Only Rooster moved, stepping closer until he stood directly before me. His eyes were wet in the moonlight, his expression a complex mixture of pride and wonder and something deeper I wasn't ready to name.
"Welcome home, Liam," he whispered, the words meant only for me despite the thunderous sound that had preceded them.
I didn't speak again. Couldn't yet. That single roar had emptied fifteen years of silence, leaving me drained and shaking. But it had been enough—enough to mark the ground beneath my feet as somewhere I would fight to defend rather than a temporary shelter to abandon at the first sign of danger.
For the first time since my parents had left me at that bus station, I had stopped running.
Chapter Fifteen
~ Rooster ~
I stood in the kitchen doorway as the first light of dawn spilled across what remained of our compound. The destruction looked worse in daylight, stark evidence of how close we'd come to losing everything.
My hand gripped the doorframe, knuckles white against splintered wood, as I counted our blessings among the ruins. We'd survived. Liam had survived.
And somehow, in the chaos of gunfire and blood, my mate had found something he'd lost fifteen years ago—his voice, even if just for one primal roar that still echoed in my memory.
Glass crunched beneath my boots as I stepped outside, surveying the full extent of the damage. Bullet holes peppered the walls like deadly constellations, their trajectories telling the story of last night's firefight.
Blood had dried in rusty patches across the concrete, some ours, some Victor's men. Shell casings glinted in the early light, scattered like malicious confetti. The picnic table where I'd first left food for Liam months ago had been reduced to splinters.
It should have felt devastating. Our home had been violated, our security breached, our people wounded. But as I stood amid the wreckage, what filled my chest wasn't despair but a fierce, protective relief. We were still here. My found family. My mate.
Liam.
The memory of his transformation flashed through my mind—the fluid grace as he'd shifted from cautious human to predatory lynx in the span of heartbeats. The way he'd launched himself at the operator threatening our prospect, all golden fur and righteous fury.
But it was what came after that kept replaying in my mind. His roar—primal, powerful, profound—breaking fifteen years of silence.
He hadn't spoken since. Hadn't needed to. That single sound had said everything necessary about who he was choosing to become.
"Hell of a mess."
I turned to find Butch picking his way through the debris, his usually impeccable appearance marred by dirt and dried blood. A bandage covered a graze wound on his forearm, but otherwise he seemed intact. His eyes were sharp despite the exhaustion etched into the lines of his face.
"Could've been worse," I replied, stepping aside as he joined me in the doorway. "How's the prospect? Sammy, right?"
Butch grunted. "Kid's throat needed a few stitches, but he'll live. Might even learn something from this—like not following armed men into a fucking ambush without backup." His expression softened slightly. "He's been telling anyone who'll listen about how your mate saved his ass."
My mate. The words sent a warmth spreading through my chest despite the morning chill. Liam had earned that title last night, not through any traditional claiming ritual, but through his choice to fight at my side when he could have run.
"And Victor's men?" I asked.
"Three dead, two wounded badly enough they won't be going anywhere soon. The rest scattered." Butch's face hardened. "We've got the communications specialist locked down in the basement. Bear's been having a chat with him."
I nodded, understanding exactly what kind of "chat" that would be.
"No sign of Victor himself though," Butch continued, scowling. "Slippery bastard must have hung back, letting his men take the risks." He surveyed the destruction around us,then straightened his shoulders with the air of a man who'd rebuilt from ashes before. "I need a final perimeter sweep before we start cleaning this mess up. Make sure none of those fuckers are still hiding on our property."
"I'll do it," I volunteered immediately.
"Take someone with you. No one moves alone until we're sure the compound is secure."
I hesitated only briefly. "I'll take Liam."
Butch's eyebrow rose slightly. "You sure that's wise? Kid's been through enough already."
"He's not staying here alone," I said, my tone brooking no argument. "And he sees things the rest of us miss. He knew about the hidden passages, remember? Found all those surveillance devices."
