He laughed — small, but real — and let me lead him out of the clinic. Even as I tried to keep hope alive, I could feel something building on the horizon.
Something dark. Something dangerous.
Easton wasn't going to stop. The sabotage, the legal challenges, the questions about me — they were all pieces of a larger game. A game I didn't fully understand yet.
I stood on the porch that evening, watching the sun sink toward the horizon, painting the sky in shades of gold and crimson. Four Alphas moved around the property — Reid in his office dealing with more paperwork, Nolan in the barn checking on a sick calf, Sawyer patrolling the perimeter with methodicalprecision, Kol in the kitchen making dinner and trying to pretend everything was normal.
My pack. My home. My family.
Everything I'd never allowed myself to want. Everything I now had to protect. Sawyer appeared at my side, silent as always, his shoulder brushing mine as he joined me in watching the sunset, his earth and leather scent settling around me like a familiar blanket.
"Storm's coming." His voice was low, rough, his pale eyes scanning the horizon like he could see the threat lurking just out of sight, his jaw tight with tension.
"I know." I leaned into him slightly, taking comfort in his solid presence, in the fierce protection that radiated from every inch of him, my shoulder pressing against his arm.
"You ready for it?" He turned to look at me, his expression unreadable but his scent shifting to something warmer, something that felt like faith, his pale eyes searching my face. I thought about everything I'd survived. The foster homes. The running. The years of being alone, being feral, being afraid. And I thought about what I had now — four Alphas who would burn the world down to keep me safe.
"Yeah." I met his eyes, feeling something settle in my chest, something fierce and certain, my chin lifting slightly. "I'm ready." He nodded once, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth — rare and precious, softening the hard lines of his face.
"Good." His hand found mine, fingers intertwining, his grip strong and steady, calluses rough against my skin. "Because we're not losing you. Not to him. Not to anyone."
I squeezed his hand, watching the last light fade from the sky, feeling the weight of what was coming pressing down on us like a physical thing.
Something was building. Something was coming.
When it arrived, we'd face it together.
As a pack.
CHAPTER FORTY
KOL
I'd been assigned to protect her.
Me. Kol. The youngest Alpha. The one who cracked jokes when things got tense. The one who cooked comfort food and filled silences with chatter. The one everyone underestimated.
Reid had looked me in the eyes yesterday and asked if I could keep her safe, and I'd said yes without hesitation. But now, watching Aster move around the kitchen making her morning tea, I felt the weight of that promise pressing down on my chest like a physical thing.
What if I wasn't enough?The thought crept in like poison, the way it always did. Reid was the Head Alpha — strong, commanding, the kind of presence that made other Alphas back down without a word. Nolan was steady, smart, the healer who could fix anything broken. Sawyer was dangerous in ways most people couldn't even comprehend, a weapon wrapped in silence and scars.
And me? I was sunshine. Warmth. The one who made people laugh. What good was laughter against someone like Easton?
"You're thinking too loud." Aster's voice cut through my spiraling thoughts, and I looked up to find her watching me, her honey-brown eyes soft with concern, her dark hair falling in waves around her shoulders, steam rising from the mug cradled in her hands. "I can practically hear the gears grinding from here."
"Just planning my next culinary masterpiece." I forced a grin, pushing off the counter I'd been leaning against, making my voice bright and easy. "I'm thinking maybe a soufflé for dinner. Something that requires intense concentration and doesn't leave any room for existential dread."
She didn't smile. Instead, she set down her mug and crossed the kitchen to stand in front of me, close enough that I could smell her — honey and wildflowers, with the faint undertone of all four of us woven through like threads in a tapestry.
"Kol." My name was soft on her lips, a gentle command, her eyes searching my face with an intensity that made my chest tight. "Talk to me. What's going on in that head of yours?"
"Nothing important." The lie tasted sour on my tongue, my smile faltering despite my best efforts to hold it in place. "Just worried about whether I put enough cinnamon in the pancakes this morning. Critical stuff, you know. Life or death pancake decisions."
"Kol." She said my name again, firmer this time, her hand coming up to rest on my chest, right over my heart, her touch warm even through the fabric of my shirt. "Please don't do that. Don't hide from me."
I felt a flutter in my chest at the genuine concern in her voice, the way she looked at me like she could see right through all my defenses. I'd spent so long being the easy one, the light one, the one who never weighed anyone down with his problems. It was strange, having someone actually want to carry that weight with me.
"I'm scared." The admission came out rough, barely above a whisper, my hand coming up to cover hers where it rested on my chest. "Not of Easton, exactly. I mean, yes, he's terrifying and I want to punch his smug face into next week. But I'm more scared of..." I trailed off, swallowing hard, forcing myself to meet her eyes. "Of not being enough. Of failing you when it matters."
