Seren inclined his head in acknowledgment, then turned to Jessa and Tarek. A hint of warmth softened his harsh features.
“Well done,” he said quietly. “Both of you.”
Tarek nodded, his hand finding hers once more. “We had help.”
“We all need help sometimes.” Seren’s gaze lingered on their joined hands, and warmth flickered in his amber eyes. “That’s what pack is for.”
He moved past them, Korrin falling into step at his side, the other Vultor following in their wake. The crowd parted before them, a river of frightened faces and whispered speculation.
She watched them go, a smile curving her lips.
“Jessa.”
She turned to find Gerhard staring at her, his face twisted with hatred. He looked diminished somehow, smaller than she’d ever seen him, his power stripped away layer by layer until only the ugliness remained.
“This isn’t over,” he said, his voice shaking. “You think you’ve won? You think these animals will protect you forever? When they’re gone, when they lose interest in their little experiment?—”
“They won’t be gone.” She met his gaze without flinching. “And neither will I. I’m not the scared girl you used to manipulate anymore, Uncle. I have a home now. A family. A mate who loves me.” Tarek’s hand tightened around hers, warm and steady at her side. “You have no power over me.”
Gerhard’s mouth opened, closed, opened again. No words came out.
She smiled.
Then she turned her back on him and walked away, leaving him standing alone in the market square while the village that had once feared him began to whisper about a future without him.
The sun was warm on her face as they left the square, and somewhere nearby, a bird began to sing. Tarek pulled her close, his arm around her shoulders, his beast rumbling with satisfaction.
“You were magnificent,” he murmured against her hair.
“I was terrified.”
“That’s what made it magnificent.”
She laughed—a bright, startled sound that surprised them both. The future stretched before her not as a threat but as a promise.
She was finally free.
CHAPTER 25
Firelight painted dancing shadows across the stone walls of Tarek’s den, and the space that had once felt so empty now seemed almost too small to contain everyone gathered within it.
He leaned against the doorframe of the kitchen alcove, watching the scene in front of him with a warmth in his chest that he still wasn’t entirely sure how to process. Seren occupied the large chair by the hearth while Korrin sprawled across several cushions on the floor, his human mate Tessa tucked against his side with the easy comfort of long familiarity.
Jessa was perched on the kitchen table next to him, close enough that he could have reached out and touched her if he’d wanted to. Which he did. Constantly. Even now, his beast purred with satisfaction at her nearness, at the way her scent had woven itself so thoroughly into the fabric of his home that he couldn’t imagine the den without it.
Dani had fallen asleep a short while ago, worn out by the excitement of the day and the novelty of so many guests. Seren’s mate Elli—a gentle human woman with kind eyes and aquick laugh—had volunteered to sit with her, and he had been surprised to find that he trusted her immediately. Pack instinct, perhaps. Or maybe just recognition of a kindred spirit.
“The council was… receptive,” Seren was saying, his deep voice carrying easily through the room. “More than I’d expected, truth be told. Your uncle’s grip on them was weaker than he believed.”
“Fear has a way of looking like loyalty,” Jessa said quietly. “Until something stronger comes along.”
Korrin snorted. “The fear’s still there. I could smell it on half of them. But they’re more afraid of missing out on profits than they are of us now.” His amber eyes gleamed with dark amusement. “Humans. Always so predictable.”
“Korrin.” Tessa elbowed him in the ribs, her tone fond but exasperated. “Not all of us are motivated purely by profit.”
“No?” He caught her hand, pressing a kiss to her knuckles with exaggerated gallantry. “Then why did you agree to come back to the pack with me? My charming personality?”
“Your modesty, clearly.”
