The world tilted. I felt like I was falling, like the ground had opened up beneath my feet and I was plummeting into something vast and terrifying and unknown.
"What?" The word came out strangled, barely a whisper, my voice cracking on the single syllable. I stared at him, my eyes wide, my arms tightening around myself like I could hold myself together through sheer force of will. My breath was coming too fast, my heart hammering against my ribs. "You want to—a pack? With me?"
"Yes." Reid's voice was certain, unwavering, carrying the weight of absolute conviction. He took another step closer, slow and deliberate, his scent wrapping around me like a warm blanket. His dark eyes never left my face, reading every flicker ofemotion that crossed my features. "We've all felt it, Aster. From the moment you arrived. You're what we've been waiting for."
I shook my head, the motion jerky, automatic. My heart was racing, my thoughts spinning, nothing making sense.
"You don't even know me." My voice came out harsh, defensive, the words sharp and jagged like broken glass. I took a step back, my shoulder hitting the stall wall, nowhere left to run. My hands clenched into fists at my sides, my nails biting into my palms. "It's been three weeks. Three weeks, Reid. You can't know someone in three weeks. You don't know where I came from, what I've done, what I—" My voice cracked, broke on the words. "I'm feral. I'm broken. I growled at Dan like a wild animal. Why would anyone want someone like that?"
Reid didn't flinch. Didn't back away. Just stood there, solid and steady as a mountain, his dark eyes soft with something that looked terrifyingly like understanding. He was quiet for a moment, and when he spoke, his voice was gentle but firm.
"You're right." His voice was calm, measured, carrying no defensiveness, only honesty. He nodded slowly, his dark eyes holding mine with that patient intensity. "Three weeks isn't long. We don't know everything about you. We don't know your history, your secrets, where you came from or what you've survived." He paused, his jaw working slightly, his hands uncurling at his sides. "But we know you, Aster. We've been paying attention."
I opened my mouth to argue, but he kept going, his voice gaining strength.
"Nolan told me about the first time he met you in this stable." Reid's voice was soft, almost reverent, his dark eyes never leaving my face. He gestured toward the stall around them, toward Bella standing patiently behind me. "He said you were checking on Bella before dawn, before anyone asked you to. He said when he walked in, you put yourself between him and themare—a pregnant mare you'd known for less than a day—like you were ready to fight him to keep her safe." A ghost of a smile crossed his weathered face, crinkling the corners of his eyes. "He also said you relaxed when he talked to you like a person instead of a problem. That you responded to patience, to space, to being given a choice."
My throat was tight. I couldn't speak.
"Sawyer doesn't talk much." Reid continued, his voice dropping lower, rougher with emotion. His broad shoulders shifted as he leaned against the stall door, his posture deliberately casual, giving me space even while he spoke. "You know that. But he told me about the night Hope was born. Said you stayed calm when three Alphas crowded into that stall. Said you handed him tools before he asked for them, like you could read the room better than people who've worked here for years." He paused, his dark eyes searching my face. "He also said you ran afterward. That you were scared—not of us, but of how safe you felt. He recognized it because he's been there."
The tears were building behind my eyes. I blinked furiously, trying to hold them back.
"Kol came on too strong when he met you." Reid's voice softened, something almost like fondness creeping into his tone. His lips quirked in a half-smile, rueful and warm. "He knows that. He felt terrible about it. But he told me what happened after—how you didn't run, didn't shut down. You just... waited. Gave him a chance to correct himself. And when he backed off, when he gave you space, you didn't hold it against him." He shook his head slowly, wonder in his eyes. "Most people would have. Most people would have written him off. You didn't."
"That's not—" I started, my voice rough and cracking, but Reid wasn't finished.
"I watched you for three days straight while Bella was close to foaling." His voice was low, intense, his dark eyes burningwith something that made my breath catch. He pushed off from the stall door and took a step closer, close enough that I could see the flecks of gold in his dark irises, the tiny scar on his jaw, the silver threading through his hair at the temples. "You barely slept. You barely ate. You sat in that stall hour after hour, watching over a horse that wasn't yours, on a ranch where you had no stake, for people you'd just met." His voice dropped to barely above a whisper, rough with emotion. "And when I told you that you were safe here, that no one would hurt you—the look on your face, Aster. Like you wanted to believe me so badly but you'd been hurt too many times to let yourself."
A tear slipped down my cheek. I didn't wipe it away.
"We know you work harder than anyone on this ranch and never complain." Reid's voice was steady now, building, listing off observations like he'd been collecting them, saving them for this moment. His dark eyes never wavered from mine, intense and sincere. "We know you talk to the horses when you think no one's listening—soft and sweet, like they're the only ones who've earned your trust. We know you named that filly Hope, even though you tried to hide it, because Sawyer heard you whispering it to her when you didn't know he was there."
My hand came up to cover my mouth, trying to hold in the sob that was building in my chest.
"We know you're scared of kindness because you're waiting for it to be taken away." Reid's voice cracked slightly, emotion bleeding through his careful control. His hands twitched at his sides like he wanted to reach for me but was holding himself back. "We know you flinch at sudden movements and unexpected touches. We know you check the exits every time you walk into a room—Nolan noticed it the first day, the way your eyes mapped every door and window before you'd let yourself relax." He paused, swallowing hard, his throat working visibly. "We know someone hurt you badly enough that you learned tosurvive instead of live. And we know that despite all of that, you're still here. Still trying. Still letting yourself hope, even when it terrifies you."
The tears were flowing freely now, streaming down my face, and I couldn't stop them.
"So no, we don't know everything." Reid's voice was soft, gentle, wrapping around me like a warm blanket. He took one more step, close enough now that I could feel the heat radiating from his body, close enough to touch if either of them dared. His dark eyes glistened with moisture he was clearly fighting to contain. "We don't know your past. We don't know your secrets. But we know you, Aster. The woman you are right now, in this moment. And that woman—" His voice broke, just slightly, before he steadied it. "That woman is exactly who we've been waiting for."
I was sobbing now. Ugly, gasping sobs that shook my whole body, that I couldn't control no matter how hard I tried. I pressed both hands to my face, trying to hold myself together, but I was falling apart at the seams.
"I don't—" My voice came out muffled, broken, barely recognizable. I shook my head, tears streaming between my fingers. "I don't understand. No one has ever—why would you?—"
"Because you're worth it." Reid's voice was fierce now, burning with conviction, all the careful control stripped away to reveal the raw emotion underneath. His dark eyes blazed as he held her gaze, his whole body leaning toward her like he was fighting gravity itself to give her space. "Because every single one of us has looked at you and seen something worth waiting for. Worth fighting for." He paused, his voice dropping to a rough whisper. "Worth being patient for, however long it takes."
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Could only stand there, crying, as the walls I'd built over nine years crumbled around me.
"What if I say no?" The question came out small, fragile, barely louder than a breath. I lowered my hands from my face, my pale green eyes meeting his dark ones, red-rimmed and swollen but searching. Searching for the catch, the trap, the moment everything fell apart. "What if I can't—what if I'm not—what if I try and I mess it up and I ruin everything?"
"Then nothing changes." Reid's voice was immediate, certain, carrying the weight of a promise carved in stone. His expression softened, something vulnerable flickering behind his steady gaze, and his hands finally uncurled completely, palms open at his sides. "You keep your job. You keep your place in the bunkhouse. You keep working with the horses, visiting Marley in town, mucking stalls with Sawyer in the mornings." He paused, his jaw tightening slightly. "We won't pressure you. We won't make things awkward. We'll step back, give you space, and that will be the end of it."
I stared at him, my mouth opening and closing, no words coming out. He was giving me an out. A real one, not a trap dressed up as kindness. He was offering me the freedom to say no and mean it.
"Why?" The word scraped out of me, raw and desperate, my voice rough with tears and confusion. My hands were shaking, my whole body trembling. "Why would you do that? Why would you offer me everything and then just... let me walk away?"
Reid was quiet for a long moment, his dark eyes searching my face. When he spoke, his voice was soft, barely above a murmur, carrying a weight that made my chest ache.
