Page 165 of Awakened

“Thank you,” I whisper, scratching behind his ears the way I know he loves.

The varying expressions of disbelief and horror on the Alphas’ faces aren’t a surprise, but Fates… I’m so exhausted from feeling like I have to defend every single strange thing that happens.

“He won’t hurt you,” I explain. “He’s my cat. From my father’s.”

“If that’s a cat, I’m fucking Dracula,” Silas mutters.

Vae throws his head back and barks out a laugh. “Dracula slept in a coffin, sooo…”

Silas turns to the Alpha with eyes bright with betrayal. “You’re bringing that up now? Now? When there’s a jungle monster in our front yard? One that apparently belongs to an Omega who just blasted us with a wall made of wind that she conjured with her hands?”

I tense, eyes bouncing between both Alphas, bracing myself mentally for what normally comes next. The cruelty. The blame. The baseless accusations.

My bottom lip wobbles and I bite down on it hard enough to bleed, willing myself not to cry.

“Everyone calm down.” Soren steps forward, coming to stand in front of me and turning to address the rest of the group. “This is an… unexpected development. However, it’s relatively low on the list right now, yeah? Idril has a pet panther.”

He shrugs, and my lips twitch in a smile.

“I, personally, owe the beast a debt. He brought me to my Omega, so as far as I’m concerned, if anyone has a problem with Shade, you’ve got a fucking problem with me. Y’all might have fangs, but so do we.” He grins a feral grin. “And ours are bigger.”

Tears spring to my eyes, and I blink furiously, willing them not to fall. My heart swells, and when he turns that grin on me, I swear it feels like I might float away.

It’s so refreshing to have someone on my side for once. When Caelan comes to stand with him in solidarity, my Omega actually squeals in happiness.

Yes, Shade is… different. A few weeks ago he was a very fat cat who lived in the woods and snuck into my room to keep me company when my father wasn’t home.

And now… he’s a panther.

But fat cat or massive panther, he’s still Shade. He’s still my friend. And he’s warm and solid and here.

My smile grows, and I dig my fingers into the rough fur at his neck, letting the steady vibrations of his purr strengthen me, just like I have so many nights before.

Caelan walks over and wraps his hand gently around my arm. Wincing, I turn to face him fully. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know how I did that—with the wind. I didn’t mean to. I was afraid someone was going to attack, and I just wanted everyone to stop, and I—I don’t even know how I did it⁠—”

He presses the tips of his fingers to my lips, effectively cutting off my rambling apology. He pulls me close, wrapping me in his arms, and I exhale, melting into the warmth of his body.

“You have nothing to apologize for. I’m sorry if I scared you. I saw a panther damn near as tall as you are, and I worried it was some kind of trick or something. I should have trusted you when you told me it was Shade.”

My throat tightens, and my eyes fall to the ground in shame. “I know I’ve caused a lot of⁠—”

“No,” his denial is swift and sure. He reaches out, pulling me back into his arms. “That’s not what I meant. You haven’t caused anything, so get that idea out of your head right now.”

“But… you just said so yourself. All these random things happen around me. I just don’t want to be a burden.”

Caelan sighs, pulling back to hold me firmly by the shoulders, crouching down until we’re eye to eye.

“Idril, we have a Bond that no one’s ever experienced outside of the three of us,” he gestures to include Soren. “Our souls connected in some kind of alternate dream-world reality I still don’t understand while I was in a coma. When I woke up, I found out you had amazing, wonderful, powerful abilities no one else has ever seen. You seem to have formed a bond with a freaking Panther, for Fate’s sake, and… don’t you see? You aren’t a burden, Idril. You’re a miracle.”

I swear my heart skips a thousand beats. When Caelan leans in and presses his lips to mine in a kiss so gentle and so full of love, it feels like almost all the exhaustion that’s been weighing me down the last ten minutes just disappears.

“I hate to break up the moment, but we’re burning daylight.” Gavran’s voice startles me, and I pull back, cheeks heating in embarrassment.

“The sun’s been down for hours,” Silas points out.

Gavran pinches the bridge of his nose. “It’s an expression, for the love of the gods, Silas.”

Caelan rolls his eyes, and Soren walks over and runs a soothing hand down my spine. “What do you say, Omega? Are you ready to go?”