Page 172 of Down Knot Out
Sprinkles’ tail thumps weakly on the ground at our approach. Holden’s head lifts, his face streaked with tears and soot.
“He saved me.” I drop to my knees beside them. “He found me in the woods.”
Holden nods, words failing him. He wraps his arms around Sprinkles’ neck, burying his face in the thick fur.
“Good boy.” Blake crouches to scratch behind the dog’s ears. “The best boy.”
Quinn lets go of me to throw her arms around Sprinkles. “You saved Aunt Chloe.”
The dog nudges her cheek with the mask, his intelligent dark eyes watchful. Even exhausted and injured, he maintains his guardian pose, body angled toward us.
Dominic helps me stand as the paramedics pack up their equipment. His arm slides around my waist, pulling me close to his side. The heat of his body seeps into mine, chasing away the chill that had settled into my bones.
Nathaniel stares toward where the police took away Simon. “He’s not getting away again. He’ll never hurt you again.”
I shake my head. “The Sinclairs will pin everything on him.”
Dominic kisses my temple. “Good. They can lock him away for life.”
“The Santaros will get him in jail if the Sinclairs don’t,” Blake rumbles without a hint of remorse.
He steps closer, tilting my chin to examine the cut on my neck. Rage darkens his features at the sight, but his touch remains gentle. “We almost lost you again.”
“But you didn’t.” I reach for his hand. “You found me. All of you.”
Holden rises to his feet, and Sprinkles stands, too, leaning heavily on his leg. “Pack finds pack.”
Quinn slips her small hand into mine again.
I look at each of them in turn, my Alphas, my pack, my family. Smoke-stained and battered, but alive.
Beyond them, the Homestead still smolders, parts of it reduced to charred timber and ash. But the walls stand, the foundation holds.
Like us, I think. Damaged but not destroyed.
Dominic holds me so tightly I can’t tell whose heart pounds harder against my ribs. “Let’s go home.”
The word rings through me, though it holds a different meaning now than it did hours ago.
Home isn’t the building behind us.
It’s the people surrounding me.
“Yes.” I lean into his strength. “Let’s go home.”
Chapter Forty-Six
Chloe
2 Months Later
My fingers smooth the soft green fabric of my dress, tracing the delicate seams Dominic insisted on having tailored for today. The silk whispers across my skin as I twist to check my reflection once more in the full-length mirror.
Through the French doors of the hotel suite, laughter floats up from the courtyard below, where paper lanterns sway in the afternoon breeze and lavender lines the stone walkway.
My pack is waiting.
“You can do this,” I whisper to my reflection, bare toes curling on the cool, polished wood floor. “They chose you. You chose them. You’re already bonded. This is just a formality.”
