Page 71 of Hunted By Wraith

As I burst into the dining room, the lights flick on and a chorus of “Surprise!” fills the air.

The room is decorated top to bottom—balloons, streamers, candles. My favorite foods line the buffet table. Katherine stands front and center, beaming.

She’s blossomed into someone I’m so damn proud of—and is now heading Onyx’s internal and external affairs.

She rushes over and hugs me tight. “Do you like it?”

Tears fill my eyes as I look around. Lily. Max. Mrs. Sloane. Ellie. Ava. My guys. My chosen family.

My first birthday without my father—and somehow, I’m not alone.

“I love it,” I whisper, clinging to Katherine. “Thank you.”

We hug. I get more hugs from everyone before we sit to eat. Keir holds my hand under the table.

The guys ask about Katherine, and we fill them in—leaving out the worst of it for now. That story is hers to tell when she’s ready.

I smile more than I have in months. I feel alive.

Then… the gifts start.

And I nearly die of embarrassment when I open Dario’s.

“Christ, Dario!” I scold with a flushed face. “Warn a woman when she’s about to open a box of sex toys in front of her family!”

Everyone laughs.

“Oh dear,” Mrs. Sloane fans herself.

Ellie and Ava gag. Max turned away after box one. Lily and Katherine are giggling like teenagers.

Keir leans in, his breath warm on my ear. “It’s really a gift for all of us, if you think about it.”

They all wink at me. I roll my eyes.

Kaz’s gift is stunning—a custom set of matte black daggers inlaid with sapphires the color of his eyes. They’re lethal and gorgeous. Like me, I suppose.

Keir gifts me four Kindles.

“Yes, four,” he says smugly. “One for the house, one for your car, one for our car, and one for the jet.”

Smart. Fucking. Man.

Katherine’s gift is a framed certificate—one that designates a self-defence program for survivors in my name. She’s launching it next month, with Lily’s help.

Lily gives me a custom-designed leather holster set—sleek, concealed, and practical. Max gifts me a rare first edition of one of my favorite fantasy novels. Even Silvia brings a smile with a sarcastic card and a bottle of insanely expensive rumfrom her and the girls.

And for the first time in a long time, I feel centred.

Chapter 24

Selene

I should probably stop torturing them.

It’s been three weeks since my birthday—three weeks since they came back to me. Three weeks of light touches, kisses like promises, my favorite coffee in the mornings, food left on my desk, questions about my books. But more than that—three weeks of them staying. Staying in my space, in my world. Helping with Onyx business like it’s theirs too. Like I’m theirs.

They even had their things shipped here a week ago. As if they were settling in for good. As if I was worth fighting for.