Benton freezes. His face reddens, and he storms back inside the doorway like a child who just got disciplined.
Bayleigh trembles, then she steps forward, not waiting for permission. She walks off the porch—straight toward us.
I speak first. “You can come with us.”
Milton nods without hesitation. “We’ve got you.”
Korbin mutters, low and fierce, “You’re safer with us, anyway.”
We close in around her instinctively, one on each side, one behind, forming a loose circle as we guide her back to the truck.
Benton runs out of the house and shouts after her, as if he’s forgotten she can’t hear him.
She doesn’t look back at the house, not once. Not even when she slides into the seat between Milton and me, letting out a shaky breath that sounds like surrender and relief fused together.
The drive home feels like the first page of something entirely new. She leans against my shoulder. Milton rests a warm, steady hand on her knee. Korbin watches her in the mirror like he’s memorizing the shape of her existence.
And for the first time, it feels real.
Not a rivalry. Not a mistake. Not a secret. Not a scandal. A pack. Beginning. Growing. Forming around her.
And she has no idea how far we’ll go to protect this.
To protect her.
To protect what’s ours.
33
Bayleigh
I barely registerthe drive at all. The only thing I can focus on once I get in the truck is the tightness in my throat and the way my eyes keep blurring no matter how many times I blink. Lincoln sits with me in the back seat, his arms wrapped around my shoulders tightly, his lips resting on the top of my head. I’m surrounded by all of their scents—sandalwood, peach, grapefruit—each of them calming and soothing.
Benton’s words were harsh. Horrible, even. I can’t stomach the fact he was able to say them at all to me. He’s mybrother.He’s supposed to be the one who always has my back.. I get that he doesn’t like Korbin, and he has his reasons, but Lincoln’s not his brother. Yeah, Korbin was with us, but that’s to be expected with them being brothers and all. What am I supposed to say? If you want to date me, he has to go? I’d be no better than Benton. And if I’m being honest, I enjoyed being with Korbin tonight, too.
By the time we pull up to their house, my heart is pounding so hard I can feel it in my fingertips. My hands tremble as I situp, and Lincoln opens the door, getting out before reaching in and taking my hand in his.
His brows pull together. “Bayleigh… Come on, Baby, I got you. We got you.” His lips move slowly as he pronounces each word clearly so I can read his lips.
The invitation is soft, not a command or demand, but my body moves anyway, taking what he is so willingly giving to me. My feet touch the ground, and he wraps his arm around my shoulders again, guiding me to the porch. Lincoln only stops long enough to open the door before we step inside. I’m immediately hit with warmth. A sense of security and safety swallows me whole. Lincoln rests his hand gingerly between my shoulder blades, guiding me gently into the living room.
I feel his presence beside me before I see him—quiet but solid.
Korbin.
He doesn’t say anything. Just sits down on the chair that’s kitty-corner from the couch, his face in perfect view for me to read his lips if he were to speak.
And then just beyond him, from the kitchen doorway, stands Milton.
Lincoln taps me on my shoulder, and I turn to face him.
“Do you want something to drink? Water? Wine? Hot tea?”
Do I want something? Tonight had been so perfect, and then my brother went and ruined it.
I drop my head, my eyes focusing on my hands that are clasped in my lap. I gnaw on the inside of my cheek as I debate, then I sign.
Wine. Please.
