Chapter 127
Kara
"I'm sorry," he murmured, reading my face. "I'm so sorry you have to doubt even her. But whatever the truth is—whoever's behind this—we're on your side. Always."
Through the bond, Blake and Cole's agreement crashed into me like a wave.
One pack. One Luna. Three Alphas.
Protected.
I let myself believe it.
---
I woke at 3 a.m., sandwiched between warmth and safety.
Asher on my left, one arm locked around my waist. Blake on my right, his face buried in my hair. Cole half-draped over my front, his weight reassuring instead of suffocating.
Three distinct scents wrapped around me: black ebony, gunpowder fire, cool mint. Three heartbeats synced with mine through the bond.
I should feel trapped.
Instead, I felt home.
My fingers traced the marks on their necks—the claiming bites I'd given each of them in turn. Through the bond, I felt their dreams: flashes of holding me, protecting me, keeping me.
They love me, I realized with sudden, crystalline clarity. Not because of biology. Not just because of the bond. They love ME.
The girl who broke Cole's nose. The girl who screamed at Blake in a storage closet. The girl who made Asher question everything his parents taught him.
They loved me before the scent match. Before the marks. Before Maui.
They'd just been too broken—and I'd been too afraid—to see it.
Victoria's plan, if she had one, was already doomed.
Because I wasn't leaving. Not willingly. Not ever.
I choose this. I choose them. I choose us.
The thought settled into my bones like an oath.
At 4 a.m., I sent a pulse through the bond: Wake up. I need to say something.
Three pairs of eyes snapped open, instantly alert. Scanning for threats.
"I'm okay," I said quickly. "I just... I need you to hear this."
They waited. Patient. Terrified.
I looked at Asher first. "If I ever disappear—if you can't find me—"
His breath caught.
I turned to Blake. "I didn't leave you."
His hands trembled.
I met Cole's ocean-blue gaze. "Someone took me."
"Kara—" Cole's voice broke.
"I swear it." I pushed the words through the bond, letting them feel the truth seared into my soul. "I swear on this mark, on this bond, on my wolf—I will never voluntarily go anywhere without you. If I'm gone, it's because I was forced. And you need to find me."
I took a shaking breath. "Victoria said I'd run like my parents. But I'm not them. I chose you. I marked you. I'm your Luna. This is my home. And I'm not going anywhere."
Asher made a sound like he'd been punched. His eyes glistened. "That's the only thing that would stop me from tearing the world apart looking for you."
Blake's hands cupped my face, trembling. His forehead pressed to mine. "You're not going anywhere. Even if I have to handcuff us together."
Cole buried his face in my neck, his shoulders shaking. "No one's taking you. No one."
Through the bond, they sent it back as one: Ours. Forever. Life and death.
I kissed each of them—soft, reverent, binding—and felt the oath settle into place like a brand.
Blake tried to lighten the mood: "Handcuffed together? Kinky."
Despite everything, I laughed.
---
We tried to sleep again, but my heart wouldn't slow. Three wolves sensed it immediately.
"Shh," Asher murmured, rearranging us. He pulled me against his chest from behind, his black-ebony scent wrapping around me like a fortress wall. Blake pressed against my front, his fire-and-gunpowder warmth surrounding me like a hearth. Cole squeezed in from the side, his mint-and-ozone presence slipping through the cracks like cool stream water.
Three scents. Three heartbeats. Three promises.
You're safe. We're here. Sleep, my Luna.
Blake kissed my forehead, my nose, my lips—soft, reverent brushes that made my wolf purr. Cole's hand traced circles on my back, his scent pulsing in a steady rhythm like a lullaby. Asher's voice rumbled against my spine: "We've got you. Always."
Through the bond, I whispered it like a prayer: I won't leave. I won't leave. I won't leave.
And they answered: We know. We believe you. We love you.
Six hands. Three mouths. Surrounding me. Protecting me.
Drowning me in love.
My wolf finally quieted. My human heart finally slowed.
And wrapped in them—in us—I slept.
---
Morning came too soon. I woke to Asher's steady heartbeat beneath my ear, Blake and Cole already gone.
"They're on patrol," Asher murmured, kissing my temple. "We've established a rotation. Midnight to eight a.m.—I'm with you. Eight a.m. to four p.m.—Blake. Four p.m. to midnight—Cole."
"You're not sleeping?"
His smile was grim. "We're Alphas. We can go days without rest. But the fear of losing you?" His hand cupped my face. "That's more exhausting than any physical fatigue."
Through the bond, I felt Blake and Cole at the territory's edge, alert and deadly. They sensed my waking, sent back a pulse of love.
Miss you. Asher's got you. Be safe.
Come home soon, I sent back.
Asher's eyes darkened. "You still want to go to school?"
"Yes." My jaw set. "I won't let fear steal the one thing I've earned on my own."
He studied me for a long moment. Then nodded.
"Blake goes with you. I'm driving. And if anything feels wrong—"
"I'll scream through the bond loud enough to shatter glass."
His lips twitched. "Good girl."
---
Asher led me to the bathroom, his hand warm and possessive on the small of my back. The massive marble tub was already filling with hot water, lavender bath salts dissolving into fragrant steam.
"I can do this myself—"
"After everything we've done together," Asher said quietly, turning me to face him, "you're still shy in front of me?" His dark blue eyes tracked down my body with an intensity that made my skin prickle. "After I've had my mouth on every inch of you?"
Heat flooded my cheeks—and lower. He smiled—rare, genuine—and started unbuttoning my borrowed sleep shirt with deliberate slowness.
"This isn't just about sex, Kara." His knuckles brushed the swell of my breast as he worked the buttons. "This is about care. About washing away last night's fear." The shirt fell open. His breath caught. "But if you think I can look at you naked and not want you... you're underestimating how hard I'm working to behave right now."
His black-ebony scent thickened in the steam, wrapping around me with that edge of tobacco-and-dominance that made my wolf purr and my thighs clench.
He peeled the shirt off my shoulders, let it drop. His gaze raked over the marks on my throat—his bite, Blake's, Cole's—then lower, to my breasts, my waist, the curve of my hips.
"Christ." His voice was gravel. "You're so fucking beautiful it hurts to look at you."
I shivered despite the steam. "Asher—"
"In." He lifted me like I weighed nothing, settling me into the water. Heat enveloped me, and I sighed, sinking deeper.
He knelt beside the tub, rolled up his sleeves. When he reached for the shampoo, I caught his wrist.
"You don't have to—"
"I want to." His fingers threaded through my wet curls, massaging my scalp with firm, confident pressure. "I need to touch you. Need to know you're real. That you're here."
I let my eyes close, let myself sink into the sensation. His hands were strong, careful, achingly tender. When he tilted my head back to rinse, water sluiced over my shoulders, my breasts. His gaze followed every drop.
"Asher." My voice came out breathier than intended. "You're staring."
"Can't help it." He reached for the washcloth, soaped it slowly. "After almost losing you last night... I need to memorize every fucking detail."
The cloth touched my shoulder. Traced my collarbone. Dipped lower.
My breath hitched.