Page 44 of Building My Pack

"Me, too," he says, sounding as broken as I felt thinking we almost lost her. "You're safe now. We're going to get you guys out of here, okay?"

"Okay," she whispers on a hiccuped sob. Whatever beef they'd had earlier that sent her home to Kit's arms has definitely been resolved. Funny how near-death experiences will do that to people.

"Can we get this off him without hurting him?" Kennedy asks regarding the beam pinning Kit down.

Santiago follows it up to where it's definitely stuck around the fridge. "If we try and can't, we could hurt him even more." I can't stand seeing Kit trapped under there, but he's right. We could possibly do more damage than help.

"Where are you hurting?" Santiago asks Bryce over my shoulder.

She points to the arm cradled to her chest and then to the spot on her head before he asks, "What about your back? Or your neck?"

"No," she rasps out. "Wasabi didn't make it, though." Then bursts into tears again.

"Wasabi?" Santiago asks behind me and I hear Mitch explaining as I take our girl's good hand and squeeze it gently. Here she is looking like a house just fell on her and she's worried about a damn goldfish. I want to laugh but I don't. I know that fish had some kind of significant meaning between her and Kit.

Within the next few minutes, the first ambulance arrives, and Bryce demands we help Kit first, and the paramedics agree with her after putting her in a neck brace and telling Kennedy that she's safe to be removed. I'm actually jealous of the bastard as she nuzzles his neck as he's carrying her out the back.

Then to the hard part. We put four of us, me, Mitch, Santiago, and one of the paramedics on the beam to lift as the other one rolls Kit onto the back board. It's heavy as hell and sends part of the floor that was wedging it crashing to the floor when we set it back down, but Kit is free, and they get him moved to the ambulance.

I go check on Bryce and give her a quick, gentle kiss and thank all that's holy that she's alive before going to hop in the back with Kit.

"We'll follow you to the hospital," he says. Then because he just can't help himself, he teases, "I think you've unlocked a forever fear tonight, my friend."

No kidding,I think, watching as what's remaining of the house grow smaller through the small back window panes of the ambulance as we pull away.

Epilogue

Two Months Later

Bryce

On a day when I have to go in for an attorney meeting with my ex-boyfriend for a settlement on our destroyed house, what else should be on my mind than that night? I'd had a broken wrist which I still have another surgery for before it's completely fixed. I'd also had a concussion that I'm still having headaches from. Poor Kit had seemed worse off, but managed to walk away with nothing other than a small bump on the head and some internal bruising.

I'd woken up that first morning in the hospital and had a fit until they let me out of bed to go confirm with my own eyes that he was okay. Of course, we'd had a little cry together realizing that each other was alright and that we'd lost Wasabi.

"That was the first thing the dude asked about once he found out you were okay," Waylen had said with a chuckle. "You guys are not allowed to name any of our pets in the future."

We'd laughed along with the other three in the room. Then I'd started crying again because there would be a future for us, and I wasn't about to let my fears or anything else stand in the way of that anymore. After checking out of the hospital, there'd been a great debate of whether we'd stay with Santiago and Kennedy or Mitchell and Waylen. The former won by saying that I already had a room in their home and that Kit did, too, now. Not like it mattered since we all have dinner together when work schedules don't get in the way. Kit was back to work within the second week after the storm because apparently, he doesn't like sitting still. Who would have thought? I took care of the logistics of filing insurance claims on the house while I healed up and then accepted the offer to work with Santiago. It's fun, to say the least, teasing him all day long about who might have better sales at the end of the year.

Then came the fun part where George decided that he wanted all of the money from the house since I'd just been a cosigner on it with him, even though he'd moved out months before. Which leaves me where I am today, standing in an attorney's office waiting for Kennedy to come out of the restroom so we can head into an evening meeting.

"Hey, Bryce," George says, strolling toward me.

"Hi," I reply curtly.

"Listen, it doesn't have to be this way," he states. "I don't want to fight you on this."

"Neither do I, George," I tell him honestly. "But, for once, I'm not going to let you be a selfish, spineless jellyfish."

"Nice bonding marks," he comments with a slight sneer.

I'd purposely worn a blouse that put them on display for this reason right here. When my last heat hit, we'd all been ready, so it happened. When I’d thought that nothing could possibly ever feel as good as finding a pack, they had to go and prove me wrong. That was the first time we’d all six been together, though, it hasn’t been the last. Kennedy and Mitchell had gotten into a small dominance showdown as to who was to bite me first, and they both almost lost to Waylen surprisingly enough. I hadn’t wanted to leave Kit out either after he’d confessed to only traveling again if I was with him. He’d rode me into oblivion while receiving his own marks from our alphas.

So, now Kit and I are bonded to four alphas and have submitted our pack to be officiated.

"Guess you're Pack Kane now, huh?" he asks snidely. "Or is it Pack Cooper? Your parents must be so proud."

"Actually," I reveal sweetly, "We're Pack Hartley and they've met my pack and happen to love them."

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