Chapter 221: Together
Nova’s POV
By the time Lazarus returned to the cabin, the sun had already begun disappearing behind the mountains.
The last light of evening spilled through the tall windows in long strips of gold, catching on the wooden floor and turning the dust floating through the air into tiny sparks. I was curled into the corner of the sofa with a book resting open on my lap, though I hadn’t turned a page in nearly ten minutes. My thoughts had been somewhere else entirely. Too much had happened since Magnus arrived, and even when the pack appeared peaceful, I could feel something unsettled beneath it.
The door opened.
I looked up immediately.
Lazarus stepped inside.
He looked exhausted.
His black shirt was slightly wrinkled from the day, the sleeves pushed up to his forearms, and a few strands of dark hair had fallen across his forehead. There was a faint line between his brows that hadn’t been there this morning. He closed the door behind him and stood there for a moment, simply looking at me.
Something in my chest softened.
“Hi.”
His expression changed instantly.
The tension didn’t disappear completely, but it loosened.
“Hi, sweetheart.”
He crossed the room.
I barely had time to put the book aside before he bent down and pulled me into his arms.
I laughed softly as my face disappeared against his chest.
“You’re tired.”
“Very.”
“Long day?”
“The longest.”
His chin rested against the top of my head.
I felt his arms tighten around me.
For a while, neither of us spoke.
I simply listened to his heartbeat.
Steady.
Familiar.
Home.
But the bond told me what his expression didn’t.
He was worried.
Not afraid.
Not of me.
But something was sitting heavily inside him.
I pulled back enough to look at his face.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Lazarus.”
His mouth twitched.
“You’ve started doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“Using my name when you know I’m avoiding a question.”
“Because it works.”
“It does.”
He sighed and dropped onto the sofa, pulling me down beside him.
His arm immediately settled around my waist.
For a few moments, he stared at the fire.
“People are talking.”
My stomach tightened.
“About me?”
His eyes moved to mine.
“About everything.”
That wasn’t exactly an answer.
I looked down at our intertwined fingers.
“I knew this would happen.”
“No.”
His voice was firm.
“You knew Magnus coming here would cause tension. That’s different.”
“What if they don’t want me here?”
Lazarus turned toward me so quickly that his knee bumped mine.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then don’t give an answer to a question nobody has asked.”
I smiled faintly.
“You’re very good at that.”
“At what?”
“Making things sound simple.”
“They aren’t simple.”
His thumb moved slowly across my knuckles.
“I’m just refusing to let other people’s fear become ours.”
Something inside me ached.
“I’m scared sometimes.”
“I know.”
“I don’t want you to think I’m weak.”
His expression softened.
“I have never thought that.”
I looked away.
He gently caught my chin and turned my face back toward him.
“Nova.”
The way he said my name made my chest tighten.
“You survived people who wanted you broken.”
His thumb brushed beneath my eye.
“You survived being rejected.”
Another slow stroke.
“You survived being alone.”
His voice dropped.
“And somehow, after everything they did to you, you still found a way to love.”
Tears burned behind my eyes.
“That isn’t weakness.”
He leaned closer.
“That is the strongest thing I’ve ever seen.”
I swallowed.
“Sometimes I don’t feel strong.”
“You don’t have to.”
He kissed my forehead.
“You don’t have to be strong every second you’re with me.”
My eyes closed.
“What if this gets worse?”
“It probably will.”
I opened my eyes.
He smiled slightly.
“That’s not very reassuring.”
“You asked for the truth.”
“I did.”
“So here’s the truth.”
His hand slid around the back of my neck.
“Whatever comes next, you don’t face it alone.”
The bond between us warmed.
“You and me.”
His forehead touched mine.
“Together.”
I breathed out slowly.
“And if they come for me?”
“They’ll have to come through me.”
“And if they come for you?”
His smile disappeared.
“Then you’ll be standing beside me.”
I stared at him.
“You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
A quiet laugh escaped him.
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
I leaned into him, resting my head against his shoulder.
For a while, we stayed like that.
No Alpha.
No Luna.
No Magnus.
No pack politics.
Just us.
His fingers traced lazy patterns along my arm while my thumb moved over the back of his hand.
Eventually, I whispered,
“Promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“Don’t shut me out when things get difficult.”
He went still.
I lifted my head.
“I can feel when you’re worried.”
His eyes searched mine.
“I know.”
“So don’t tell me you’re fine when you’re not.”
He hesitated.
Then nodded.
“I promise.”
“And I’ll do the same.”
“Good.”
He pulled me closer.
“Because we’re going to need that.”
The words made me pause.
“What do you mean?”
His jaw tightened for half a second before he deliberately relaxed it.
“Nothing we can’t handle.”
I studied him.
He was hiding something.
Not from me.
Not intentionally.
But there were things happening beyond these walls that he hadn’t figured out yet.
And somehow, I knew they were coming.
I didn’t ask again.
Instead, I climbed onto the sofa properly and tucked myself against his side.
He kissed my temple.
Then my cheek.
Then the corner of my mouth.
I smiled.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re staring.”
“I like looking at you.”
“You’ve been looking at me all day?”
“Not nearly enough.”
I laughed softly.
The sound seemed to ease something inside him.
His arm tightened around me.
For the first time all evening, his body completely relaxed.
I closed my eyes.
Whatever waited outside this cabin could wait a little longer.
Because tonight, I had him.
And he had me.
Whatever Magnus wanted.
Whatever the elders believed.
Whatever whispers were beginning to spread through the pack.
We would face them together.
Or not at all.