Page 28 of To The Final End
“For choosing me.” His voice cracks. “I didn’t think—I didn’t think anyone would ever want me again. Not after being trapped for so long. Losing what I was.”
My chest aches.
I pull him closer. Feel him still softening inside me, neither of us ready to separate yet.
“You’re mine, Seth.” The words come out steady. Certain. “You always were. Even before you knew it.”
He makes a sound against my skin.
I press a kiss to his temple. Feel the bond humming between us—settled now, content, complete.
“We come first,” I tell him. “All of us. That’s how this works.”
He lifts his head. Looks at me with wet eyes and a trembling smile.
“Yeah.” He breathes. “I’m starting to get that.”
He pulls out gently—we both wince at the loss—and settles beside me, pulling me into his chest. I press my cheek against his heartbeat.
Outside, the sanctuary is figuring out how to exist in a world without Ethos.
But here, in this small room, with this man who came back from the Void for me—
Everything is exactly right.
Chapter 9
Bree
Something’s pressing on my bladder.
That’s the first thing I register. Not the warmth, not the safety, not the seven heartbeats surrounding me—just the urgent need to pee and the complete impossibility of moving.
I crack one eye open.
Wes is the bladder problem. He’s sprawled across my stomach like he’s trying to become part of me, cheek mashed against my ribs, drooling slightly.
Lovely.
Gray has my legs pinned. Both of them. He’s curled around my calves like I might try to escape in the night, and honestly, with his grip, I couldn’t if I wanted to.
Jace is snoring into my hair. I can feel each exhale, hot and damp against my scalp. His arm is flung across the pillow abovemy head, and at some point in the night, I apparently became his teddy bear.
Rhett’s hand is on my hip. Heavy. Warm. Even in sleep, he runs hot—I can feel the heat radiating off him through my clothes.
Theo’s fingers rest against my pulse point. Light enough that I almost don’t notice. He does this sometimes. Checks that I’m still here.
Seth’s face is pressed to my shoulder, his breath slow and even. The bite mark on my neck throbs faintly when I shift—healed but not forgotten. His hand rests over my heart like he fell asleep counting the beats.
Thane is on his back at the edge of the bed. Still as death. But I feel him through the bond—awake, watching, waiting for me to open my eyes.
And Stellan—
Stellan is sitting at the foot of the bed, back against the frame, watching me with that unreadable expression he does so well.
“Morning,” I croak.
“You’ve been awake for three minutes.” His voice is soft. “I was timing how long you’d pretend to sleep.”
