Page 144 of Daisy

I don't snarl when he gets closer, but I watch him with suspicious eyes while keeping Daisy wrapped against me. Still mine. Still need to protect her.

"Feel that?" Gunner asks quietly, and I do feel something. Love from him.

The connections are getting stronger. I can feel Gunner's familiar love, but also others. The beta's gentle concern. Thescarred alpha's fierce protectiveness. And the buzz cut one... his emotions are complex. Relief and guilt and something deeper.

Who are they? Why do they feel like they belong somehow?

Relief floods through me as the fog continues to lift, bit by bit. She's okay. Better than okay. I nuzzle into her touch, feeling the contentment that radiates from her.

Slowly, faces start to make sense. The short haired alpha... Dante. Guard. Pack. Brother. The scarred one... Cassian. Fighter. Protector. Also pack. Also brother.

The bonds are real. I can feel them now, connecting us all.

"The bond's complete," Cassian says again, and this time I don't snarl. "We're all connected now."

I feel them. Gunner, Dante and Cassian. Our pack. Daisy our omega.

Even as I hold Daisy close, feeling that contentment through our bonds, something soft and unfamiliar takes root in my chest. Deep and warm.

But then reality crashes back. What I did. How rough I was. How I dragged her around while we were knotted, how I could have hurt her, how I went completely feral and saw my own packmates as threats...

"Fuck, Daisy," I breathe, suddenly panicked as I look down at her. The words come out shaky, vulnerable in a way I'm not used to. "Princess, I'm so fucking sorry. I was... Fuck, I was completely gone. Did I hurt you? I dragged you around and threatened the others and?—"

"Hawk," she interrupts gently, her hand cupping my face. "Look at me."

I meet her eyes, expecting to see fear or pain. Instead, I see satisfaction. Love. A hint of mischief that makes my heart skip.

"I'm okay," she says softly. "More than okay."

"But I went feral. I couldn't even recognize anyone. I saw them as threats wanting to take you. I was so rough with you, I dragged you while we were locked together?—"

"I know," she whispers, a blush creeping up her cheeks. "I... I liked it. I liked how you needed me. How desperate you were for me. How you protected me even when you weren't fully yourself."

My eyes widen. "You... liked it when I went feral?"

She nods, biting her lower lip. "The way you claimed me, protected me... it felt incredible. Even when you were lost, you were still taking care of me."

"You're not just saying that?" I ask quietly, stroking her hair with gentle fingers. The contrast between my tenderness now and the way I took her makes something twist in my chest. "Really? Because I was completely gone. I could have hurt you."

Her smile is radiant, full of love and satisfaction. "You didn't hurt me, Hawk. You were perfect. Wild and desperate and completely mine."

"I'm sorry," I whisper, pressing soft kisses to her forehead, her cheeks, anywhere I can reach. "I'm so sorry for losing control like that."

"Don't be," she says firmly, then softer: "I've never felt so wanted in my life. So... chosen."

The word hits me right in the chest.Chosen.

"I love you," I tell her, the words coming out soft and wondering. "So fucking much it scares me."

"I love you too," she whispers back. "All of you. My pack."

And for the first time in my life, I'm exactly where I belong.

Chapter 38

Daisy

Our cabin smells like all of us now.