.Chapter 22
Simone
I crashed through the doors and the first face I saw was my brother’s. With a huge smile, I ran
straight at him, crashing into his chest and hugging him with all my strength.
“Oomph,” Dash grunted and coughed at the impact. “Are you trying to break some bones?”
Clairm
“Yes!” I kicked his shin for good measure. “Damn asshole! Couldn’t you text more often? I didn’t know whether to hunt for a communication crystal and haunt your dreams or try the old-fashioned Ouija to see if you’d finally fucking replied.”
He boomed out a laugh, hugging me tightly against his chest. “Sorry, Sisi,” he said, ruffling my hair with one hand while ignoring my curses. “It’s been a hectic couple of months.”
“Tell me about it,” I rolled my eyes and finally released him, taking in his appearance. He looked older somehow, more serious than when I’d last seen him. There were new lines around his eyes and a tension in his shoulders that spoke of stress and responsibility. But he didn’t look hurt or injured, and I breathed in relief. Thank the goddess he was okay. “So-”
“My babies, finally home!” Mom appeared from behind us, making both of us groan as she pulled us into another group hug, sniffing with actual tears running down her cheeks. The woman was the most dramatic person on earth, and the older she got, the more she liked to create a scene. Her emotions were always so close to the surface, especially when it came to her children. “Troy, get your ass here! We’re doing a family hug!”
A snort interrupted her emotional display. “Can I join?”
“Finn!” I exclaimed, breaking away from Mom’s death grip to hug him as well, ignoring her indignant curses. “Hi!”
“Hello, darling. Long time no see,” he smiled and looked over at my mother with mischief in his eyes. Finn had always enjoyed pushing Mom’s buttons, and she always rose to the bait. “Your children like Uncle Finn more, Kiana. What does it feel-?”
“I’m about to kick your ass so hard you’ll fly back to your pack in a single night,” Mom scowled at Finn, batting away his arms as he tried to hug her top. “We’d rather have Amelia making the decisions anyway.”
“Leave my mate alone,” Dad growled suddenly, appearing behind us with that protective edge that always surfaced when other men got too close to Mom. Even though Finn was practically family, Dad’s alpha instincts didn’t make exceptions. “You have your own.”
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Chapter 22
Finn rolled his eyes and turned to hug Dad instead. “Good to see you, man.”
Clainy
“You too,” Dad replied, and they clapped each other’s backs in that way men did when they were
genuinely happy to see each other but didn’t want to admit it.
Everyone started filling into the room, sharing greetings and catching up. Pack members I hadn’t
seen in months were embracing, council members were shaking hands, and the noise level was
rising with dozens of conversations happening at once. The atmosphere was sad and joyful at the
same time, which was pretty typical for our group gatherings these days. There was an underlying
current of grief for those we’d lost, but also genuine happiness at being reunited with loved ones.
It was a miracle, really, that everyone seemed such good friends despite all the shit we’d been through. Wars had a way of either tearing people apart or binding them together with unbreakable bonds. Thankfully, we’d ended up with the latter. I guess that’s what comes after trauma bonding and joining forces to kill Finn’s lunatic mother, who’d tried to murder them all a few decades back.
“We’re all here?” Elonso’s voice boomed across the room as everyone took their seats. All Betas and Gammas were there, as well as mates and any single person of interest, so the room was very packed. I could see Jensen sitting near the front, looking like he hadn’t slept in weeks. Janelle was perched on the edge of a table, deliberately not looking at Elonso despite the tension crackling between them. London had claimed an entire corner and was holding court with some of the
younger pack members.
“One more left,” Finn said, checking his watch with a slight frown.
Dash stayed next to me, leaning against the wall instead of taking a seat. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and tugged me close so he could sniff my hair, which was exactly the kind of weird brother behavior I’d missed but also didn’t need right now. His protective instincts had always been strong, but being away for months seemed to have amplified them.
“You smell differently, Sisi,” he said, his voice taking on that suspicious tone that meant he’d noticed changes I didn’t fucking want him to notice. My brother had always been too perceptive for his own good.
“Let go,” I grumbled, starting to panic a bit. The last thing I needed was my overprotective brother figuring out I was pregnant in the middle of a pack leaders’ meeting. “I changed my shampoo.”
“No, it’s not that,” Dash grunted, scowling down at me and refusing to let go as I tried to create some damn space between us. His nose was practically buried in my hair now, and I could see the exact moment his brain started to work. His eyes were getting that dangerous look that meant someone was about to get hurt. “What is going-”
A sudden growl rumbled through the walls, so deep that it seemed to shake the entire building.
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Chapter 22
Clare
The sound chilled me to the bone and made goosebumps erupt across my skin as exclamations were heard throughout the room. Conversations died instantly, and I could feel the tension spike as everyone’s supernatural senses went on high alert.
But my body was locked in place, frozen by a sound I recognized on a cellular level.
No. It couldn’t be.
Yes, my wolf purred. Home, at last. Here.
“Dude, what’s wrong with you?” Dash asked someone, and my heart stopped as I heard footsteps walking closer and closer across the wooden floor. Heavy, measured steps that spoke of controlled power and barely leashed violence.
My hands started trembling, my breath catching in my throat as I refused to look up. I could feel a familiar presence approaching, could smell that distinctive scent of him, pure male dominance that had haunted my dreams for months.
I saw two boots stop in front of us, leather worn from travel but still obviously high quality. Then a familiar voice cut through the tension in the room, rough and commanding and absolutely furious.
“Get your fucking hands off of her.”
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