Page 111 of What We Don't Say: Part Two

Sloane’s hand tightens around mine. His scent shifts, cedar going rougher at the edges, and I know he understands too well for the answer to be easy. “Neither do I.”

Idris looks at him in the reflection, then at me. “That’s why we are going home.”

The elevator opens into the lobby before I can answer. Lena looks up from the desk when we pass with a soft smile, and I tryto give her something back, but my face doesn’t move the way I want it to.

Idris steps a little closer to my side, shielding without making it obvious, and Sloane keeps my hand tucked in his until the security gate clicks open.

Outside, the air is cooler than it was when we arrived. It smells like pavement, cut grass from the planters near the entrance, and the city moving around us without caring that my Beta isn't where I left her. I stop beside the car with Callie’s sweater crushed in my hands, suddenly unsure how to make my feet carry me the rest of the way.

Sloane opens the back door, then pauses when I do, turning to cup the side of my face, and waiting until I look at him. “Baby, we’re going home right now and I know she’ll be more than happy for you to drag her into your nest for the rest of the night, okay?”

I make a small sound, purring into Sloane’s touch as Idris comes around the car and opens the other back door. I manage to climb inside, Sloane moving to sit next to me. “I just… sometimes, when I wake up, I remember after my heat and she wasn’t there. It’s not… always.” I try to push for more words but lose them, Idris leaning over Sloane to press a soft kiss to my forehead.

“I know exactly what you mean, Theo. Let’s get home to our Beta.”

I almost pull out my phone as Idris takes off down the street but if she doesn’t answer, that’ll only make the moment worse. Sloane moves one hand over mine and the sweater both. He rubs his thumb over my knuckles in slow passes, and I try to breathe through the restless thing moving under my ribs. Lunch had made everything feel gathered and bright, all five phones in one thread, all five of us held in the same small room. Waking up without Callie made everything feel distant again.

The road blurs past the window. I watch houses, trees, traffic lights, and the pale reflection of Sloane’s face in the glass. Every few minutes, my phone screen lights in my lap because I keep waking it with my thumb, checking the pack chat even though no one has written anything new.

Idris looks at me in the rearview mirror. “Text her.”

I hold the phone tighter. “We’re almost home.”

“That wasn’t what I said.”

Sloane’s hand stills over mine. “He’s right, sweetheart. You can want her out loud.”

My throat tightens around the words because they are simple and still too much. I open the chat and type slowly, careful with every letter.

Theo: Are you home?

The reply comes before I can decide whether I should have sent it privately.

Callie: Yes, sweetheart. Dash and I are home.

I stare at the message until the words stop jumping. Then another one appears.

Callie: I’ll see you soon.

Dash: She’s home. She ate too.

Callie: I can answer for myself.

Sloane’s phone is already in his hand beside me.

Sloane: Did you eat enough?

Callie: I liked this chat better before all of you learned how to use it.

Idris: That wasn’t an answer.

Theo: Did you?

The three dots appear, disappear, then come back.

Callie: Yes, Star. I ate.

Theo: Okay.