AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hey. Look at me.” Xander caught my cheeks between his palms. We both pretended I didn’t flinch at his touch. “What’s wrong?”
A harsh, humorless laugh left my throat. “What isn’t?”
He bowed his head. “I know, Cheeks. It’s killing me, too.” Slowly, his eyes wandered back up to mine. “I’ve missed you.”
I blinked. “I haven’t gone anywhere,” I said dully.
“Whatever you say.”
The silence that followed only emphasized his point. Here we were, standing less than a foot apart, connected by Xander’s touch. But for all it was worth, we could have been standing in different countries, moving away from each other with the continental drift.
“Cheeks…it’s killing me, too.” He took my hands, his calluses rough against my palms. “But if we’re both dying, surely we don’t need to die alone.”
My chest tightened as memories of our mating ceremony flooded my mind. I’d been so drunk on the magic of the moonlight, on Xander, on the power of the ancient words we’d spoken to each other, my tongue clumsy and heavy with the language of the wolves.
Fate before love, love before eternity. Our only vows. Even those had been a lie. Love had found us long before fate caught up. And eternity? It sounded more like a threat than a promise now.
From the start, we’d been singled out: hunted, kidnapped, held hostage, burned out, tracked like prey, attacked, nearly killed. Again and again, I’d convinced myself it was worth it. For each other—for our sons—anything was.
Now they were gone, what was left?
Us?
Two broken people, hanging on by the skin of our teeth?
“I don’t want to feel like I’m dying anymore, Xander,” I said on a shaky breath, clenching my fists. My nails bit into the heels of my hands, hard enough to hurt.
“Neither do I,” he agreed. “So, what do you want?”
I stared at him, eyes wide. “I want our sons back.” What else was there to want?
“I know, Cheeks. I want that, too.”
I sighed, recalling Detective Moreno’s announcement. “You just missed Moreno. Portersmith PD are handing the boys’ case entirely over to the FBI. They’re washing their hands of it. As far as they’re concerned, Melony is long gone.”
“Good riddance, then,” he scoffed. “It’s not like they were any help.”
I bit my lip. “I’m not sure anyone can help anymore.”
“I know how you feel. I just talked to… well, a lot of people. Clint and Aubrey have done everything they can for us. They were kind enough about it, but we’ve overstayed our welcome. The pack back home is falling apart without us. And Dad, Kingston—they’re falling apart here.”
“Your mom?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Still out. No better, no worse.”
While Xander held my hands, I found myself thinking about loss all over again. It was a grocery list we couldn’t seem to stop adding to.
“So… what do we do about it?” My voice was ragged, projecting my helplessness.
“I think…” he whispered, pressing his forehead to mine, and this time, I didn’t flinch. “I think it’s time to go home.”
* * *
We said our goodbyes to Clinton and Aubrey in the same place we’d met them four months ago, at the base of Morrow Manor’s front steps. Aubrey cried a little. Clinton cried a lot.
My own eyes remained dry. I would miss them both, but I couldn’t find any tears to match theirs. All of mine had already been shed.
“We’ll come back when this is over,” I promised Aubrey as we pulled back from an embrace.
