“Yes.”
“Can’t leave?”Hannah asks.
“We could.Physically.But the farther we go from the seal site, the weaker the binding becomes.Too far, too long, and—”
“The Khorvath breaks free.”Tessa finishes.“So yeah.We’re staying.”
Hannah is quiet for a moment, processing.Then she smiles, small but genuine.“Good.I like you.Would hate to lose you to wanderlust.”
“Not much danger of that,” Tessa says dryly.
Hannah finishes her examination, declares us miraculously uninjured aside from exhaustion and minor cuts, then moves on to the next patient.Leaving us alone in our corner, the curtain a thin barrier between us and the organized chaos beyond.
Tessa sags against me, and I catch her, lowering us both to the cot that’s probably meant for one person but will have to do.She curls into my side, face pressed to my chest, and through the bond I feel the moment adrenaline crashes and exhaustion takes over.
“We did it,” she whispers.
“We did.”
“Kyler—”
“I know.”The grief sits heavy in my chest.“I should have trained him better.Should have been faster.Should have—”
“Should have had a crystal ball and perfect foresight?”She lifts her head, meeting my eyes.“You did everything you could.We all did.And he died fighting beside his brothers.That meant something to him.”
“Doesn’t make it hurt less.”
“No.But it matters anyway.”She settles back against me.“We’ll honor him.Remember him.Make sure his death counted for something.”
Outside our curtained refuge, I hear Blade’s voice calling for church.The hour is up.Time to face the club and whatever comes next.
But I can’t bring myself to move.Not yet.Not when Tessa is warm in my arms and alive andminein ways that transcend anything I’ve experienced in five hundred years.
“Five more minutes,” I murmur into her hair.
“Deal.”
Those five minutes stretch into ten, then fifteen.No one comes to get us.Maybe Hannah warned them off, or maybe the club understands we need this moment.This quiet space to justbeafter nearly dying multiple times in one night.
Eventually, though, reality intrudes.
Blade appears at the curtain, not entering but making his presence known.“When you’re ready.No rush.”
We find him in the clubhouse with Prophet and the senior members already assembled.Scout’s wings are bandaged but visible, Chrome’s injured arm is in a sling, and Fury looks more exhausted than I’ve ever seen him, his usual fire reduced to barely a spark.
Everyone looks up when we enter.
The weight of their attention is palpable.These men, my brothers, watched me become something other than I was.Watched as Tessa and I rewrote rules that have stood for millennia.And now they’re waiting to see what it means for the club.
Blade stands, and the room falls silent.
“Tessa.”His voice carries the formal weight of his presidential authority.“Come here.”
She glances at me, uncertain, but I nod.This is important.
She walks to stand before him, chin raised, shoulders back despite her exhaustion.Every inch the warrior she’s become.
“Tessa.”His voice carries the formal weight of his presidential authority.“You rode with us.You fought beside us.You bled for us.And in the end, you sacrificed everything to save us.”Blade holds out his hand to her.
