Page 67 of Racing the Storm

“I can feel you again,” he whispered.

And I could feel him. He was a second heart, right alongside mine, quietly beating against the inside of my ribs. And he would always be there. This time, there was no letting go. He was mine. My Alpha.

“This is enough,” I whispered quietly into the space between us.

I felt him nod against my shoulder, felt him kiss me there, then the whispered words against my skin. “I know I didn’t show it before, but you were always enough.”

Epilogue

MIKAEL

Danyal’s heat faded, but the bond remained as bright as ever. There wasn’t a moment of regret, even when I could feel the lingering resentment and his mistrust that simmered at the edges. I had years to make up for, years to prove myself to him, but it didn’t scare me.

It helped that Danyal didn’t let it get the best of us, either. He wasn’t afraid I would leave at every turn, and he was happy to lean into the soft affection that lingered in his post-heat haze. The cabin smelled like us, and I wanted to keep it that way forever.

Of course, we’d never be that lucky.

At noon on the third day, I could hear tires crunching over rock as a car made its way through the rocky path. Danyal had been lounging on the sofa, but he was on his feet the moment I noticed the visitors, and he took up a defensive stance at my side.

“Ours?” he asked.

They were too far to tell, so I moved to the front door and cracked it open. It took until the car had almost rolled into the makeshift driveway, but eventually I caught a scent I’d recognize anywhere.

“Theo.”

He wasn’t alone, but he wasn’t with Francisco, which sent warning bells in my head, but I supposed he wasn’t going to leave Corland undefended. It was just strange to see him without his counterpart. I realized why, though, the moment the Jeep rolled to a stop, and Zane got out.

Danyal was all-but vibrating out of his skin, holding himself almost too rooted to the ground as the pair made their way to the door. I backed up, leaving it cracked, and kept out of the way because I knew this would be a moment.

It was almost a gift to watch Zane come through the door—alive and in one piece. He looked a little worse for the wear, new scars he hadn’t had before, but his eyes were clear and focused. He didn’t seem to notice me, which I entirely expected, and when he crossed the distance between himself and Danyal, he gathered his brother and held him in a bone-crushing hug.

Danyal let out a small squeak, but he held on just as tight, and I glanced over at Theo with a small smirk. “Was he unbearable on the way over?”

Theo snorted and shrugged. “No worse than I expected. Though I had to fight him about bringing Orion.”

My brows lifted. “Orion?”

“We’ve bonded,” Zane said, his voice gruff as he set his brother down.

Danyal’s eyes went wide, and he slapped Zane on the shoulder with a grin. “Oh. I fucking knew it.”

Zane rubbed the back of his neck looking sheepish, but then his eyes widened, and he glanced between me and his brother. “What the fuck?”

Danyal swallowed thickly. “I suppose you’re not the only one with news.”

I waited to see if Zane was going to posture or try the shovel talk, but instead, he just paled. “You wanted it?” he asked Danyal in a low voice.

Danyal nodded, his expression solemn. “We’ll talk later, but yes. It wasn’t just the adrenaline of the trip.”

“But…you went into heat,” Zane said. “I can smell it. You haven’t…”

“I know,” Danyal interrupted, and I could feel his slight humiliation about his brother bringing up his heat cycle in front of Theo. “We made the decision before the heat came on. Anyway, you look exhausted. Do we have to hit the road right away?”

Zane and Theo exchanged glances, then Theo took a breath. “We should. Things are getting intense, and right now, it’s total chaos in Corland.”

I immediately stiffened. “What’s going on?”

“We started with Kor’s plan to let some of the spies continue their work, but it didn’t last. Someone set a bomb at Zane’s house, and he and Orion were caught in the blast.”

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