Chapter 19 The Empty Seats
The shower was blissful. Leela stood under the spray for a long time, watching the mud from the training field swirl down the drain. She washed her hair with the vanilla-scented shampoo Elana had bought, scrubbing away the mud and sweat, but unable to scrub away the smile that seemed permanently etched onto her face.
She had fought. She had won. She had made vines shoot out of the ground like a superhero.
She dried off and changed into one of the new sets of loungewear–soft gray sweatpants and a matching long-sleeved top that felt like a hug. She slipped her feet into the fuzzy house slippers, feeling cleaner, warmer, and happier than she had ever felt in her life.
She met Finnegan in the hallway. He was leaning against the wall, fresh from his own shower. His own hair damp and messy, smelling of cedar soap and rain. He looked up as she opened the door, his eyes softening instantly.
He pushed off the wall and offered her his arm.
“Hungry?” he asked, a playful grin touching his lips.
Leela stopped. She didn’t take his arm immediately, instead, she looked at him–really looked at him.
She saw the boy who had found her in a dream. She saw the man who had slept on a concrete porch to keep her safe. She saw the partner who had looked at with utter devotion in the middle of a muddy field.
The surge of affection was so strong it almost knocked the wind out of her.
She stepped forward, closing the small distance between them. She reached up, weaving her fingers into his damp hair, and pulled him down to her.
Finnegan froze for a split second, surprised before melting into her.
It was their first real kiss. It wasn’t a peck on the head or a comforting brush of lips against hair. It was soft, lingering, and electric, it tasted like safety. It felt like a lock clicking into place.
Leela pulled back slowly, her heart hammering a happy rhythm against her ribs. Finnegan looked dazed, his amber eyes wide and dark, his hand resting instinctively on her waist.
“Yeah,” Leela whispered, breathless, a flush rising on her cheeks that had nothing to do with the hot shower.”I’m starving. I think I could eat a whole cow.”
“Careful,” Finnegan grinned. “Jax might take that as a challenge.”
He took her hand-tight this time-and led her down the stairs. They were floating on a cloud of new romance and endorphins, ready to face the noisy, chaotic family dinner.
They walked down the stairs, chatting about the training session, expecting the wall of noise that usually greeted them at the Dining Hall–the clattering of plates, the roaring laughter, the shouting.
But as they rounded the corner, the silence hit them like a physical blow.
Leela stopped walking.
The Dining Hall was full–the Pack was seated–but it was eerily quiet. There was no laughter. No shouting. Just the soft, tentative clink of a fork against a plate here and there, and hushed, low murmurs.
The heaviness in the air was palpable, thick enough to choke on. It felt like the pressure dropped before a tornado touched down.
Leela’s eyes went immediately to the head of the table.
The two high-back chairs that sat at the head of the table were empty.
Elana and Damon were gone.
Leela tightened her grip on Finnegan’s arm, her earlier joy evaporating into a knot of cold anxiety. She looked up at him, her voice barely a whisper.
“What is this about?” she asked. “Where are they?”
The hall was full–the Pack was seated–but it was eerily, unnaturally quiet. There was no laughter. No clattering of serving spoons, Just the soft, nervous scraping of forks against plates and hushed, urgent whispers.
He guided her toward their seats.
“I don’t know,” he said grimly. “But it must have something to do with that radio call.”
He pulled her closer to his side.
“Stay close,” he murmured. “Whatever it is, it’s not good.”