Maiand her pack are waiting for us at the castle when we arrive, and the young healer immediately takes Cora into her care, performing what magic I couldn’t. Still, the moment she’s done seeing to the other omega, she finds me in the kitchen with my pack.
“You did phenomenal work with Cora, Juniper. Graeme told me she’d been hexed pretty badly.”
I offer her a tired smile. “I just followed the instructions in the first aid kit.”
“Well, you did a great job. Cora’s going to be just fine. The soft tissue damage was, thankfully, not very deep. She’ll have some soreness for a few days, but nothing a few spells can’t treat. Thank you, Juniper. You may have saved her life.”
When Doc and her pack are gone, my pack crowds around the table in the makeshift kitchen, all of us exhausted. Marcus comes in from the small room where Cora and I have been practicing magic that’s been turned into a small nest for the healing omega.
“Someone has to do something about Jack and Graeme,” he rumbles. “I don’t think they’ve slept at all since Cora disappeared.”
I heave myself up from the table and nod. “I’ll handle it. And I can watch over Cora while they get some sleep.”
I head for Cora’s room and sigh when I see the two alphas clustered together on a threadbare sofa, leaning forward, elbows on their knees, watching for any sign of movement from Cora’s nest. A camping lantern lights the small space, throwing their shadows on the castle’s stone walls.
“Jack, Graeme,” I say, not bothering to hide the fatigue in my voice. If I’m tired from the past few days, they’re bound to be exhausted. “She’s safe, and she’s healing. You should go get some sleep while you can. I’ll come and get you when she wakes.”
Graeme mutters something unintelligible while Jack grumbles.
“Shoo,” I tell them. “I’ve got this.”
“You’ve had a difficult day,” Graeme protests.
“We all have, but you two haven’t been sleeping. I promise you’ll be the first to know if anything happens, all right? If she so much as stirs, I’ll come wake you. You’re useless to her if you don’t rest.”
My words do the trick. After kneeling by Cora’s side and stroking her hair away from her face, Graeme heads to the door, watching Jack take his spot beside the unconscious omega. He takes her hand and squeezes it lightly and murmurs something I don’t catch.
Finally, the two of them leave, only for Marcus to join me, cups of tea and coffee in his hands. “I can stay with you, if you’d like?” he offers hesitantly. Like me, he’s probably wondering where we stand after I spent the whole plane ride home clinging to him. In truth, I wonder the same. He says he loves me, and I know he cares, but did he only hold me because I needed it? Or did he want me curled up in his arms?
“I’d like you to stay,” I say quietly, taking a seat on the sofa. Marcus walks over and sets his coffee down on the floor before taking the seat beside me. Carefully, so as not tospill my tea, he gently tugs me into his lap, tucking my head beneath his chin. I settle against him, letting out a long breath.
“Is this okay?”
“Yes. It’s perfect. I… I need this.”
“I need it too,” he admits, nuzzling my temple before pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Saints know I’ve needed this for a long time. Iachefor you, Juniper. Never doubt that I want you in my arms.”
His kiss fills me with the warm glow of early summer sunshine, as it did back in the cottage, but his words fill me with something even more precious: hope. I nuzzle his jaw, and he tightens his hold on me, sighing with the same contentment I feel.
We stay cuddled up like that while Cora sleeps and heals, and by dawn, our tea and coffee long gone, I’m yawning heavily.
“Sleep for a bit, sweet-tart. You need it.”
“You need it, too,” I grumble.
“Yes, but I’m more stubborn than you are.”
“Want to bet on that?”
He presses another kiss to my forehead. “No, I want you to rest.”
How can I not when he holds me so sweetly, when I feel so relaxed I’m practically boneless? I’ve longed to fall asleep in this alpha’s arms for so long, so I do, knowing he’ll watch over both me and Cora.
I stir when Cora does.Marcus gently shifts me from his arms onto one of the worn old couch cushions and goes to get Graeme and Jack.
Cora sits up, shielding her eyes against the light of the camping lantern. “I’m back in the castle?” she croaks.
I nod and grab her a bottle of water, holding it to her lips. “We flew back this afternoon. You’ve been asleep ever since we found you. You were badly hexed. Doc left a few hours ago. How are you feeling?”
