Page 30 of Echoes From the Void
“You’re being suspiciously supportive about this,” Tori narrows her eyes at me. “Usually you threaten anyone who looks at your family wrong.”
“That’s what Matteo’s for now,” I say, earning a fanged grin from my guard dog.
“Maybe you’re growing as a person,” Leo suggests.
“Let’s not get crazy.” But my wolf has already settled beside Tori’s chair, accepting her as pack in a way I never expected.
“Rest, Frankie,” Tori says, her voice gentler than I’ve ever heard it. Her shadow curls toward Finn like it’s found its home. “I’ve got this watch.”
“We all do,” Matteo adds, his protective stance softening slightly.
“Though some of us have Council meetings to prepare for,” Bishop reminds us, gathering his papers.
“And temporal anomalies to document,” Dorian adds, though he makes no move to actually leave.
“And cookies to distribute!” Leo produces yet another batch from somewhere. “The medicinal effects are time-sensitive, you know.”
Finn’s light pulses with quiet joy at their chaos. Through our bond, I feel his contentment, his tentative hope. And something else—a warm flutter when he looks at Tori that makes me want to simultaneously protect him and let him find his own path.
“Go,” he says, squeezing my hand. “I’m not going anywhere. And...” his eyes flick to Tori, who’s trying to pretend she’s not watching him, “I won’t be alone.”
I stand on shaky legs, letting my shadow wolves fade—all except one, who plants itself firmly between Finn’s bed and the door. Some protective instincts run too deep to ignore completely.
“The wolf stays,” I tell Tori, who’s already pulling out what looks suspiciously like another Jane Austen novel.
“Of course it does.” She settles into my vacated chair, her shadow reaching for Finn’s light like a flower turning toward the sun. His answering pulse of power feels like a smile.
“And we’ll be right outside,” Matteo adds, his fangs glinting.
“With more cookies,” Leo promises.
“And proper documentation,” Bishop and Dorian say in unison, then glare at each other.
Through the twin bond, I feel Finn’s quiet joy. Through my heart, I feel something finally settling into place.
Family, in all its forms.
Time to rest and let it grow.
Even if my wolf is totally going to report back everything that happens while I’m gone.
Hey, I said I was growing, not completely reformed.
Baby steps.
Chapter 11
Frankie
The thingabout trauma is that it can show up at any moment, unexpected and out of line. Sometimes I wonder if it’s nature’s way of reminding us that we need to remember the darkest nights to appreciate the happier moments.
I drift off in the chair beside Finn’s hospital bed, his steady breathing a comfort after everything we’ve been through. But sleep isn’t kind tonight.
Marcus Sterling stands at the entrance to the ballroom, all perfect angles and expensive tailoring. The kind of handsome that belongs in board rooms and charity galas. His smile is practiced, pleasant, as he offers his arm.
“Shall we?” His voice carries that cultured tone of old money and ivy league education.
My legs shake as I take his arm, the silk dress whispering against the polished floor. The ballroom gleams with candlelight, a single table set for two in the center. It’s meant to be romantic. It feels like a cage.
