Just us, exactly as we were always meant to be.
The future stretches out before us, full of challenges. And for the first time in my life, I’m ready to face it all.
Because I’m no longer the broken shifter who couldn’t shift, or the orphan without a pack, or the rejected mate full of bitterness and longing.
I’m Aurora Blackburn, last of the Onyx wolves, mate to the alpha, killer of fae, leader in my own right.
And I’m finally, completely, home.
Chapter 41
Kieran
The scent of smoke and fae magic still linger in the air as I walk through what used to be my father’s study. Now it’s just a reminder of everything that’s changed so quickly. Papers have been scattered across the floor, the desk is overturned, and there’s a strange emptiness to the room that has nothing to do with Cade’s absence.
Reaching up, I brush my fingers across the scar on my face that he gave me right here, five years ago almost, fury in his eyes. My heart aches at the bitter realization that the father I’d hoped to one day have, the man who turned over a new leaf and changed for the good, was only ever the foolish hope of a lonely boy. Instead, I remind myself as I put the desk back upright, I’ll have to be the man my father couldn’t be. The leader he wasn’t, the alpha worth following.
Aurora finds me in the office, shuffling through papers and organizing them by importance. “The pack has been asking about living arrangements,” she says, leaning against the doorframe and studying me. “Some of the members Cade exiled wants their old homes back, but others moved in while they were gone. And there are arguments about what to do with some of the homes on the outskirts that the fae destroyed in the battle.”
“We’ll figure something out.” Running my fingers across the worn and knotted wood of my father’s desk, I idly play back memories of standing before it, blood dripping from my face, trying not to show weakness or pain. I realize now that he was the weak one that day, not me. “Maybe it’s time to redraw the territory lines completely. Get rid of the divide between the center and the outskirts, rebuild some buildings further out and encourage the pack to spread out a little.”
“That would be… controversial.” I can hear the approval in her voice, see it reflected in her mismatched eyes when I take a step toward her. “There are many who wouldn’t approve.”
“Good.” Tossing a set of papers, I turn toward the bookshelves and scan them for useful titles. “The old ways weren’t working for Pack Jade. You’re proof of that.”
She moved to help me, taking books off the shelves and sorting them by subject, and for a while we work in companionable silence. Every so often our hands brush, sending sparks of connection through the bond. It’s strange, having this connection and not fighting it, especially now that I can feel her wolf simmering below the surface. Strange but wonderful in a whole new way.
“I used to hate this room,” I admit to her. “Everything about it—the heavy furniture, the dark wood, how it always smelled like bourbon and cigars in here, and… reminded me of the past.” I don’t have to tell her what moment in particular it reminded me of. “But mostly I hated how small it made me feel. Weak. Insignificant.”
Aurora pauses in her organizing, studying me with those incredibly perceptive eyes. “Because of your father?”
“Because of who I became around him.” The words are hard to say, but they need to be said. We can’t bring the pack back as something new unless we excise all the old wounds. “Every time I walked in here, I felt like I was that scared kid again, desperatefor love and approval I was never going to get. So willing to do whatever it took, hurt those who didn’t deserve it, just for a chance that it would be mine.”
Moving close, she takes my hand, holding it gently between her two smaller, warm palms. “You’re not that person anymore, Kieran. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”
“No, I’m not.” I turn my hand in hers, lacing our fingers together gently. “All thanks to you.”
She shakes her head, but I catch her chin with my free hand and tip her face up until our eyes meet. “I mean every word of it, Aurora. I can’t take any credit for the man I’ve become. You’re the one who showed me what real strength looks like. Not just today in the battle, but every day since I’ve known you, especially on the days where I was too stupid to see it. You never let anyone make you feel less than what you are, Aurora. Never let them diminish you.”
“I did feel less than,” she admits quietly. “Every single day. Until Dana found me.”
The guilt hits me like a punch to the gut, even now. “I should have been the one to find you. To protect you and keep you safe.”
“But you weren’t.” There’s no more bitterness or rancor in her voice, just calm, simple truth-telling. “And I think now that’s how it had to be for us to get here. I needed to learn to protect myself, to stand on my own two feet, so I could be the mate an alpha like you deserves.”
Looking at her now—confident, capable, magnificent—I can’t help but agree. “You’re amazing, did you know that? Have I told you?”
“A few times.” Her cheeks flush in pleasant embarrassment, but she doesn’t look away. “Keep talking like that and I might actually start to believe you.”
“Good.” Tugging her against me, I wrap my arms around her waist, burying my face in the smell of her lingering in her hair.“Because I plan on telling you every single day for the rest of our lives together.”
She melts against me, the bond humming with contentment. I feel her wolf sidle up next to mine, his pleasure like a living thing inside me. “Even when I’m being as stubborn as a mule?”
“Especially then.” I nuzzle her neck, breathing in her sweet scent. “Your stubbornness is actually one of the things I love about you. That and your bravery, your intelligence, your complete inability to back down from a fight even when it would be the best choice…”
“Hey!” She’s laughing, the sound unfamiliar in this dark and haunted room. “I seem to remember someone else being pretty stubborn too.”
“Different kind of stubborn.” Pressing kisses up her neck, I smile against her cheek. “You’re the take on an entire pack of prejudiced shifters and prove them wrong kind of stubborn. I’m more the too stupid to admit when I’m wrong, even when it’s been five years, kind of stubborn.”
