“You were dealing with a lot,” Jeremy said. But then his gaze locked on mine, filled with unexpected understanding. “I didn’t exactly handle being alpha any better. And I’ve made mistakes in my time. Lots of them.”
“It’s not just being alpha,” I said, determined not to let myself off the hook so easily. “It was me. I was an idiot.”
“No offense, but I grew up with you.” Jeremy grinned at me. “I’m sort of used to it. The important part is that you always get over it.”
“We’re cool?”
“No,” Jeremy said, his eyes suddenly glassy. “We’re not ‘cool.’ You’re mybrother—you have been since before we could talk. We’ve been through everything together. We’refamily, Reed. And we always will be.”
At those words, the last of my doubt about whether he’d changed fell away. I stepped forward and embraced him, pulling him into a bear hug.
Jeremy went tense for a moment, as if startled, then returned the hug.
“Yeah, you’re right. You’re my brother,” I said, my voice thick. “And you always will be.”
“Enough of that,” Jeremy said, when he pulled back. His eyes were still glassy. His voice was rough, too. “Let’s go catch up with the others. Lindsey is probably wondering if we’re about to kill each other.”
I nodded. “Yeah. Let’s.”
We made our way over to Cole, Thierry, and the others, in time to watch the vampire twins take a Jello shot together.
“Mm. Well, it’s not a vodka cran,” Cole remarked. “But I suppose it’ll do. I’ve certainly put worse things in my mouth.”
Thierry’s lips pursed. He shot Lacey a raised eyebrow. “What kind of vodka is in those shots? I can practically taste the potato.”
Cole frowned at him, puzzled. “That’s part of the appeal, isn’t it? It’s like being in a frat house.” He paused, considering it. “Or at a trailer park.”
Lacey’s eyebrows knitted together, apparently struck speechless. Harris and Eli both looked like they were trying very hard not to laugh.
Oliver approached us. “Hey, the pack’s going for a run.” He glanced over at Harris. “Are you two coming?”
Harris’s face lit up in a way that ignited warmth in my chest. “Absolutely.”
“I suppose we’ll stay here and continue to taste the trailer park,” Thierry said, shooting his twin a sour look.
“Lighten up,” Cole said. In a stage whisper, he added, “Also, I think Lacey is getting ready to reach for a wooden stake.”
“Someone ought to,” Lindsey said, shaking her head and giving the vampire twins a bemused smile. Then she pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it to the ground. “I’m going for a run with the others. In my non-official, non-pack capacity.”
“You might not be pack,” I said, locking eyes with her. “But you’re still our ally. And you still belong with us. As much or as little as you want to.”
“There’s the old Reed we all knew and loved.” But I saw the smile on Lindsey’s face before she turned away to join the others at the edge of the fire. “It’s about damn time.”
The pack began to strip down, tossing their clothes onto the log benches around the fire. Lacey and Emma were staying behind with the vampires and Daniel—he couldn’t shift, after all. But the rest of us were going. We’d run together in Daniel’s honor.
I watched Harris transform.
It still took my breath away every time. The way his body shifted and reformed effortlessly, fur rippling across his skin, bones realigning with barely a sound. He was fast—more than anyone I’d ever seen, except maybe Lindsey or Jeremy. And his wolf form was massive, easily as large as mine. His eyes blazed gold, and I felt his joy through the bond, pure and bright and overwhelming.
He loved being a wolf. Despite all his fears about what it would mean, he loved it.
And our inner wolves—
Well, our wolves were insatiable. We’d been claiming each other multiple times a day, every day, since that first morning. The bond between us was so strong now that sometimes I couldn’t tell where I ended and he began.
Harris took off into the trees with Lee, Hunter, and Lindsey, their wolf forms blurring into the darkness.
I walked away from the others to the far edge of the gathering space and started to undress.
