Alpha Erased (Alpha Girl 9)

I can carry you. He was in my head. He knew how weak I was.

No. They have to believe I’m strong. They have to be scared. If I can scare them enough, they’ll listen to diplomacy. Or at the very least, they’ll think for a while before they attack again. I need time before our next fight.

I held a hand out to Van, and my friends moved without me needing to tell them it was time to go.

There was the darkness and the dizziness and then we were home and Dastien was there. It was still dark, but it felt like we’d been gone for a million years instead of maybe a few hours. I started to sway, and Dastien pulled me to his side, holding me up.

“I’m so hungry,” I whispered to Dastien.

“I know. But you’re going to have to go slow. Okay? You’re going to be fine. The house is stocked.”

“Our house.” I’d almost forgotten.

I turned to see the house I’d dreamed of. The exterior was a mixture of white stucco and red brick. The roof was matte silver metal. There was a large wraparound porch with a few rockers at the front with small tables between them, and I could make out a swing along the next section of the porch.

There were so many windows—larger on the first floor, smaller on the second and third—and it was massive. We didn’t plan on something this big. Why was it so big?

“I expanded it a bit.”

A bit? A bit? “How many square feet?”

“A little over ten thousand.”

My mouth dropped open. “Jesus, Dastien.”

“And it’s fully furnished.”

My eyes started to burn, and he wrapped his arms around me. I was surrounded by the scent and feel of him. He was in my heart, in my mind, in my soul. And I was home.

“I missed you so much.” I felt the first tears come. “I missed building this house. I missed everything.”

He held me tight against him as he stroked my back. “I used the binders of ideas you made. I think you’re going to love it. Chris and Cosette helped me with a lot of the decorating part, but your brother and—”

I pushed him away. “Axel?” I’d seen him, but I didn’t get to talk to him. To really see him. “Is he—”

“Fine.” He brushed his fingers through my hair. “He’s fine. A werewolf with not super great control, but—”

“What? It’s been twenty-one months. I was fine after a couple weeks. Why is he still not totally in control?”

He ran his fingers down my face. “And you had me in your mind, in your soul, even before we cemented our bond. I was there with you, keeping you steady. He doesn’t have that. He’s doing great for the most part. He just needs to be with someone very alpha.”

“Where is he now?”

“He’s been living with me. I’m assuming he’s still inside, waiting for you. I can—”

A throat cleared, and I turned to see Van standing with everyone else. I’d forgotten about them. “I’m sorry, I—”

“You guys have a lot to catch up on,” Claudia said as she stepped forward. She pulled me away from Dastien to give me a hug. “I’m so glad you’re home. Finally. I wish I’d been able to—”

No. Absolutely not. I wasn’t letting her do that. “Don’t blame yourself for this.” I leaned back from her. “I knew what I was doing, and I knew what I was asking of you. Of Dastien. Of everyone here.”

Then I stepped away from her to look at the rest of my friends. “I know I can’t say the word that rhymes with shmank-shmoo because of the fey here, but know that I’m thinking them all the same.” I turned to Cosette. “I…I don’t know what to say about your mother. I—”

Cosette held up a hand, cutting off my apology before I could really get into it. “Don’t. She deserved that, and I think this might have stopped a war. Only time will tell.” She looked back at Van.

He gave her a long look, and I knew they were talking in their own way.

Van finally shook his head before glancing at me. “I’m not sure, and I’m too old to hope, but it’s possible. I’m going to be spending a lot of time among the fey. They need to stabilize now, and if they don’t…”