His face fills out some, but he’s not better yet. One hundred years can’t be corrected in a few minutes, but at least he looks like there’s hope for him.
Tony walks over to the bracelet on the ground and carefully picks it up.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Jax barks.
Startled, Tony turns around and looks from him to Callum.
Callum nods, “It’s ok. He’s going to take it to Helsgard.”
“We trust them? Him?”
“Yes. We do,” Lizzy chimes.
“I don’t know you well enough for your word to mean shit to me.” He looks back at Callum, who looks at me.
“Yes.”
Callum nods, and Jax rolls his eyes. “Fine.” His eyes narrow at me as he walks over, and he wraps me in his arms and buries his nose in my hair. “You shouldn’t have come.”
“I haven’t, yet.”
He pulls his head away to look me in the eye, a slight twinkle in his. “You know that’s not what I meant.”
“I wasn’t going to leave you to die.” I try to push away from him, but his arms lock tight around me and he brings me in close for a hug, then kisses the crown of my head.
“You didn’t leave me,” he whispers and the ache is so real it shakes me to my bones.
“I’m not leaving. You’re stuck with me. You all are.”
“Goddess help us.”
Feeling exhausted and relaxed, I press my cheek against his chest, breathing in his scent.
“I can’t. Damn. Dick all out. I’ve already seen Callum’s today, and now yours,” Lizzy chimes, waving her hand. Suddenly, a pair of boxers with wolves howling at the moon with hearts on them appear around his waist.
He looks down, then from her to me and closes his eyes.
A warmth rushes over me as I watch him and everyone move around. There’s a peace in the air. A calmness. I don’t know how long it will last, so I appreciate it now.
Lizzy wraps her arms around me from behind. I lean my head against her shoulder and breathe in her signature scent.
“I thought you would have come in here and laid her out.” She thrusts her wrists into the air like they shoot webs, making pew pew pew noises.
“I would have, but I knew I wasn’t a match for her. She’s much older and stronger, so I didn’t have a chance. I had to outsmart her. I got lucky when she got so frustrated, she made a wish of her own. It slipped out really and once I figured out what she’d said, I knew I had an opportunity.”
“And if you couldn’t outsmart her, or wouldn’t have gotten lucky?”
“Then I was prepared to sacrifice myself for everyone.”
“Well, that’s the stupidest fucking thing ever,” Lizzy pouts.
“I can agree with Lizzy on this,” Jax says, running his hand down my back.
Lizzy clasps her hands together under her chin. “He likes me! He really likes me!”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” he says deadpan.
Lizzy pats the air playfully in front of him and he simply rolls his eyes and walks over to Brady. “Well, this couldn’t have worked out more perfect. You trapped the mist and Samara inside of her bracelet.”
