“What happened?”I ask, scanning the street behind her, around her, through her.Looking for movement.Looking for anyone who doesn’t belong.
“No one’s here,” she says quickly, knowing exactly what I’m checking for.“I just...I couldn’t stay alone.Not tonight.”
A knot I didn’t know I had loosens in my chest.
“Good,” I say.“You shouldn’t.”
She exhales shakily, and I want to pull her into my arms, hold her so tight the shaking stops.But I remember the hallway.Her hesitation.The weight she carries around touch and danger and control.
“Can I—?”I start, lifting a hand slowly to give her the chance to say no.
She swallows.“Please.”
Permission hits me harder than a hit in the corner.
I wrap my arms around her, slow and careful, giving her every second to pull away.She doesn’t.Her forehead presses into my chest, breath trembling against me.I feel the moment she lets some of the fear bleed out, her body sagging into mine like she’s been standing too long on uneven ground.
“Jesus, Wren,” I murmur.“You’re freezing.”
She laughs a little, broken at the edges.“I rushed out.”
“You didn’t need to rush.I’d have come inside.”
“I know.”Her voice is quiet.“That’s why I rushed.”
Something warm flickers through me.I tighten my hold, just a fraction.Her hands slide to my waist, fingers gripping the fabric like she needs the texture to keep herself steady.
I bury my nose in her hair for one second—just one—and inhale.Shampoo.Cold air.Something soft and familiar I’m starting to crave.
The sound of footsteps hits my ears before I see anything.I turn my head, body tensing, ready to shield her.
But it’s Kael.Calm.Controlled.Eyes sharp.
He takes one look at us—her wrapped into me, my arms around her—and he doesn’t flinch.He doesn’t comment.He just nods once, as if the world is exactly how he expected it to be.
“Good,” he says.“You got her.”
Yeah.I did.
Finn shows up half a minute later, breathless, cheeks flushed, hair sticking up in every direction like he sprinted here too.His eyes land on Wren, on the way she’s holding onto me, and something soft and warm passes through his expression.
He steps close and touches her shoulder gently.“You okay?”
She lifts her head from my chest.“Better.”
Better.
That damn word is going to kill me before anything else does.
Finn brushes her arm in silent solidarity.He doesn’t try to take her from me.He doesn’t need to.He’s just there, warm and open, the way he always is with her.
Kael folds his arms.“Let’s get inside.”
Wren hesitates.“Where?”
I don’t even have to think.“With us.”
Kael nods like that was his plan too.“We stick together tonight.”
