"So we go back and try to be normal?" Oakley asks.
"As normal as you can be," Robbie says. "Which isn't very, but it's better than making yourselves targets."
Stephanie stands, brushing off her jeans. "Look, we came here thinking we were rescuing you. Clearly you don't need that. But you do need friends who aren't part of your pack dynamic. People who can give you perspective when you're too deep in it to see clearly."
"And we can do that," Robbie adds. "Be there if you need us. But this—" he gestures at the four of us, "—this is yours to figure out. We can't fix it for you."
"I don't want you to fix it," I say. "I need to know you're there if it falls apart."
"We are," Stephanie says firmly. "I fucked up once by running. I won't do it again. But I also can't be inside this with you. That's between the four of you."
"I know." I stand, suddenly exhausted. "Thank you. For caring enough to drive three hours with a tire iron and a rescue plan."
"Next time maybe text us back so we don't have to go all vigilante," Robbie mutters, but he's smiling as he hugs me. "Seriously though. Stay in touch. Let us know you're okay."
"I will," I promise.
After they leave—after more hugs, after Stephanie makes me promise to text her when we get back to campus, after Robbie extracts a vow from all three Alphas to keep me safe—I sink onto the couch.
"That was intense," Oakley says quietly.
"They're right though." I lean back, staring at the ceiling. "About all of it. We've been in a bubble here. Reality is going to be different."
Dorian sits beside me. Not touching, close. "Are you having second thoughts?"
"No." I turn to look at him. "But I'm scared. Of going back. Of this not working. Of everything being too hard."
"Then we'll be scared together." He takes my hand, and it doesn't feel like claiming or controlling. It feels like partnership. "Figure it out as we go."
"We have a week," Corvus says from the kitchen doorway. "We should use it to prepare. Actually prepare."
"Prepare how?" I ask.
"Mentally," he says. "Emotionally. We've spent six weeks focused on us. Now we need to think about how we function out there. In the real world."
"That's practical," Oakley observes.
"That's terrifying," I correct. But I nod. "Okay. Let's prepare. Starting with figuring out how we're going to handle living together in the pack house without killing each other."
"Or how we're going to handle the inevitable questions about where you've been," Dorian adds.
"Summer program," I say. "Which is true. I was in Columbus for six weeks. They don't need to know about... everything else."
"Simple. I like it," Corvus approves.
We sit in silence, the weight of going back settling over all of us.
"One week," I murmur. "One week and everything changes again."
"We'll figure it out," Oakley says. "Together."
"Together," I echo.
Maybe that's enough. Not knowing exactly how it will work, but knowing we're choosing to try. Choosing each other despite the fear and the uncertainty and all the ways it could go wrong.
Maybe that's what makes a real pack. Not dominance or submission or power games. Choosing to face the hard things together, even when you're terrified.
I guess we'll find out in a week.
