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They all hesitated to speak and I glanced at Aislin last, who immediately averted her gaze, rubbing the back of her neck.

Muriel stepped up between them. The unicorn met my eye and I felt immediately unworthy of her presence. All my scheming to kidnap this very woman, hand her over to the Mythguard, and deprive Grandbay of the shifter they had grown so fond of—and here she was before me, smiling sadly. “Please let me see them.”

It would only be cruel of me to deny my packmates the help they so desperately needed. With a growl, I briskly turned away and headed back inside with the four Grandbay wolves following. When we re-entered the house, my packmates—and the Mythguard humans that had lingered to offer their support—all looked up at the interlopers and bristled. Then they all collectively seemed to recognize Muriel. Some of them stood. The Mythguard humans approached and I raised my palm to them. “She’s here to help the wounded.”

They fell back in compliance.

As Muriel knelt beside the first of my wounded packmates, Gavin, Aislin, and Billie joined the others. “How can we help? Tell us what to do,” said Gavin.

My mother took the lead and sent them to grab fresh towels and water.

Folding my arms, I watched the unicorn extend her hand to the tattered flesh of my packmate. She recoiled when she nearly touched fresh blood. That’s right—unicorns were especially vulnerable to fresh blood. It was like poison to them. And here she was surrounded by it—the sight, the smell, the sensation. Muriel swallowed hard and closed her eyes, applying her magic with a warm tingle in the air that we could all feel.

Aislin returned with her arms full of towels, handing them out to my packmates. Once her arms were emptied, she glanced up at me. I felt too much all at once to be conscious of my reaction, which was just to stare at her, dead-eyed.

The moment she looked away was when I was finally urged to speak. “Hey,” I said, “can we talk?”

She balled her fists and nodded. We both stepped away and I led her back upstairs. Each step felt like I was slogging through liquid mercury, fighting against the gravity of a black hole. When we reached my bedroom, I shut the door and my shoulders sagged.

Aislin stood a few feet away from me. “Sorry again about all this.”

“You didn’t do anything.”

“I mean just… you didn’t deserve to have this happen to Eastpeak. Losing eight packmates to Dalesbloom and the Inkscales. Losing Taylor.”

Slowly shaking my head, I searched for words and struggled.

Her body gravitated closer. I saw her feet first coming into my field of view, then mustered the strength to lift my eyes up to her, flickering over the cute freckles on her cheeks, her half-open mouth, her gaze gentle with sympathy. She looked back at me like she was trying to interpret something about me. I didn’t know what she expected to gain from her analysis, she seemed to have already passed judgment on me long ago.

“I’m sorry for being so angry with you and leaving you in the middle of the night,” Aislin continued. “If I’d stayed, maybe I could have helped protect someone. Or Taylor wouldn’t have had to go out there.”

My throat tightened at the sincerity in her voice. “It’s too late. There’s no going back from what happened.”

“I know, just… I would have helped if I could have.”

“You hate me. Why does it matter?”

Aislin rubbed her arms. “I don’t hate you, Everett.”

“Don’t give me empty reassurances.”

“I left because I saw your messages with Sebastian,” she said. “I’m sorry for snooping, but his most recent text popped up and I was able to guess your passcode.”

Of course. That was exactly what I suspected.

“You know I wasn’t going to give up Muriel. And just because she’s here now, it doesn’t mean the Mythguard are going to take her.”

“No,” I sighed. “They’re not going to take her. She’ll go home with you.”

Aislin stayed silent. We both fought against things we wanted to say and things we felt. As much as it would accomplish everything I’d been planning to just have the Mythguard take Muriel by force, I couldn’t take advantage of their kindness like that. She came of her own volition to help my packmates. I appreciated that beyond words.

“Thank you,” said Aislin.

I didn’t even think I’d have the strength to pursue Muriel anymore. Eastpeak had taken such a huge hit from David, we were all wounded, whether physically, emotionally, or mentally.

She drifted closer still, and her proximity made my heartbeat pick up. The closeness of my fated mate was intoxicating as ever. I was in no state to succumb to her allure, but the way I wanted her now was different than before. I just wanted the relief of touch and to not feel so alone.

Sensing that, she reached out and grazed my arm. Her fingertips were warm enough that I realized I’d been enveloped in cold sweat this entire time. Slowly, I unfolded my arms and pressed my lips together to keep the excess of emotion from spilling out. Aislin met my eyes and must have known everything going on in my mind. Her hands trailed along my arms and up to my shoulders before drawing me into a hug. Although she was smaller than me, the way she strained to completely embrace me was enough. Just knowing that she wanted to hold me, all of me, it was so soothing that the pain wracking my heart immediately subsided. It wasn’t enough to heal me completely, but it was at long last a reprieve from all my loneliness that I shed all the tension in my body and melted into her. I held her body against mine and sunk my face into her shoulder, gradually tightening my grip until I clutched her like she was a lifeline. I needed this so badly.

“It’s okay, Everett. I know you try to hold everyone at arm’s length, but if you want to let me in, I can be here for you. I want to trust you,” she said.

I squeezed my eyes shut and breathed her in. That was what I wanted too, for her to trust me and be here for me. It was just so difficult for me to let anyone in, but Aislin… she was my fated mate. I could let down my walls for her, couldn’t I? For someone to give me the comfort that I craved all this time… I could trust her, too. I had to.

“You don’t have to be alone,” Aislin murmured.