The drive back takes forty minutes and I spend most of it with my hand on the claim mark.
It's tender. Swollen slightly where his teeth broke skin. Every time I press my fingers to it I feel the bond pulse back, warm and steady, like a second heartbeat that isn't mine but is.
Alex drives. One hand on the wheel, one on my thigh, his thumb tracing absent patterns on my knee. He hasn't stopped touching me since we left the motel. Small points of contact, like he's confirming I'm real.
"They're going to lose their minds," I say.
"Malcolm is going to lose his mind," Alex corrects. "Finn is going to cry. Rhys is going to stand in a corner and feel things."
"That's everyone losing their minds."
"In their own ways. Yes."
I press my fingers to the mark again. The bond hums.
"Are you ready for it?" I ask. "Being back?"
He's quiet for a moment. The road unspools ahead of us, trees on both sides, late afternoon light coming through the canopy.
"I've been ready," he says. "I've been ready since the day I left."
We pull into the driveway and I can see the cabin through the windshield. The porch. The garden. The windows with thelight on inside even though it's still afternoon, because someone always leaves the lights on.
My pack is in there.
Alex cuts the engine and looks at me. That steady gaze. "You want to go in first or together?"
"Together," I say. "Obviously."
He takes my hand. We walk up the steps.
He opens the door.
They're all in the living room. It's like they've been waiting, which they probably have, because Chase called ahead.
Finn sees us first.
His eyes go straight to my neck. To the mark. His whole face changes, and I watch the exact moment it registers. His mouth opens and nothing comes out for about three seconds, which might be a record.
Then he says, "Oh my god."
Malcolm is already on his feet. He crosses the room, stops in front of me, and just stares at the mark. His hand comes up and hovers without touching.
"Can I—"
"Yes."
His fingers brush the edge of it. Light. Reverent. His scent pulses and his purr starts so hard his whole chest vibrates with it.
"It's done," he says. Not to me. To himself. To the room. "It's actually done."
"It's done," Alex confirms. “We weren’t going to wait on registry forms. They’ve done enough damage, they’ll concede to this.”
Malcolm looks at Alex. They hold each other's gaze for a long moment. I watch years of shared history pass between them. The prison. The flag. The waiting. All of it compressed into one look.
Then Malcolm pulls Alex into a hug that's more collision than embrace. Alex takes it. Returns it. Two alphas who have held this pack together through everything, finally on the other side of it.
Finn has appeared beside me. His eyes are bright and he's doing the thing where he pushes his glasses up repeatedly even though they're fine.
