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“What do you mea…”
She hadn’t even finished speaking when her shifter nose picked up Derek’s scent.
She hit Jost on the shoulder, who had started snickering. “Oh, you’re such an …”
Just in time, she remembered children were present and abruptly stopped speaking for the second time.
“‘Such a what?” Maurice asked.
Iris heard the pressing of several buttons as the code was entered, and the door beeped in validation. Slowly, the external wheel turned. The door slid open, revealing Derek, Mason, and the enforcers who had traveled with them.
And they weren’t alone. Behind them were Lila and the abducted children, who looked scared but relieved. Children and parents shrieked in delight, rushing for each other.
Iris didn’t wait to do the same.
Immediately, she bounded across the room, nearly tripping over a building block.
She threw herself into Derek’s arms, breathing in his musk as her hands roamed up and down his back.
“Oh, come now,” Derek said, bringing his chin into her shoulder. “Did you really have that little faith in me?”
She became painfully aware of the gazes of everybody upon them, but she didn’t care. It hadn’t been long at all since he had left their company … mere hours, in fact … but spending so long not knowing felt more like an eternity.
“Where’s Cyrus?” Iris asked. “Did you take him out or …”
“He got away.”
Iris didn’t understand. She knew Derek must have tried his best, but to think that Cyrus might still be somewhere, out on the loose. It was maddening. Her wolf whined in frustration.
She reached out, gently rubbing his shoulder before moving in for a small peck on the cheek. She did have to consider decorum, after all.
“You’ll get him next time,” she said reassuringly.
But as she looked at the state of the children and of Lila, she realized she had a job to do. And it far exceeded her own needs at the moment.
Soon, they would move everything back into the pack house. But as Iris poured her energy into cuts, scrapes, and sprains, healing the wounds of the victims, she listened to the children’s emphatic stories.
She was certain that, at the moment, their interactions with Cyrus were terrifying and would probably stay with them for life. But as she listened to Bruce talk, clearly embellishing the details, she treasured the lens these children saw this twisted world through.
He spoke of how he braved terrifying monsters and how Derek and Mason had shown up, swords in hand. From how the boy described them, they almost seemed like knights, smiting demons and dragons.
Bruce’s parents gave him the biggest hug once they were sure he wouldn’t collapse from the pressure, reminding him that he was a hero in their eyes and that they were so proud of him before giving Derek and Mason big hugs.
This was nothing like Iris’s old pack. Everyone here had dropped everything to come together as one with no judgment or recrimination. It was unlike anything she ever imagined a pack could be.
I think I can really do this, Iris thought to herself, realizing she truly felt at home.
I just need to make sure I’m worthy of them.
SEVENTEEN
DEREK
“Imissed you so much,” Iris said.
Derek embraced Iris, pinning her against the wall while he kissed her deeply.
Back in the bunker, the children and Lila recuperated, thanks in part to Iris’s and Maria’s healing magic. It had taken some time, but the situation had finally begun to calm down.
