Page 34

LOCKE

My wolf growled, pushing at my skin, wanting free. When I didn’t wake, the growling intensified, and he raked his claws against my insides. It was enough to make my eyelids flutter, the faint glow of the room coming into focus. And that’s when I heard it.

A pained whimper.

Every part of me came alert as my gaze focused on the woman in front of me. Wren whimpered again, her face contorting in agony. I knew it had to be a nightmare, but she didn’t thrash like you might expect. The only signs that anything was wrong were her voice and the expression on her face.

I reached out a hand and skimmed it over her cheek. “Wren. Wake up. You’re safe.”

The contact had her striking out, trying to fight me off as Puck jerked awake behind her. I managed to block Wren’s blow, catching her wrist. “It’s okay. It’s just a dream.”

“What the hell?” Puck mumbled. But it only took him a matter of seconds to realize what was happening. He held her tightly so she wouldn’t hurt herself.

I pressed my forehead to Wren’s, wrapping her in my scent and touch, letting her know I was there. “Wake up. We’re here. We’ve got you.”

She threw herself hard against Puck’s hold, but the action startled her awake. A strangled sound left her throat—more animal than human.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay.” I framed Wren’s face with my hands as Puck eased up on his hold.

“Wha—? Oh, gods. It was so real,” she croaked.

Puck released her entirely, pushing up against the pillows. “You’re safe, Birdie.”

She blinked a few times and moved to sit, pulling her knees into her chest.

I shoved up, too, needing to be close to her. So much pain swirled in Wren’s expression. And I saw every different type: physical, emotional, and the kind that was soul-deep. “Do you want to tell us about it? Sometimes, that takes the power away.”

Wren shuddered and gripped her legs tighter as if to shield her from the memories. She didn’t answer immediately, just stared into the nothingness in front of her. “It was Bastian. He had me again.”

Puck cursed and wrapped an arm around her. “He doesn’t have you, and he’s never getting his filthy paws on you again.”

I wrapped my hand around one of Wren’s calves, massaging it. The muscle might as well have been carved out of stone given how tense it was. “It’s because you had a run-in with him. It’s completely normal for your brain to try to process your fear when you sleep. It’s actually quite healthy?—”

“Locke,” Puck said, cutting me off. “I don’t think explaining the psychology to her will help.”

I flushed.

Wren shook her head, dark strands of hair fluttering around her. “No. It does, actually. Takes away some of the power.” Her eyes welled with tears. “But at the end of the dream, he said you weren’t coming for me. Said if you did, he’d rip out your hearts.”

It was my turn to curse and push closer to Wren. “We will always come for you.”

Wren started shaking her head again, more fervently this time. “You can’t. I won’t be the reason you die.”

“Hey,” Puck clipped, fury lacing the word. “No one is dying. And Bastian isn’t getting any of us.”

“You don’t know that,” Wren whispered. “He never gives up.”

“Which is why we’re going to take him out,” Puck snarled.

Wren’s eyes went wide. “You’re what?”

“We’re going to end him,” Puck bit out. “We’re working on a plan. But he won’t scare us into reacting rashly. We’ll be smart about it and get him when he least expects it.”

Wren’s whole body started to tremble. “You can’t. He’ll?—”

Puck stole the words from her lips with a kiss, his mouth taking hers.

She leaned into it, accepting his reassurance.

When they broke apart, Wren sucked in a breath and leaned into me.

My arms instantly went around her. I needed to remind myself that she was safe and here with us, where no one could hurt her.

“Trust us,” Puck said.

It was part order and part question. Still, Wren nodded. “Okay.”

My hands moved up and down her arms reassuringly. Telling her she wasn’t alone.

“It feels like he’ll always have control of me,” she whispered. “Like those memories will haunt me forever.”

My wolf snarled, hating that Wren had to live with the nightmares and had endured what caused them.

I pulled her tighter against me. “They won’t own you forever.

You just have to replace them with good memories.

The more of those you store up, the less the nightmares can get a foothold.

They won’t disappear forever, but they’ll surface less and less often. ”

Wren looked my way, searching my eyes. “That’s what happened for you?”

I nodded. I’d had more than my fair share of nightmares after living on the streets for years. But they’d lessened after King brought me into his pack, and I found my true family. And since Wren had come into my life, I hadn’t had any.

“I love you.” Wren spoke the words in a barely audible voice, but they still sounded like they’d been shot out of a cannon.

My entire body tensed as a low growl left my throat. “Say it again.”

“I love you.” The words were louder this time as Wren’s gaze moved from me to Puck. “I love you both. You gave me a sense of belonging. Safety. You made me feel seen. I’ll never be able to tell you how much that means to me.”

“Show us,” Puck growled. “Let us claim you. Claim us right back.”

My dick hardened at Puck’s words and what they would mean for the three of us: a bond that meant forever.

Wren looked from Puck to me and back again. “Yes.”