Chapter 107
Tessa’s POV
The walk back to Sasha’s room was quiet, but not in the same way as before.
This time, it was a peaceful quiet.
gam
A quiet full of unspoken understanding. Of new beginnings stretching just beneath the surface.
Kane stayed close beside me, one arm holding the paper bag of food while the other hovered near mine like he didn’t want to break contact again. The hallway was still and dim, the sounds of the pack house reduced to a hum behind thick walls and closed doors.
When we reached Sasha’s room, the heavy sense of dread I’d carried earlier had lessened. A fragile hope had taken its place.
The door creaked softly as Kane pushed it open, and I immediately scanned the room- half–expecting something to have changed. But Sasha still lay in the bed, her features peaceful, unmoving. Monitors beeped gently in the background.
Nothing was different.
But somehow, after the conversation we just had, everything felt it.
Erin glanced up the second we stepped in. Her eyes, tired but hopeful, landed on the bag in Kane’s hands before flicking toward mine. Seth stood from where he’d been leaning near the bed, stretching his arms over his head with a groan.
“You made it back alive,” he grumbled. “Was beginning to think the kitchen oven had swallowed you two.”
“Long walk,” Kane replied, shrugging, as he moved to the small side table and began unloading the containers.
But we both knew it was something else that had kept us…
Seth stepped forward and grabbed his coffee before Kane could even hand it to him. He took a large sip… and immediately choked on it.
‘F**k!” he sputtered, face twisting like he’d bitten into a lemon. “Where did you have to go to get this? The fucking Antarctic? It’s freezing!‘
Kane chuckled low in his chest, exchanging a glance with me as I bit back a laugh. “Again, long walk…” Kane sniggered as Seth drew his eyes off of him childishly.
“No, no, it’s absolutely fine. I love my coffee with a side of frostbite,” Seth shot back, scowling half–heartedly as he took another cautious sip anyway.
I shook my head, amused, and stepped over to Erin, handing her one of the containers, a bottle of water, and the small paper napkin-
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Chapter 107
wrapped bundle that held her cookie.
“A cookie too? What a treat!‘ she beamed, eyes lighting up as she peeled back the napkin like it was wrapping paper on a birthday gift. “It’s almost like you love me or something.”
“Of course I do,” I replied warmly, settling into the chair beside her.
She grinned and sat cross–legged in her chair, opening her container and letting the smell of garlic and toasted bread fill the room. Seth
took his place across from her and immediately began pulling open his own container, muttering something under his breath about freezing drinks and lukewarm loyalty.
Kane settled himself in the corner closest to the bed, sitting on the edge of a bench near Sasha and unfolding his own meal. I watched
him glance over at her more than once, the lines in his face softening each time.
There was something sacred about that moment.
All of us here. Together.
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No violence. No fear. No echo of Dimitri’s reign or the cruelty of the selection facility walls.
Just us- quietly rebuilding together as a group.
I turned back toward Sasha’s still form, wishing harder than ever that she could at least hear us right now.
That she could feel how the room had changed. There was no more screaming. No more punishment. Just warmth. Food. Laughter. A room
full of people who owed her everything and were ready to give back.
“I hope she can hear us,” I whispered, barely loud enough for anyone to catch it.
But Kane did.
‘She can,” he said quietly, not looking up from his plate. “They say people in deep healing states still register the voices they know.
Familiarity helps them come back.”
I nodded, swallowing past the lump in my throat, hoping his words were truth.
Erin paused her eating just long enough to reach out and squeeze my wrist gently, her cookie cradled in her other hand like it was sacred.
“We’ll be here when she wakes,” she said with certainty. “And if she doesn’t wake up soon… we’ll wait longer.”
There was no such thing as abandoning each other anymore,
Not now.
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As I looked around at the people in this room-
Kane, who had crossed the world for me; Seth, who always found a way to turn the darkest moments into something light; Erin, my other half- I realised something.
This wasn’t just the end of something painful.
It was the beginning of something better.
Maybe even something real.
As the soft hum of conversation resumed and quiet eating filled the room, I leaned back in my chair and let it all settle over me like a
balm.
We were together. We were safe.
But I couldn’t help the urge to tell my best friend all about my conversation with Kane in the corridor.
I needed a moment alone with her, but knew that with Kane’s unsettled wolf, that would be hard to get. He wouldn’t let me out of his
sight for more than a second, so I’d have to think hard on a way to figure it out.
I began to wonder what would happen between Erin and Seth too. Since Seth had gone to great lengths back home just to get Erin away
from her first suitor – Leo.
I shivered at the memory of the man.
The one who had burned cigarettes in to her skin.
Who had locked food away to prevent her from eating without his knowledge.
Seth liked her, and worked tirelessly to have her to himself.
But did he love her?
Did he want her as his mate too? Just like Kane did me?
He must! Having travelled all this way just to get her back…
I glanced between them, but Seth caught it.
“What’s on your mind little Tessa? Can see you’re thinking hard on something there…” Seth hums, breaking the silence as Kane’s brow
raises at that.
And without warning…
I just said it.
D
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“Do you think you’ll make things official with Erin soon?” I ask, watching his chewing slow to a complete stop.
“Official? I figured it was official when I hopped on a jet all the way to Russia just to get her back!” He jokes, as Erin eyes me wildly, unsure of where I was going with this.
“No… you know what I mean?” I test, motioning with my hand as though it were a magic wand that would help them understand me.
“No, I’m afraid I don’t?” Seth deadpans, squinting at me weirdly as I felt a sweat begin to build on my head.
Had I overstepped?
“Will you mate with her?!” Kane suddenly shoots the question to him straight, as his eyes suddenly widen.
“Oh… that?” Seth mutters, as I nod once to confirm Erin hitting my leg once as a silent ‘what the fuck?‘.
Too late now…
Comments
Laurie Weir
国
3 Comments >
her stutter seems to have disappeared significantly since she was rescued, become bolder
7 days ago
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
