Tessa shifted, turning to face her mate with an expression Tarek couldn’t quite read. “How long would you be gone?”
“A week there, a week back. Maybe longer, depending on what I find.” Korrin’s jaw tightened. “Too long.”
“Then I’ll come with you.”
The words hung in the air, simple and certain. Korrin’s head snapped towards her, his eyes narrowing.
“Like hell you will. The high passes with winter coming? With feral Vultor potentially lurking about? Absolutely not.”
“Do you want to be parted for that long?
“Of course not, but—” He cut himself off, visibly struggling.
Tessa reached up, cupping his jaw with a tenderness that made Tarek look away, feeling like an intruder in a private moment.
“We’re partners, Korrin. And that means you don’t get to wrap me in wool and keep me safe on a shelf.”
Korrin’s throat worked. For a long moment, he said nothing. Then, with a sigh that seemed to come from somewhere deep in his chest: “Fine. But if we encounter anything more dangerous than a bad-tempered goat, you stay behind me.”
“I’ll consider it.”
“Tessa—”
“I said I’ll consider it.” She kissed him, quick and fierce, effectively ending the argument.
Jessa’s soft laugh drew his attention back to her. She was watching the exchange with a smile on her face, and he realized with a start that she was seeing echoes of their own relationship—the push and pull of two strong wills learning to bend without breaking.
He leaned down, his lips brushing her ear. “Something amuses you?”
“I was just thinking.” She tilted her head to meet his gaze. “It’s nice, isn’t it? Having people who argue with you because they care, not because they want to control you.”
The observation hit closer to home than she probably intended. He thought of his former life—the prince he’d served, the orders he’d followed without question, the way obedience had slowly twisted into complicity until he couldn’t tell the difference anymore.
“Yes,” he said softly. “It is.”
The conversation drifted after that, flowing into easier waters. Seren spoke of pack matters—a hunting territory dispute, a pregnant female who was due any day, the ongoing negotiations with human settlements to the south. Korrin complained loudly about his last supply run while Tessa interjected with increasingly outrageous embellishments that had everyone laughing.
Elli emerged from Dani’s room at some point, reporting that the girl was sleeping peacefully, and quietly accepted a cup of tea. She was smaller than Seren by more than a foot, small and soft-spoken, but Tarek noticed the way Seren’s stern features gentledwhenever she spoke. Another mated pair, another bond that defied the barriers between their species.
This is what pack looks like,he realized. Not just blood and territory, but chosen family. Bonds forged through trust and tested through hardship. He’d thought he understood pack once, back on the home world, but he’d been wrong. What he’d known then was hierarchy and obligation. This warmth, this easy affection and sense of belonging, was something else entirely.
Jessa must have felt the shift in his mood, because she reached back and found his hand, lacing her fingers through his without breaking from the conversation she was having with Elli about the best plants to use for dye. The simple gesture grounded him, pulled him back from the edge of too-deep thoughts.
You’re not alone anymore,her touch seemed to say.You don’t have to carry it all yourself.
The fire had burned low by the time the others began making noises about leaving. They had made camp a short distance away with the other warriors who had accompanied them. Seren rose first, his massive frame unfolding from the chair with casual grace.
“Thank you for your hospitality,” he said formally “You’ve built something good here, Tarek. Don’t forget that.”
“I won’t. And thank you. For…” He paused, unsure how to articulate everything he wanted to say. For offering him a place when he’d convinced himself he didn’t deserve one. For showing him that exile didn’t have to be a death sentence.
Seren seemed to understand anyway. He clasped Tarek’s forearm in the traditional Vultor salute, his grip firm and warm.
“Welcome to the pack,” he said simply. “Brother.”
The word stole his breath. Brother. Not outcast. Not exile.Brother.
He couldn’t speak, could barely nod.
