Page 52 of Wolf's Endgame

We both watched the door handle push down. My mate was never one for patience.

The door swung open, and when my brother stepped through, joy erupted at the sight of him, but I still pushed away the disappointment that he wasn’t Cannon. I was off my seat and across the room, and he crossed the space to sweep me into a hug.

“Luna’s grace, you are a sight for sore eyes,” he muttered as he squeezed me close.

I squeezed him back as tightly as he held me. “It’s so good to know you are okay.” I looked up at him. “How are you here?”

Kris stepped back, and I saw Royce over his shoulder. I shouldn’t have been surprised when Royce simply nodded in greeting, but I had to admit that I was expecting more than a nod.

“Cannon got me and Cass out,” Kris told me gruffly.

Looking back at the door expectantly, I saw it was closed. “Where is he?”

Royce’s attention flicked behind me, and I turned to see Cannon standing there. A part of me knew why he’d come in the back way, and that same part knew that would piss me off later, but for now, I drank him in. In a pair of faded denims, bare feet, and bare chest, he’d obviously just shifted from his wolf. His hair was messy, the way I liked it, his jaw was clenched, and his eyes hard.

He was alive.

Holy Luna, he was alive. Pissed off but alive—and healthy.

My chest tightened with emotion, and I already knew I was crying.

“He told me you were dead.” I felt like I was frozen in place as I watched him watch me. I saw a flicker of emotion in his eyes, and it was seeing that break in his armor that snapped my control. I ran to him and threw my arms around him, my tears flowing freely as I sobbed against his chest. “Thank you, Luna, thank you,” I whispered over and over. Looking up, I met his cold, hard, green eyes. Fear gripped me. “Cannon?”

His arms hadn’t embraced me. His mouth hadn’t met mine. He hadn’t reacted to me.

Backing away, I shook my head. The way he was looking at me was for the same reason as he covered the back door exit.

He didn’t trust me…

“No. No! You can fuck off. Do not even think of doubting me. I have been in misery. I have been beaten, threatened, all of it. I wanted to die, thinking you were dead. You do not come into this house and doubt me.” I shook my head in denial. “You don’t get to fucking do this to me, Cannon!”

Looking at my alpha, I wanted to cry again. He was alive. He was standing in front of me and breathing. As angry as I was at his reaction to me, I just wanted to hold him. “I never thought I’d see you again.”

Cannon broke our stare, looking down at the floor. “You almost didn’t.”

His voice did something to me. The anger faded as quickly as it came. More tears escaped as I stepped forward, my hand reaching for him. “I should have never left. I knew it as soon as I was halfway up that mountain. I’m so sorry, Alpha.”

Cannon tilted his head back slightly, his eyebrow arching. “Alpha? Sorry?” He glanced at Lottie. “I can smell the whiskey. How much has she had to drink?”

I coughed out a laugh, hope rising within me as I took another step forward. “He told me you were dead.” I started sobbing again, and I angrily brushed the tears away. “I couldn’t move, I couldn’t eat, it was horrible. I thought you were gone.” I hiccupped and took another step towards him. “I don’t care if you think I’m drunk, please, Cannon, they told me you were dead. I need to hold you.”

His face gave nothing away, and I felt he would say no, but just as I was ready for rejection, he gave a slight nod, and I closed the distance with a speed that surprised us both. I heard his oof, but I didn’t care, because this time my mate was hugging me back.

All the weeks that we had been apart, all the horribleness we had both endured, it all faded away as his arms tightened around me, and I used them to lift myself onto my tiptoes as I hung onto him like the lifeline he was. Silent tears coursed down my cheeks, and when Cannon lifted me higher, I wrapped myself around him, while his head nestled into the crook of my neck.

And he held me.

And he didn’t let go.

And for the first time, in so long, my heart didn’t hurt.

“I’ve missed you so much,” I whispered into his shoulder. “I thought I lost you.”

“I think you almost did.”

His words were sobering enough to make me lift my head and look at him. “Bad?”

I heard Royce grunt and had completely forgotten there were others in the room. “Bad?” he bit out. “I don’t think any of us thought he would be standing again.”

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