Ian arrives shortly after Luca,Marcus and I get back to the pack house. Cassian and Simon immediately drop whatever cute, bickering argument they were having when they see the weariness that hangs over the rest of us.
Cassian’s scent spikes and alpha dominance courses through him as his instincts demand he fix whatever has pained me, but Simon takes his hand and presses it between his.
“Cass, Juniper is here and appears to be unharmed,” he says reasonably, his voice soft like he’s trying to soothe a wounded animal.
Cassian lets out a low growl and I go to him and, together, Simon and I hold him until his growl turns into a rumbling purr.
“Tell me what happened,” he says, and I know he needs to hear it from me.
I shake my head at Luca and guide Cassian over to the sofa, sitting him down and then curling in beside him.
“No one is hurt,” I begin. “And Rad hasn’t been in contact with me, but he left us a message.”
I tell him what Luca discovered, how the mask was stolen, how Rad or the Soldiers made their point perfectly clear in the three words they left on Luca’s wall.
Cassian looks up at Luca, who’s slouching against the counter in the kitchen. “You’re all right?”
“I’m rattled,” Luca admits.
“Fuck, man,” Cassian sighs. “Me too.”
“We all need to be more attentive whenever we’re out of the pack house with Juniper,” Ian says. “A single second’s lapse in attention could mean her life.”
I look up over the back of the couch and glare at the alpha I had desperately wanted to kiss during our research earlier tonight. “A single second’s lapse in attention could meanyourowndamn life! Don’t you see? Rad can’t get to me, so he’s going after the people I love.”
He returns my hard stare with an icy one of his own. “You’re our concern, Juniper. You know we’d give our lives for you.”
“Ian’s right,” Cassian says, ignoring my glare. “We’ll protect you, no matter the cost.”
“Well, the cost fucking matters to me!” I snap. “Cassian, you’re mymate. Losing you would devastate me. And Ian, I’ve already almost lost you once. Don’t put me through that again. If you all can’t be bothered to care about your own lives, then care about what losing any of you would do to me.”
I shove up off the couch, slapping Cassian’s hands away when he tries to reach for me. I stare Ian and Cassian down, then stomp across the kitchen and grab Luca’s hand.
“We’re going to bed,” I snarl at the others. “Alone.”
To his credit, Luca dutifully follows without protest, and once we’re up in my room and changed out of our uniforms, he helps me rage-nest. He hands me blanket after blanket and says nothing when I punch one of my pillows. When I’m still dissatisfied with my nest and breathing hard out of frustration, he slips his flannel off his shoulders and wraps it around me, then follows his flannel with his arms. He sets his chin on my shoulder and presses a kiss to my cheek.
“I’m not saying they’re right,” he says softly. “I’m just saying I understand. The first thing I had to do after I saw my wreck of a room was find you and make sure you were okay.”
“I hate this,” I admit. “I didn’t mean to snap, but I’m so fucking scared, Luca. I can’t lose you. Any of you.”
He turns me in his arms and smooths my hair away from my face. “I know, princess. I’m scared, too. I think we all are.”
I bury my nose in his chest, dragging his scent into my lungs. “Our mating contract was broken, but Rad still torments me. Us. It’s not fair.”
“No,” he agrees. “It isn’t. But we’ll find a way to bring him down, Junie. I promise. And once we do, think of all the happy years we’ll have together.”
“You’re right,” I sigh, dragging him down to the mattress with me.
He wraps the covers around us and we huddle together beneath them under the glow of my twinkle lights.
In my alpha’s arms, I pretend that we’re already in those happy years, that Rad has been defeated, my father toppled, and the Soldiers vanquished. It’s a beautiful dream, but I’m quickly learning just how fragile dreams are.
* * *
I wake early enoughto go slip in with Ian, relieved that he didn’t head back to his apartment after our fight. He greets me with a sleepy kiss and pulls me close, wrapping his strong arms around me.
“I’m sorry,” I murmur. “I shouldn’t have snapped.”
