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When I’d met her all those years ago in the hospital, she was broken. But so was I.

I’d tried to give her space and time. But she kept visiting, kept asking me inane questions about my favorite music and books and bringing records into my room. I hadn’t realized it at the time, but she gave me the light I needed to keep pushing forward when it felt like there was nothing good left in the world.

But she was sad, a deep well that seemed to go on forever. She’d been badly injured in the plane crash that killed her parents, aunt, and uncles. Her siblings and cousins were inconsolable, and her designation had flipped because of thestress. It didn’t happen often, but a person undergoing an extreme amount of stress could have their designation come in earlier than normal.

We sat together in the dark and listened to music until it felt like lyrics pumped into our veins, stamping their mark on our hearts and making us whole again. We listened to Evermore West, Burns, Straylight Focus, and more, the songs carving their way into our souls.

Years later, that sorrow bloomed into something deeper. But I would never forget how deeply she had felt the loss.

I pulled her against me, holding her as tightly as I could. “It’s okay to be happy and sad at the same time.”

She sighed against me, rubbing her face against my skin, her tongue taking small darts, like she wanted my scent all over her.

“I love you.” She relaxed completely. “You liked how that alpha smelled?”

“I did.” I kissed her forehead, the change in subject not bothering me. “I love you too. You know if you want to jump him and or his omega, you’re allowed.”

She bit her lip. “Too much trouble. They smell so good, but Rian, the male omega? He’s got walls almost as high as yours. No point in trying to scale them only for it to all fall apart.”

I nipped her ear. “You do whatever you want.”

We didn’t start out our relationship with Ember vetting most of the alphas, but she was more outgoing. If she liked how they smelled, she made sure I liked their scent too, and then we attempted to make it work.

“Sunshine wants me to meet Alejandro.” Ember pointed at her bag. “Your lunch slash dinner is in there. It was delicious.”

“Too many potential choices in one day, huh?” No wonder she was upset and confused. It would be so much easier for her to keep Alejandro in the realm of maybe someday and neverhave to consider reality. Dreams were easier than harsh reality any day of the week.

Except the reality currently in my arms.

“You know how my mind works.” She gave me a happy smile.

If I could make her smile like that, maybe someday it would feel like enough, that I hadn’t stolen her. She came to me, over and over. Following me to my shitty foster home, kissed me first, initiated sex first, asked me to move in with her.

I could have told her no, but I couldn’t refuse her anything. She could have every jagged piece of me, even if I regretted that she cut herself on the sharp edges.

I tried not to think about the life she might have had, how much easier she would have had it with alphas if I wasn’t around, the final test none of them had passed.

Until then, it would be only the two of us.

She reached for me again. “Nest?”

Wordlessly, I picked her up and brought her to our nest, and for a while we forgot about anything else outside the safety of our nest.

Chapter 7

Ember

Ididn’t mean to end up at Logan’s restaurant, Talk of the Town. I parked in the back, not having the energy to deal with telling the hostess I was Sunshine’s cousin. It was a cool, clear day, and it wouldn’t have felt so cold, but the wind was blowing off the ocean, cutting straight to my bones.

I suffered the winters, which were mild compared to, say, Antarctica, because I loved the warm heat most of the year. I bundled into my jacket, eyeing the back door. It was a cozy brick building, with a pitched roof and brown tiles. It was simple and elegant, and I’d never had a bad dish.

No one knew I was here. I could get into my car and leave. I didn’t have any morning appointments, but I could catch up on filing. I could scope out the perfect place for the turtle pond. Snap a photo and send it in our family group chat. Maybe go check out the baby ducks at the feed store.

I rubbed the scar on my wrist out of habit. It was white and bumpy, and the only good thing about this time of year was I could wear long sleeves without feeling like I was giving up.

I’d fought long and hard to feel confident enough to wear short sleeves in public in the summer. It helped that the scars were faded enough they weren’t glaringly obvious. But the lastalpha West and I dated had told me loudly that I was pretty despite my scars.

He’d meant it like a compliment, but it still felt like a slap in the face. Despite my scars. Like, thank goodness the rest of me was hot; otherwise I would have been utterly damaged.