He lifts his head, wonder written across his features. “I didn’t need to smell your pheromones to know we belong together. I’ve known since the moment I first saw you.”
My throat tightens with emotion I’ve spent years suppressing. “I think I knew, too. But I was too afraid to accept it.”
“Not afraid now?” His hand cups my cheek, thumb tracing my lower lip.
I turn to kiss his palm, tasting the salt of his skin. “Still terrified. But accepting it anyway.”
His smile breaks across his lips, warming me from the inside out. “That’s what makes you an Alpha worth following.”
The words settle inside me, filling a hollow space that Auren’s rejection had carved out.
Jared and I remain tangled together, neither willing to break contact as our heartbeats synchronize.
For the first time since my pack fell apart, I’m whole. Not because Jared completes me, but because he sees me completely and stays, anyway.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Leif
Itell myself I’m just here to catch the water taxi, but my pulse says otherwise.
The scent of salt and diesel clings to the air, familiar as breath, wrapping around me as I cradle a cup of coffee and stare across the harbor. Sunlight skips over the water, turning the waves to molten gold, but the view can’t hold my attention.
Every crunch of gravel behind me pulls my attention toward the parking lot, toward the truck I hope and dread to see. It’s been almost two weeks since Emily’s come to the island, but I heard Nathaniel and Blake talking yesterday about her returning to work today.
The coffee burns my tongue, but I welcome the sting. It’s easier to focus on that than the coil of anticipation tightening in my chest.
The morning hums with motion, with fishing boats sliding out to sea, and shop owners unlock their doors. Gulls circle overhead with impatient cries.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, and when I check it, I find another message from Quinn’s uncle, approving my idea for a science experiment today.
I tap out a quick reply, promising to clean everything up by dinner. The little girl’s enthusiasm for experiments surprises me every time, a bright, uncomplicated spot in this new life I’ve started to settle into.
The crunch of tires draws my head around again, and my pulse jumps at the sight of Emily’s blue truck pulling into the lot, sunlight catching on the faded paint.
I take another swallow of coffee, pretending the burn in my throat comes only from the heat.
She’s not alone. The passenger door swings open, and Jared steps out.
The last time I saw him, he was crumpled in the passenger seat of my car, face bruised and bleeding, holding his ribs. The man walking toward me now bears little resemblance to the broken figure I remember. His stride carries confidence, shoulders squared instead of hunched,and the bruises have faded to faint yellows that his tan almost hides.
He spots me and changes course. “Leif! I’m glad I caught you before you boarded.”
Emily follows a few paces behind, her silver hair catching the sunlight. She offers a small wave but hangs back, giving us space.
“Morning,” I reply, shifting my weight as Jared approaches. “Are you starting up work again?”
“Yep. Ribs are mostly all healed up.” He stops in front of me, hands sliding into his pockets. “Listen, I wanted to thank you for reporting the attack and giving the police what they needed to find those guys.”
Heat creeps up my neck, uncomfortable with the praise. “You don’t need to thank me.”
“I do, though.” Jared stands unwavering, not letting me brush it aside. “If you hadn’t stepped in, they would’ve gotten away with it. I wasn’t in the right headspace to choose anything sensible.”
My mind flashes to the three men who cornered him, the same ones who had surrounded me on my first day in town. If Emily hadn’t stepped in then, I have no doubt I would have been another of their victims. But she wasn’t there for Jared that night. No one was, except me, passing by pure chance.
“Those men,” I begin, then stop myself. Thisisn’t about me. “I’m glad they’re facing consequences.”
“Detective Merrin said you gave them plate numbers and descriptions.” Jared rocks back on his heels. “Even had a hunch where to look.”