Page 95 of Reckless: Collision

“Patience is a virtue,” I swat his hand away.

“I have many virtues.” He steals a fingerful of whipped cream instead. “Patience isn’t one of them.”

“Children.” Ryker appears, somehow already showered and dressed in sweats that probably cost more than my first laptop. “All of you.”

But he’s already grabbing mugs from the cabinet, setting them out with military precision while Finn arranges marshmallows by size. Because apparently that’s a thing that needs doing.

I pour the hot chocolate with the same care I use handling sensitive data. Each mug gets a perfect dollop of Theo’s whipped cream, a precise arrangement of marshmallows—thanks, Finn—and a light dusting of cocoa powder because presentation matters.

“Movie time?” I suggest, already knowing the answer from their eager expressions.

We migrate to the living room like a well-choreographed dance. Theo claims one end of the circular couch while Finn settles at the other, already pulling up movie options. Ryker takes the middle, looking for all the world like he’s tolerating this instead of secretly loving it.

Jinx sprawls across all of them like an oversized cat, head in Theo’s lap, feet in Finn’s. Which leaves me...

“Come here, Glitch.” Jinx pats the space he’s somehow created beside him. “You can be the middle spoon.”

I hesitate for just a moment—not because I don’t want to join them, but because I do. Want it too much, maybe. Want this feeling of belonging, of family, of peace.

But then Jinx tugs me down, and I find myself nestled between him and Ryker, with Theo’s fingers in my hair and Finn’s hand resting warm on my ankle. The position should feel confining. Should trigger every instinct to run, to hack, to escape.

Instead, it feels like coming home.

“What are we watching?” I ask, already feeling sleep creeping back in despite my earlier nap. The gentle weight of pack surrounding me, the warmth of hot chocolate in my belly, the quiet satisfaction of a day spent playing in the snow—it all combines into a dangerous kind of contentment.

“Die Hard,” Ryker says the same moment Theo suggests “The Princess Bride” and Finn votes for “Hidden Figures.”

“Beauty and the Beast,” Jinx mumbles into my shoulder, surprising everyone. “What? I contain multitudes.”

The familiar opening notes ofBellefill the room as Finn hits play. I sink deeper into their embrace, letting myself have this moment. This peace. This belonging.

Tomorrow I’ll worry about Sterling Labs and beta deaths and all the secrets burning against my skin. Tomorrow I’ll be the hacker, the fighter, the runner.

But right now?

Right now I’m just Cayenne, surrounded by my pack, watching a tale as old as time while snow falls soft outside. And for once in my life, that feels like enough.

“Be our guest,” Jinx sings off-key into my ear, making me giggle.

Yes. For this moment at least, I’ll be their guest. Their glitch in the system. Their beta who runs with wolves.

And maybe, just maybe, their home.

Chapter 21

Jinx

Sadness dripslike the melting icicles outside my window. Drip. Drip. Each drop echoes the hollow space in my chest where control should live. The snow is dying, and something inside me dies with it. Something feral. Something that needs the pristine white to keep the darkness at bay.

Burrow. Burrow. Suffocate.

My thoughts spiral like water circling a drain. I track each icicle’s descent, silently willing them to fall. To shatter. To mirror the fractures in my mind that I can’t seem to piece back together.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Fall, fall, fall.

“Jinx.” Knock-knock-knock.

---