"I love you." The words came out rough, raw, torn from somewhere deep in my chest. I'd said it before, during the heat, but this was different. This was a quiet confession in the dark, just the two of us, nothing between us but honesty. "I know I'm not good at showing it. I know I can be controlling and demanding and?—"
"You're perfect." Keira interrupted, her voice fierce, her fingers tightening in my hair. She pulled back to look at me, her grey eyes blazing. "Don't you dare. You're exactly what this pack needs. What I need. You're the reason they're all still together, the reason they're happy, the reason any of this works. Don't you dare apologize for who you are."
The ferocity in her voice made my chest tight, made my eyes burn with emotions I wasn't used to feeling. She meant it. I could feel it through the bond — her absolute certainty, her unwavering belief in me. Not despite my flaws, but including them.
"See?" She said softly, a small smile curving her lips as she felt my emotions through the bond. "This is what I mean. You feel everything so deeply. You love so fiercely. You protect so completely. How could I want anything else?"
Mine,my alpha growled, the possessiveness surging through me again.She is perfect omega. KEEP HER.
I kissed her then — soft and slow, nothing like the desperate claiming of the heat. Just my lips against hers, gentle and reverent, trying to pour everything I couldn't say into the contact. She melted into me, her hand sliding from my hair to the back of my neck, holding me close.
When I pulled back, her eyes were closed, a peaceful smile on her face.
"Sleep." I murmured against her lips. "I'll watch over you. Over all of you."
"Pack alpha things?" She asked, her voice already growing drowsy.
"Pack alpha things." I confirmed, pressing one more kiss to her forehead. She settled against my chest with a contented sigh, and within moments her breathing had evened out, sleep pulling her under. I held her close, my hand spread wide on her back, and let my gaze drift over the rest of my pack.
Hwan, still holding onto her hip, his sunshine bright even in sleep. Jin-ho, steady and devoted, his quiet strength a constant presence. Tae-min, young and fierce, proving himself with every breath. Min-jun, gentle and nurturing, the heart that kept them all beating.
And Keira. Their center. Their home. Their omega.
I stayed awake until dawn crept through the windows, watching over them all, feeling five bonds pulse with love in my chest. For six years I'd been waiting for this moment, for this feeling of completeness, without even knowing what I was waiting for.
Now I knew.
I would spend the rest of my life protecting what we'd built.
Pack alpha's promise,my alpha rumbled, the vow settling into my bones like an oath.Protect. Provide. Cherish. Forever.
Forever.
Chapter Forty-Four
KEIRA
One Week Later
One week.
One week since my heat had broken. One week since five bonds had settled into my chest like they'd always belonged there. One week of learning what it meant to be part of a pack.
I'd gone back to my apartment once — three days ago, with Min-jun and Hwan as escorts who refused to let me out of their sight. The small studio had felt foreign, like walking into a stranger's home. The air was stale, empty of the scents I'd grown accustomed to, and my omega had whined the entire time, restless and unhappy to be away from the nest. I'd packed quickly — clothes, toiletries, my laptop, the few personal items that mattered — and hadn't looked back. The lease wasn't up for another two months, but I couldn't imagine sleeping there again.Not when I had a nest full of alphas waiting for me. Not when home meant something entirely different now.
It was chaos. Beautiful, wonderful, overwhelming chaos.
"Hwan, that's my shirt!" Tae-min's voice echoed from somewhere down the hall, indignant and sleep-rough, cracking slightly on the last word.
"It looks better on me!" Hwan shouted back, his tone bright with mischief even at seven in the morning, the sound of his laughter carrying through the apartment.
"Nothing looks better on you, you narcissist—" Tae-min's footsteps thundered down the hallway, heavy and irritated.
"Boys." Jae-won's voice cut through the bickering, calm but firm, the pack alpha tone that brooked no argument. I could picture him pinching the bridge of his nose, his dark eyes closed with exasperation. "It's too early for this."
I sat at the kitchen island, my hands wrapped around a mug of coffee, watching the morning unfold with a smile I couldn't quite suppress. Min-jun was at the stove, making breakfast — he'd insisted on cooking every morning since my heat ended, claiming I needed to "rebuild my strength." The smell of eggs and bacon filled the apartment, mixing with the ever-present tapestry of five alpha scents that had become as familiar to me as my own heartbeat.
Home,my omega sighed contentedly.Ours. All of this is ours.
