“No sign of him or any other hexerei.” He brushed rough knuckles over my cheek, his voice softening again. “You’re so beautiful.”

  “Thanks,” I said half-heartedly.

  He frowned. “We should talk. I owe you an apology.”

  “Me?” I blinked. “You don’t owe me anything.”

  “I do. I never should have let myself stay locked up so long after Noah arrested me. And then with the alpha challenges, there wasn’t time for us. For me to make it right.” His face flashed with real pain.

  I didn’t have the heart to tell him the thing that bothered me most about that time wasn’t that he’d chosen to remain locked in jail in some twisted bid to protect me. It was that he’d gone to someone else for help when he was ready for it.

  Someone named Cherise, who I still couldn’t even think about without getting twitchy. Though, after everything else we’d been through, I couldn’t find it in me to be angry about any of it anymore. Nearly watching my mate get murdered in front of me really put things into perspective.

  “I’m sorry, Ash. I wasn’t there for you when you needed me. But I’m here now, and I swear to you I’m never leaving your side again. We’re alphas. Together. Can you believe it?”

  The pain transformed to joy. Kai looked truly happy.

  I swallowed the anxiety that lodged in my throat. My mind had snagged on the word “together.” Seeing the hope in Kai’s once-despairing gaze, knowing how close I came to losing him once already, I knew exactly what I had to do.

  If it came to that—if the magic proved too much or too risky—I’d have to leave. Abandoning my mate would hurt like hell, but for Kai, to save his life, I would do it.

  “Two weeks have passed, and you looked like you haven’t slept a single full night,” I said, forcing my words to sound light. Like all that mattered was getting back to normal—whatever that was.

  “Mostly, I sat up watching over you.”

  “Let’s call it even then.” I squeezed his hand then wound my fingers through his. “Get me out of here for a while. Show me everything I missed.”

  He grinned, lighting up in a way that knocked me a bit breathless. “Wait until you see it all. Come on.”

  I ducked into the shop long enough to call out a quick goodbye to Oscar and let him know where we were going.

  “She needs to be cleared by the doc before she goes traipsing off to work with you,” Oscar said, frowning at Kai.

  “Doc already told us there’s nothing to be done until the magic decides to release her,” Kai said. He gestured to me. “And now it has.”

  I stayed quiet, letting their words sink in. The magic had been what kept me asleep then. And the pack doctor hadn’t been able to wake me. That only added to the power the magic held. And made it that much more dangerous to contain. Unease crept in, but I didn’t say anything. Voicing my concerns would only make Oscar’s worry that much worse. And it wasn’t like I’d find answers by staying in bed. Besides, so far, I didn’t feel any different since waking. Maybe the magic had gone to sleep too, and maybe I would get lucky and it wouldn’t wake up.

  Oscar finally nodded, waving his hand. “Go on then.” He pinned me with a look. “But if you feel faint or tired or anything strange, come back here and let me call the doc, understand?”

  “I promise,” I told him.

  He grunted. “Be home for dinner.”

  Kai’s brow rose, but he didn’t argue the instruction as I tugged him toward the door. Outside, I fell into step beside him on the sidewalk that led toward the main road. Up ahead was the sharp left that would point us toward the center of downtown Ridley Falls.

  “Oz is a bit much with the demands,” Kai said.

  “He’s overprotective.”

  He gave me a slanted look. “Isn’t it supposed to ease up as you get older?”

  “For normal people who don’t almost die all the time?” I shrugged. “Maybe.”

  Kai snorted.

  The sun had already risen high overhead, heating the air to a moist and muggy temperature that left my skin sticky. For the first time since waking, my wolf stirred. Her response felt sluggish and slow. Maybe the heat had already gotten to her. I didn’t have time to wonder at her silence, though.

  As soon as we turned the corner and I caught a glimpse of downtown, I stopped in my tracks. Disbelief was followed by appreciation and awe.

  I felt Kai’s eyes on my face as he waited, letting me take it all in. And for a moment, all I could do was stare in surprise at the shops and business lining the two-lane main road that ran through Ridley Falls.

  “What do you think?” he asked.

  “I don’t think I’d realized how bad it looked before,” I admitted, finally tearing my eyes away to glance at him.

  He nodded. “I know what you mean. After a while, I just stopped seeing it too. But now… it’s better, right?”

  “It looks like a completely different town.”

  And it did.

  Ridley Falls looked transformed.

  Fresh paint had covered over the graffiti that previously coated every shop wall and window from here to the end of the road. The broken store signs had been taken down so, while some were now missing entirely, the ones that remained had been cleaned up and re-hung complete with new bulbs or string lights to make them pop against the shadowed awnings.

  A few businesses had their doors propped open invitingly, and the cafes had set out small tables and chairs to encourage people to sit on the sidewalk with their meals or drinks.

  Before, those tables would have been stolen, or worse—used as weapons to incur more destruction on the shops dumb enough to provide them.

  Farther down from where we stood, benches were in the process of being repaired. The thrift store had put out a clothing rack with a SALE sign attached—and no one was trying to steal any of it. But maybe more unbelievable than any of the aesthetic changes were the differences in the people.

  Not a single person was drinking or yelling or cursing or visibly doing anything to disturb the peace. No one looked ready to fight. If anything, the groups I saw were huddled together, working as a team on whatever improvement project they’d come together for. Some were actually picking up trash and litter rather than throwing it down.

  It felt like a dream version of the town I’d stumbled into with its tailgate parties and cat calls and street fights as part of its “charm.”

  Kai squeezed my hand and beamed at me proudly.

  “Yeah, we’ve got a long way to go, but I thought if we started here, since this is what people see when they are out and about, it’ll give off the feeling of change we’re trying to create.”

  “Kai, it’s perfect. Does this mean… the curse—it’s broken?”

  A shadow passed over his expression, there and gone quickly before being replaced by a confidence that matched his words as he said, “Of course it’s broken. There are teams from all three packs working together on the improvements. And there hasn’t been a single bar fight in almost a week.”

  “And the tether?” I asked. “I don’t feel anything different. Do you?”

  The tether was a bond an alpha felt with its pack. A connection that went beyond just sharing a community. Or, at least, that’s what Kai had said it would be. So far, I felt nothing except an awareness of other wolves nearby.

  “Not yet.” Kai sighed. “It probably just takes time.”

  “But the alpha challenge was two weeks ago,” I pointed out.

  “Yes, and we took on two new packs that day, Ash. Neither of which was feeling very grateful for it.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Nothing, just forget it.”

  His mood had clearly soured. The irritation rolling off him now was nothing like the happiness I’d felt before. I wanted to be excited about the progress, but I was beginning to feel like all we’d done was paint glitter over shit.

  “Kai, how do the Asheville feel about us now?” I pressed when he didn’t answer. “And the Hawley—”

  “They’re fine,” he said.

  I wanted to believe him. Especially with so much evidence of change before me. Kai had undoubtedly put in a lot of effort, and I didn’t want to dismiss that, especially when I hadn’t been here to see it.

  He’d been at my bedside every single day for two weeks, Oscar had said. And on top of that, he’d been repairing a pack and a town that had nearly destroyed itself over the last two decades. He deserved the benefit of the doubt, at least. I could give him that.

  “What else can you show me?” I asked.

  His smile returned, bright and happy and so rare for Kai Stone that it stole my breath. “Come on.”

  Chapter Three

  We did a full loop of the downtown area, stopping to check out the rebuilding in progress and speak to the pack members involved. Most were original Lone Wolf pack members, including Cade Marshall and Luke Davidson, who I remembered as Silas Hale groupies, but some were faces I recognized from the other two packs we’d inherited when Kai and I had beaten their alphas in our challenges.

  I recognized one of the team leaders from Asheville, Baron’s pack from North Carolina; a guy with brown hair that hung below his ears and a scruff that had obviously grown out during my two-week nap. I guessed he was somewhere around thirty with a boyish look that didn’t quite reach his eyes. I couldn’t help but wonder if that grief was thanks to what I’d done to Baron.

  “Hey,” I said when he walked over. “You’re the one who helped take care of Baron after…”

  I trailed off, not sure I was ready to hear the words aloud. But the guy nodded, his brown eyes friendly. And sad.

  “Corbin Lestrom.” He shook my hand. “I was Baron’s beta.”

  “I’m really sorry about everything that happened,” I said.

  “I don’t blame you.” His eyes flicked to Kai, and I could tell they’d already had a similar conversation. “Kai’s been decent, and honestly, without your response to those hexes, we’d probably all be dead right now. We all really appreciate what you did for us in that field.”

  “Thanks.” I felt awkward as, once again, people seemed happy for the tragedy I’d caused. It didn’t feel right. “And Baron?” I glanced from Corbin to Kai. “Did we have a service for him? He needs to be honored. To show that he has our respect—”

  “We had a service last week,” Kai said. “A memorial alongside a service for Devon. Corbin just got back from burying Baron on his own land.”

  Shit, Devon. I’d nearly forgotten. Drake had killed him in a bid for alpha before everything had descended into chaos. My chest panged with regret over missing it all, but I nodded.

  “Good. I’m glad.” I turned to Corbin. “Thank you for taking him.”

  Corbin shrugged. “Like I said, Kai’s been real decent.”

  “And Drake?” I asked. “His brother? Did we do a service for them?”

  Corbin scowled, and Kai’s expression tightened. “Reed and Drake Hawley were sent back to pack lands for burial. There was a small service there from what I’m told.”

  Corbin remained silent, but I could see the distaste in his eyes. I couldn’t blame him, but the Hawley pack that remained deserved consideration too.

  Corbin turned to Kai. “So, is the meeting still on?”

  “Of course.”

  “Meeting?” I asked.

  “Pack meeting,” Kai explained.

  I nodded.

  Corbin glanced pointedly at me.

  Kai’s hand squeezed mine as he said, “We’ll both be there.”

  “Awesome, I’ll let the others know.” Corbin offered me a smile. “They’ll be glad to see you’re up and about again.” He returned to his group, and I pulled Kai aside.

  “I don’t think bringing me to the meeting is such a good idea,” I said.

  “Of course it is,” he said. “They’ll want to know you’re okay.”

  “Kai, whatever’s inside me—it caused an earthquake that killed people. It might not be safe to bring me around a crowd again.”

  “You’re their alpha, Ash. They need to see you still standing. And we need to unite the packs together.”

  Kai was right.

  The pack needed an alpha. But did they need that alpha to be me?

  I wasn’t so sure.

  We kept walking with Kai continuing to offer greetings and updates on pack business. He was a natural leader, and it made the awkwardness of my magical nap a little easier to navigate. Mostly, everyone wanted to thank me for saving them, which never stopped feeling like a contradiction. Hadn’t I been the one to put them in danger in the first place?

  “Baby girl, am I hallucinating, or are you really standing before me in this tired-ass shirt?”

  I whirled at the sound of Isaac’s voice and spotted him coming out of the dry cleaners’ shop with a clipboard in his hand and a pencil tucked behind his ear. He wore jeans just tight enough to be useless in anything actually resembling manual labor. But his boots were a little scuffed, so that had to count for something. He looked like the long-lost Property Brother.

  “It’s really me,” I said tentatively. “I woke up this morning.”

  “Baby Jesus on a Biscuit.”

  Isaac strode right up to me and pulled me into a hug that left me no choice but to succumb to his paralyzing hold. His grip was suffocating for all of three seconds before he let me go again, pulling back so he could stare pointedly into my eyes.

  “Ash, listen to me carefully. That is not a going-out shirt. That is a staying-inside-and-never-letting-the-world-see-your-physical-person shirt. Do you understand?”

  I looked down at the faded tie-dye I’d thrown on today along with a pair of ripped jeans.

  “That’s what you’re upset about?” I asked, looking up at Isaac uncertainly.

  “Of course that’s what I’m upset about. You’re a leader now, and as such, you have a certain standard to uphold.” He stepped back, eyes narrowing for real this time. “Oh, and also, Idrissa told me you binged all of Gossip Girl without me, so obviously we’re in a fight.”

  “I watched that show before we ever met,” I said.

  “Excuses,” Isaac said with a sniff. “A true friend would lie so we could watch it together for the first time, thus solidifying our bestie bond. But I’ll accept a seat at your right hand as amends.”

  “A seat at my right hand?” I repeated.

  The more Isaac talked, the more confused I became. Maybe it was the two-week nap. Or maybe Isaac was actually just batshit.

  Kai rolled his eyes. “We haven’t chosen our council yet. Isaac’s been campaigning not-so-subtly for a spot.”

  Isaac’s expression lacked even a whisper of embarrassment or shame as he pointed to a poster hanging on the shop window behind him. The glossy paper showed a picture of Isaac from the chest up, complete with a navy blue suit and American flag tie along with the words ‘Isaac Close for council. He’ll keep a CLOSE eye on your interests.’

  “Wow,” I said.

  “I know, right? Photoshop is now my bitch.”

  “I’m impressed.” I looked at Kai. “But why haven’t you picked any leadership? The pack needs to start building a sense of unity as soon as possible.”

  “I wanted to wait for you,” Kai said.

  My expression softened. A pang of guilt twisted in my gut for how much I’d delayed things.

  Isaac snorted. “What he means to say is that he was a miserable bastard while you were in limbo, and no one would have put up with his shit long enough to accept working alongside him. Well, no one besides my sister.”

  “I wasn’t that bad,” Kai grumbled, but the lack of fire in his voice said otherwise.

  “You were all that and more, princess,” Isaac told him with obvious glee.

  “What about all the improvement efforts?” I asked. “Everyone out here looks like they’re happy to be here.”

  “They’re happy that Kai keeps his distance,” Isaac corrected. “After he tried blowing off steam about your condition and nearly taking out an entire shop wall that was, by the way, not in need of removal, they’re just glad he’s managing things from a distance.”

  “Whoa,” I said with a startled look at Kai. “Speaking of Idrissa, where is she? Oscar said she’s running an errand?”

  “She’ll be back soon,” Kai said.

  “Has she—I mean, have you guys figured out how to get this magic out of me?” I asked.

  “Not exactly.” A shadow passed over his features, and I could tell there was more to the story, but he didn’t offer it.

  “Dris won’t give up,” Isaac said, offering me an encouraging smile.

  I felt my spirits lift a little at that. He was right. Idrissa wouldn’t stop until she’d found a way.

  “But in the meantime,” Isaac added pointedly, “maybe you could use some of that magic on your man’s mood over here. Because the beast really needs to go back in his cage.”

  “I don’t think it works that way,” I said.

  “Why not?” Isaac asked. “I’m not asking for an earthquake. Maybe just a bolt of electricity or something to snap him out of all this.” Kai glared at Isaac, who smiled sweetly back at him. “I’m just saying… someone should tell a certain male alpha that we cannot, and I mean cannot, afford to miss out on this golden opportunity.”

  “What opportunity is that?” I asked at the same time Kai groaned.

  “He wants to have a party,” Kai said flatly.

  “Not just any party.”

  “Right.” Kai rolled his eyes. “A debutante ball.”

  Isaac’s eyes gleamed with enough spark to light a firework. He grabbed my arm. “Think about it, Ash. We have three packs merging into one. The curse is broken—or supposedly—and that means we have brand new faces to introduce, not to mention, hopefully, mating bonds to trigger. What better way to set it all in motion than a formal introduction by way of a ball?”

  “I’m sorry, what do you mean supposedly?” I asked.

  “Huh?”

  “You said supposedly the curse is broken.”

  “Well.” The fire in his eyes winked out. “I mean, you became the alpha, sure, but I mean, it’s not like there’s definitive proof—?”