With no desire to stick around, Kier and I return to our cabin so I can shift.
Since I left my bra and jeans back at the old cabin, I borrow Kier's flannel, and grab my phone with the dead battery and my car keys before we leave the cabin for the last time.
All the wolves have retreated to their cabins to wait for us to leave, most likely. What they plan on doing, I'm equally clueless about, because now they have no alpha or beta, and I'd say maybe half of their pack has been wiped out, maybe more.
Kier and I are holding hands as he leads the way back to the trucks, where everyone is waiting for us.
But then I remember the brothers who came to Hardin looking for revenge against Kier and realize there's likely going to be a lot more enemies that we're leaving behind us.
"Is it safe to leave them all alive?" I ask him.
He raises his eyebrow. "You're a lot bloodthirstier than I ever thought. First locking Leo up and tossing the keys like that, and now wanting to wipe out this pack. What next?"
I shrug. I know he wouldn't argue against it, not after I filled him in on Frankie and his heavies kidnapping me, as well as what Leo planned to do to me in the cage.
"I just don't think it's a good idea leaving an enemy at our back like this." It's more than that of course. I would love nothing more than to kill them all, because after learning that Jaxon held my life over Kier's head, I don't believe any of them deserve to live.
"Probably not."
I turn to him to continue arguing. "But-" I stop when I glimpse a wolf standing at the side of the farmhouse, his green eyes glinting at me. The mysterious wolf. Not only that, the mysterious alpha wolf who killed Frankie and his heavies and cleared a path for me to get to Kier.
What is his purpose here?
He catches my eye for a second, and once he's sure I've seen him, he turns away. Not into the distance as I was expecting, but toward the back of the farmhouse.
"Hallee?"
Even though he's gone, I keep staring. "Never mind. I don't think we'll have any more trouble from the Stones. Not now."
"There is no more Stone pack," Kier corrects me, leading me to the truck where the rest of my pack are waiting for us. "At least, not here. I have a feeling that if anyone tries to use that name again, they'll soon regret it."
I think back to the fury in Jackson and Jeremy's eyes. "Yeah."
We're nearly back to the truck, and I'm bursting with questions for Jeremy and Savannah, who are back from Paris with no warning. Her scent hasn't changed, so I know it can't be because she's pregnant. But before I can ask even one, Dayne's phone rings.
He answers after a glance at the screen. "Dean?"
"It's Talis. You guys had better get down here now. She's in labor!"
Panic ensues as we dive into vehicles and squeal away from the Range, stopping only long enough in town to drop me and Kier off so we can grab our cars.
And then we're leaving Dexter far behind us.
A place I hope to never return to.
For the first hour of our frantic dash to get back to Hardin, it's a miracle no cop pulls us over for speeding because I'm sure that every last one of us is going at least twice the speed limit.
But when Kier and I catch up to everyone pulled up on the side of the road, we discover that Talis is not in fact in labor. That she called Dayne while still screaming at Dean that it was just accidental pee.
Once we'd all stopped laughing, and feeling sorry for Dean who was bearing the brunt of all of Talis' fury since Marshall and Jenna had extended their romantic cabin break, we did some switching around.
We also said some goodbyes as Jeremy and Regan had to return to Dawley instead of following us to Hardin. As a brand spanking new pack with so many new members, and a shifter who's turning into a teenager from hell, they couldn't stay away for long.
After, Gavin climbed into my car to drive it back to my cottage and I jumped into Kier's truck so we could continue the rest of the journey together.
I thought we'd talk about our future, but we didn't. Mostly, we sat quietly, enjoying the drive back to Hardin. And for me, at least, appreciating that we were both alive.
It's later, after he's driven us to his cabin and we've showered together, eaten, and are lying in bed, that I feel Kier's gaze on my face, and sense he's ready to talk.
I open my eyes, and for several seconds we study each other in silence before he speaks. "The reason for the challenge-the first challenge-was a girl."
Since it doesn't surprise me, I nod. Usually, fights are about a girl if they aren't about revenge. Sometimes it's both.
He lifts a hand and cards his fingers through my hair. The gentle tugging pressure against my scalp has me swallowing a low moan, and from his bright blue eyes heating, it's clear he hasn't missed my reaction. But instead of acting on it, he returns his arm to his side.
"Kier?" I take his hand and squeeze it. "There's no need for you to tell me this. I don't want you to feel like you owe me any answers or anything, because you don't."
His smile is faint, but it's there. "I know. But you deserve to know since the only reason we're still alive is because of your family."
I let go of his hand to punch him on the shoulder. "Our family, you idiot."
He raises his eyebrow before sliding his hand around my nape, and pulling me close for a soft kiss. "Idiot, huh?"
"Yes. You're one of us now."
"How did they even know to be there?"
I shrug. "Dayne wanted me to keep him updated, so I don't know if he expected trouble at some point. It wouldn't surprise me if he and the others were already on the way when I told him I'd gotten tangled with the same Stones who tossed Jeremy and Jackson out. There's no way Jackson could've got to Dexter from Dawley if they hadn't already been on their way. And Jeremy? I don't know, I guess he and Savannah must've been there too."
"I suppose so."
We fall back into silence, and his expression turns serious. "I'm never going to be one of you, Hallee. I don't see myself living at the packhouse and laughing over breakfast."
I snort. "And no one is expecting you to. And anyway, I'm sure Dayne would kill you if you moved there."
"He would, would he?" Kier's tone is dry.
"Yep. He's pretty territorial. I thought we could stay here, maybe go back for the occasional run or dinner or whatever, which despite what you think isn't all filled with constant laughter. We do argue. Sometimes a lot. We wouldn't go all the time, just sometimes."
"Because you need your family around you."
I nod because he gets it. He gets me. "Because I need my family around me."
"Won't you miss Nathan?"
"I can see him when I see everyone else."
His expression is blank. "But you're close. Close enough for him to know that you keep handcuffs in a drawer beside your bed."
"Yeah, I don't know about that. That was probably him trying to make me think I'm going crazy. He snuck into my house once and took a massive bite out of my cheese."
His brow creases in confusion. "Why would he do that?"
I shrug. "I don't know. Nathan's like that. Anyway, we're close but not as close as me and you."
Kier studies me a little longer this time. "But you were closer before."
"We were."
"How close?"
"Close enough that we kissed once, okay. And it was…" I think about that kiss in the forest when we were seventeen. "Weird."
Kier blinks at me. "Weird."
I nod vigorously. "Like kissing your brother or the family pet kind of weird."
His lips curve in a smile. "The family pet?"
"I don't know. Just kind of gross. I think when Marshall and Jenna got together, everyone assumed we would too, even us. So we kissed."
"But neither of you liked it?"
I shake my head. "No. Not as much as we liked arguing with each other. He drives me crazy, but I love that about him."
"But as brother and sister?"
"Yes." I smile. "So you can stop being all jealous now."
"You think this is me being jealous?"
"Yep. And to think I wasn't even jealous when you told me about your old girlfriend."
When the light in his eyes dims, I wish I'd kept my mouth shut. "Soon to be mate. Not girlfriend."
"But Jaxon's brother… killed her?"
"No, he terrified her so much that he didn't have to." He pauses, and seeing that he's still deep in thought, I keep silent. "That pack was no home for the weak or those who couldn't take care of themselves. Melody came to the pack with her friend, Eden, who became Jared's mate. Neither of them really belonged in a pack that aggressive. While they weren't submissive, they weren't dominant, so they were easy targets. Her friend disappeared one night, and if you met Jaxon's brother even once, you'd know what he did to her. I hoped to protect Melody. I didn't succeed."
"You loved her."
When he refocuses his gaze on me, I know he's no longer in the past, but in the present with me. "I cared about her. I thought it was love until I met you."
I glance at my bare wrist then, a little sad that Kier finally snapped the furry handcuff off on our return to Hardin. "The cops outside Target made me think you wouldn't be able to admit it."
"The cops outside Target?"
I nod. "Yeah, when I went on my mission to buy handcuffs that night you told me you weren't looking for a mate."
He stares at me in stunned disbelief. "Hallee, that was after midnight. Why would you think Target would be open, and why would you think they sold handcuffs?"
I open my mouth to tell him I wasn't exactly acting rationally that night, but he beats me to it.
"And why were the cops there?" He narrows his eyes. "You weren't trying to break in, were you?"
I make my eyes big. "Of course not, as if I'd do a thing like that."
Kier doesn't look convinced.
"Anyway, it's all in the past now," I tell him.
He turns to lie on his back, pillowing his head with his folded arms. "Yes. It is."
I lie beside him, staring at his profile and wanting to ask, is that it?
"So, about us…" I hedge, not really sure what I want to say, but feeling like we haven't finished our conversation yet.
"We'll carry on as we are. I guess I could go for a run with your pack every now and again." He says this without looking at me, without any kind of excitement about the future.
"Sure," I murmur, trying not to feel too disappointed.
I tell myself that expecting him to want to mate with me is too much. At least so soon, especially since it took us a month to get to this point.
Kier glances over at me. "You okay? You're never usually this quiet."
I force myself to smile. "I'm good."
"Great, I'm beat, so how about we have a nap and I'll run you back to your place later?"
"I'm not staying here tonight?"
"Sorry, love, I have a commission to work on. You'll just be bored."
A commission. He's ditching me for a commission.
"Do you mind taking me back now? I've just realized there's something I need to do." I wait for him to tell me that he was only joking about me leaving.
But instead, he nods. "You know what? That's actually a better idea. I can get started on my piece now."
To my utter devastation, he gets up and dresses. When I don't move, he glances down at me. "You want to borrow some sweats?"
Slowly, I get to my feet, so certain my heart is shattering into a million tiny pieces that I'm surprised Kier doesn't hear it. "Great, thanks."