if we can’t, I know where you live now.”
There was a beat of quiet humor at that.
Tamsin’s gaze slid past Sera to Zara. “Ready?” she called.
Zara straightened, grin flashing. “Have been since we left,” she said. “Ireland still has too many ferals that need to be helped. These idiots—” she jerked her thumb at her wolves, “—are itching to get back to work.”
Magnus rolled his eyes fondly. Killian just smirked.
“You’ve got enough serum?” Eamon asked, ever the doctor.
“Enough to start,” Zara said. “And I know how to get more now that London’s stopped pretending that they don’t make it.”
I watched them all, feeling that familiar mix of pride and worry in my chest. I was protective of Tamsin by default, but I had to admit I was impressed as hell by Zara and Sera too. They’d walked through their own fires and come out the other side not just breathing but thriving.
Tamsin stood at the center of it without trying to claim center stage.
She never did. She just… anchored everything.
People turned to her without thinking when decisions needed making.
Packs from three different places had fallen into orbit around her, and she hadn’t asked for it, but she hadn’t backed away from it either.
“Don’t get killed doing something noble but stupid,” Tamsin said, looking between Zara and Sera.
“That’s rich, coming from you,” Zara said.
“She has a point,” Bishop added quietly.
Sera snorted. “We’ll try to stick to necessary and stupid.”
“That’s better,” I grinned.
Logan clasped Elias’s forearm and murmured something low that I didn’t catch. Magnus thumped my shoulder hard enough to make my teeth rattle and muttered, “Keep an eye on your girl.”
“We’ll send word,” Sera said, stepping back onto the gangplank. “If you don’t hear from us for too long…”
“We’ll come looking,” Tamsin said.
“Didn’t doubt it,” Sera replied.
Zara waved as her wolves moved quickly, untying ropes, and readying to make way. The boats eased away from the docks, and we stood and watched until they were small shapes against the gray water, heading in different directions—one toward the Isle of Man, the other angling further west for Ireland.
The quay felt bigger once they were gone.
Quieter.
Colder, maybe. Or maybe that was just the wind picking up.
Tamsin gave one final wave and then turned back toward the city and started walking.
We fell into step around her without needing to coordinate, Elias on one side, me on the other, Nox a few paces ahead scanning the way, Eamon and Bishop behind us, talking in low voices about clinic locations and record-keeping.
People watched us as we moved through the streets, but it wasn’t the same flat fear as before. Some looks were wary, some resentful, some curious. A few, here and there, even looked grateful.
We passed a pair of men walking on the sidewalk. One wore a patchy coat and carried a toolbox; the other had a bandage on his neck that looked fresh. They paused when they saw us, straightened unconsciously, and gave us an appreciative nod before continuing on their walk.
It was strange to think of this city as our new home.
London had always been the problem at the edge of the map, the place that made rules everyone else had to suffer under.
Now it was just… where we were.
Where we’d chosen to stay.
By the time we reached the building Mirae had given us as a more permanent base—a three-story structure near the river with thick walls and decent bones—the light was going gold at the edges, sinking behind towers and chimneys.
Someone had already scrubbed the front step. A new lock gleamed on the door.
Inside, the first floor still smelled like old dust and fresh soap. The second had been roughly divided into offices and meeting rooms. The third held a massive bed that was big enough for all six of us to stretch out on and then some.
Tamsin shrugged out of her coat and dropped it over the back of a chair.
“Bed,” Elias said.
“I should—”
“Bed, Tam,” I said, softer. “London will still be here in the morning.”
She huffed in mock annoyance. “My bossy wolves,” she murmured.
We took that as a yes.
She climbed up to the third floor and stretched out on the bed without ceremony, boots kicked off to the side, hair spilling loose over the pillow.
For a second, she tried to stay propped up on one elbow, listening to Bishop and Eamon argue quietly about shelving in the next room, to Nox humming tunelessly as he checked the window latches.
Her body had other ideas though.
Her eyes slid closed.
One by one, we settled around her.
Elias lay down on her left side, an arm draped lightly over her waist. I took the spot at her back, close enough that she’d feel us if she startled awake.
Nox dropped down at her feet, hands folded behind his head.
Bishop claimed the corner nearest the door.
Eamon sat with his back against the wall, legs stretched out, head tipping sideways as sleep finally pulled at him too.
The building creaked a little as it adjusted to having new people inside it.
I lay there with my eyes open for a while, listening to Tamsin’s breathing even out, feeling the steady warmth of her pressed between us, and thought—not for the first time—that I’d followed her into hell and back.
Now, for the first time, it felt like we might actually get to live somewhere that accepted what we were instead of trying to erase us from existence.
It wasn’t peace exactly just yet.
But it was ours, together.