Chapter 83

Selene

The morning goes by in a blur. We order some delicious breakfast that Phoenix has delivered to our room, and then we had a few more rounds of sex before it was time to leave.

The moment we cross the Nightfang pack's territory, I release the breath I didn't even realize I was holding. We're back home. We're safe for the time being—until the next threat hits us, that is. It's hard to fully let my guard down, even here, but with Phoenix by my side, I know we can handle what's coming.

As we drive, I notice we're heading towards the packhouse, and my body tenses instinctively. "Why aren't we going back to your uncle's house?" I ask, my voice tight with rising panic. I trust Phoenix with my whole entire heart and soul, but the thought of facing everyone right now, of being bombarded with questions and concern—it feels like too much.

Phoenix glances over at me, his brows furrowed. "I told you everyone would be waiting for us," he says, his tone gruff.

I release a loud, exasperated sigh. "Is it bad that I'm not ready to see them?"

It's not that I don't miss them, or that I'm not looking forward to seeing their familiar faces, I'm just too mentally and emotionally exhausted right now to deal with them. I can already see my mom drilling me for every detail of my kidnapping, sobbing loudly with her tears dripping all over me. Or Makayla and Sam hugging me and crying together, while on the inside, I'm screaming for them to get the fuck off of me.

Fuck. Maybe I am a bad person. I should be welcoming all of this, not wanting to run away from them even before I even see them again.

Before I can say anything else, Phoenix makes a sharp U-turn, heading back in the opposite direction. I blink, caught off guard by the sudden change.

"Where are we going?" I ask, the confusion clear in my voice.

"My little wolf isn't ready, so we're going home," he explains softly, his voice filled with understanding. "I'll just tell them that you're safe and to give you a few days to settle back. I'm sorry I didn't consider that earlier."

His words melt away the tension in my chest. He really apologized for something so small, something he really couldn't control, but it means the world to me right now.

I love this man so much.

Why couldn't Zack have been like him? How could the Moon Goddess have fucked up so badly? If Zack hadn't rejected me, I could have been stuck with that monster. I guess that's why second-chance mates exist—in case your first mate kidnaps you, tries to rape you, and force you into becoming Alpha so he can control you.

I'll probably need years of therapy to recover from this, but until then, I can at least count on Phoenix to drown out the darkness. That's what good mates are for, right?

"Can we just spend a few days alone together?" I ask, sounding hopeful. "I mean, I know Luke will be there, and that's fine, but I just need some time for us to reconnect, you know?"

I think it's a necessity at the point. After such a traumatic experience, and my wolf being locked away in my head for so long, I need to spend some nice, quality time alone with my mate with no distractions. But that might be asking for too much. I know Phoenix has a lot going on.

Phoenix smiles, a soft, tender smile that makes my heart soar. "Anything you want, baby. I'm sure Dad will somewhat understand why I need to take an extended leave after he finds out exactly what you went through. It's not like I can't tell he has a soft spot for you, maybe he even does for your mother. I can tell he has missed her, even with that dark, cold heart of his."

Could that be possible? I mean, they did look like they were in love, but after finding out everything that he's done in the dark, it's hard to imagine that he actually cares about anyone but himself.

As I wonder about that, Phoenix's words suddenly play in my head again.

Wait...do our parents know that we're mates?

I glance at Phoenix, my voice dropping to a whisper. "Did...did you tell them?"

He shakes his head, his expression amused, a stark contrast from the panic on my face. "Dad figured it out pretty quickly after I started losing my shit. I'm guessing we'll be having that conversation soon."

I nod slowly, the reality sinking in. My mom must be so pissed that I didn't tell her about Phoenix and I being mates, especially with living underneath the same roof for weeks. And now I'm avoiding not only her, but everyone else.

Yeah, we're likely going to have several conversations soon.

And I'm going to dread every single last one of them.

I'm snapped out of my thoughts when Phoenix continues, his voice slightly strained, "Now that I have my mate, I'll be at my highest potential as Alpha. I think that's what he's been waiting for. He probably thought I was too weak to take over without you, or maybe he was just waiting for his bullshit to blow over so I couldn't find it, not knowing that I've been working with Luke this entire time. I don't know what's true, but we're going to fucking find out when you're ready."

It makes sense. After Philip became Alpha King, he should've given Phoenix the title immediately, but that hasn't happened yet. I've wondered why, but I was also glad that Phoenix wasn't asked to be Alpha yet because I wasn't sure how I felt about it.

But I'm just glad Phoenix is giving me some time to get myself together before the possibility of this conservation happening.

For now, I just want a few days of peace with my mate.

Time to heal.

Time to be us again before everything changes.