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Blair releases me, and I almost protest, missing the warmth of his arms the second they’re gone, but I don’t get the chance before Sol is there, scooping me up into his.
“Rena.” His voice is little more than a whisper, but there’s so much emotion it makes my chest feel tight as he pulls me close.
“I’m sorry,” I try to say, but my throat is so dry, and my emotions are so high that the words get caught in my throat, making them a mumbled mess. His arms grow impossibly tighter as he tucks my head under his chin. I’m almost positive he didn’t hear me, but maybe he didn’t need to.
Maybe just being together again is enough.
We cling to each other for a moment until something cold and wet presses against my cheek, forcing me to pull back. The second I do, I’m assaulted. Pike’s wolf is ginormous, his tongue large enough to lick most of my face in a single swipe, leaving me wet and laughing as I attempt to push him away.
“Gross,” I tell him, batting him away as I wipe at my face with a chuckle. He whimpers, and the sound is so heartbreaking, not at all his usual playful yips and growls, that it makes me pause.
He’d only licked the left side of my face, but I find myself wiping the right as well.
I’m crying.
His whimper makes a lot more sense. The guys hate to see me upset, always have, and Pike is the most in tune with our emotions, the first to demand cuddles when someone is upset or stressed out.
“I’m okay,” I tell him. My voice is a little stronger this time, though still rough, as I wipe my face, both at my tears and his slobber. “I’m happy you guys are here. I missed you.”
That seems to be all Pike needed to hear. His ears perk up, and his tail smacks the bed hard enough that I can feel it. He’s all but on top of me the next second, nuzzling me and licking me all over again, and all I can do is laugh. I’d been no match for him with my beast; now, without it, it looks like I’m about to get a whole ass bath from the overexcited puppy.
“Get off her before you crush her, you mangy mutt.”
One second, Pike is there, and the next, he’s gone, leaving Lyle standing over me. I’m once again lying on the bed, thanks to Pike’s huge ass knocking me back. His face is set in its usual deadpan expression, but his eyes search my face, and I see the relief shine in them. Lyle might not like to show he has emotions, but I know they’re there. He can’t hide from me, no matter how hard he might try.
He holds out his hand, offering me a glass of what I assume to be water. As dry as my throat might be, as good as water would probably taste right now, I ignore it. Instead, I scramble up onto my knees before I fling myself into his arms, burying my face in his chest.
He stumbles back a step, clearly surprised, but his free arm quickly wraps around my waist to catch me as if on instinct. I’m unsure what he does with the cup, but I don’t care as his arms wrap around me, pulling me tight against him.
He’d just been giving Pike a hard time about squishing me, but the way he holds me says he’s forgotten that already. I’d probably laugh if I could get enough oxygen to my lungs.
“Fucking hell, Serena.” My hair muffles his words, but I hear the relief in them. Lyle is our group’s ‘dad,’ so I can only imagine he’s been losing his mind, especially with how the others have reacted so far.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…” I trail off, unsure what to say.
I didn’t mean to what? Follow the wisps into the forest and fall into another realm? No, I’d felt something. It wasn’t a question of whether I should go or not, and I can’t bring myself to regret being here. Something about this place feels right and familiar, and for as strange as he might have been, I can’t bring myself to regret meeting Ryker either.
I don’t want to lie to him. “I’m sorry I worried you, all of you.” I settle on, knowing I owe him that at the very least.
He pulls back enough to look down at me, and I meet his gaze. His dark eyes blaze, and I know whatever he’s about to say is going to piss me off.
It’s kind of our thing, though, and as much as I’ve missed them, I won’t deny it feels good to be back to normal, even if only for the moment.
“You’re sorry?” he asks, raising a brow in challenge as if he doesn’t believe me.
It takes a lot. I literally have to bite my tongue against the urge to snap at him, but that only seems to make him angrier.
“So you’re telling me you didn’t mean to follow the wisps into another realm and leave us all behind, worried that you’d vanished into thin air?”
I cringe at his harsh tone but still stay quiet, reminding myself I’d be upset if they did the same to me. Hell, I’d probably be a mess if this were reversed; the guys have been my rocks for a long time. I need them.
“Or are you sorry that you put yourself in danger and spent the last five days unconscious while we all lost our minds, worried you might never wake up again?”
His words spark a memory. I’d been in the woods with Shadow when the pain started. It was so intense that I must have eventually passed out.
How had I gotten here, wherever here might be?
Wait, “Five days?” I ask, unable to stop myself. The moment I ask, a floodgate opens, and I continue firing off questions in rapid succession.
