Page 162 of A Wild Darkness

Dinner continues around us.

Sebastian’s eyes flick to my lips, he leans in and kisses me softly. “It’s where you belong.”

Christian’s story about an FBI supervisor he hasn’t seen eye to eye with recently is background noise. Poe jumps back onto Sebastian’s lap, curls into a ball and falls asleep.

This is family. It’s strange and questionable and not like any other regular one I’m sure, but it’s a family. The thought warms something inside me, because for so long, I thought I existed on the outside of this world. I understand funerals, the dead, and goodbyes. I never imagined there would be room for me with a group of people who are just as unique as I am.

When dinner finally ends, everyone begins drifting away. Christian has an early flight to FBI headquarters in Washington, DC, River disappears with Lux, Aunt Mae heads back to her wing of the house, and Ben eventually leaves.

Which leaves Sebastian and me standing in the hallway. Alone. The soft golden lights cast long shadows across the floor, while Poe yawns dramatically from Sebastian’s arms.

“You tired?” he asks the kitten.

Poe blinks.

“Helpful.”

I laugh.

Sebastian glances at me, and that familiar warmth settles in his expression. The one that never used to be there. The one that now feels impossible to live without. “Come on.”

We walk toward our wing of the manor while neither of us speaks, but the silence isn’t uncomfortable. And not heavy in the way endings often are—or beginnings? Maybe both.

“I’ve been thinking.”

Sebastian groans. “That sounds dangerous.”

“What?” I bump my shoulder against his.

His smile appears instantly. God, I love that smile. The realization still feels shocking every time it crosses my mind, because there was a time when his presence was annoying. Now he’s the only one I want to be in the presence of. And imagining a room without him in it is slightly wrong.

“I meant what I said while we were staying in Thornfell. I’m going to stay involved.”

“Stevie.” His expression shifts immediately, and the playfulness disappears. “Are you sure?”

“I’m serious,” I say.

“I know,” he says, closing the bedroom door behind us. Poe jumps from his arms and walks over to his cat bed, filled with various toys. “You need someone to watch out for you.”

“I have people. We have people.”

“You have vigilantes.”

“Same thing.”

“No.” I shake my head. “Someone has to think about you and the victims.”

His jaw flexes. “I do. And the guys are like my brothers. They’ll always watch out for me.”

And they will, I trust them, but that’s the thing: is that beneath all the arrogance and sarcasm and impossible stubbornness…he cares—maybe too much—and so do I. I can’t let him be alone with this.

“I know you do.” I grab his hand in mine and fight back tears. I’m overcome with emotion. “I want to be with you, and I always want to make a difference,” I continue, but my voice turns hoarse—desperate. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you how I felt before⁠—”

Suddenly his hands slide up my cheeks. “What, Stevie?”

I need to tell him how I feel. He needs to know how much I have fallen in love with him. It’s not just infatuation or obsession or whatever—it’s love.

“I love you.”