Page 138 of The Reluctant Alpha

Bayer

The drive back to the packhouse was a blur of exhaustion and relief. I kept one hand on Danny the entire time, needing the physical reassurance that he was real, that he was alive, that our cubs were still safe beneath his skin. He leaned against me in the back seat, his fingers curled around my pendant—our pendant—and said nothing. He didn't need to. The way he pressed into my side said everything.

Phoenix drove in silence, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. Behind us, Matthew's truck followed with Ben and Rhys.

When we pulled up to the packhouse, every light was blazing again—but this time the scent that hit me wasn't fear. It was relief, thick and overwhelming, pouring from every person who rushed out to meet us. Emery reached the truck before I'd even opened the door, his face crumpling when he saw Danny.

"You absolute, crazy bitch," Emery choked, pulling Danny into a hug so fierce I worried about the cubs. "Don't you ever do that to me again."

"Noted," Danny mumbled against his shoulder. "Love you too."

Esther insisted on checking Danny out, and he lay quietly and allowed it. That scared me more than anything, but she smiled approvingly at us before she left.

"They're okay," I whispered, more to myself than to Danny.

"They're tough," Danny murmured, his eyes half-closed. "Must get it from you."

I shook my head. "They get it from you."

His eyes opened fully then, and what I saw in them made my chest crack open. Not the guarded, deflecting Danny I'd grown accustomed to. Not the sarcastic shield or the self-deprecating humor. Just him—raw, open, terrified, and utterly beautiful.

“I’m sorry, for all the hell I’ve put you through," he said, his eyes filling with tears he didn't try to hide. "You threw me because no one has ever loved me the way you do, Bayer. Not like I'm the center of something. Not like losing me would end you." His voice cracked. "And I didn't know what to do with that because after college I thought it was a trap."

"Danny—"

"I'm not finished." He squeezed my hand so hard it almost hurt. "Every time you tried to protect me, every time you put me first, I heard my brother's voice telling me I was nothing. I heard every teacher who forgot my name, every friend who drifted away, every person who looked right through me like I wasn't there. And I thought—if I let you love me, really love me, then you will figure out what everyone else already knew..." He pressed his lips together, fighting for control. "That I'm just Danny. Someone who has to act to get attention. Someone who has to make the joke first before he becomes the joke."

His tears were falling freely now, and I felt my own eyes burning. "You're my first choice," I said, my voice rough. "My only choice."

"I know," he whispered. "Because you walked into that cave for me. You let that monster beat you, humiliate you, make you look like everything your father ever said you were—and you did it for me. For us." His hand moved to his stomach. "You let him think he’d broken you so he wouldn't break us."

"I'd do it again," I said simply, because it was true. "A thousand times."

"I know you would. And that's what terrifies me." He took a shuddering breath. "But I'm done running. I'm done pushing you away because I'm scared of losing you. I'm done testing whether you'll stay because some broken part of me keeps waiting for you to leave." He pulled my hand to his chest, pressing it over his heart. "I love you. Not just the words—I mean I love you with every fucked-up, scared, stubborn piece of me. You're my whole world, Bayer Olsen, and I'm sorry it took getting kidnapped by a vampire for me to explain it properly."

I couldn't speak. The lump in my throat was too massive, the emotion too overwhelming. So, I did the only thing I could—I leaned forward and pressed my forehead against his, our breath mingling in the small space between us.

"You're not average," I managed, my voice breaking. "You're remarkable. You're the bravest person I've ever met, and I don't mean fighting monsters. I mean the way you walk into a room full of shifters and refuse to be intimidated. The way you’ve taken on the school project because you believe those kids deserved better. The way you stood up to Phoenix, to me, to everyone—not because you're reckless, but because you care so damn much it overrides everything else."

Danny let out a sound that was half laugh, half sob. "That's a very generous interpretation of my chronic inability to follow instructions."

"It's the truth," I said firmly. "And I need you to hear this—you don't have to earn your place with me. Not by being useful, not by organizing festivals, not by carrying our cubs. You could do nothing for the rest of your life, and I would still choose you. Every single day."

He kissed me then—soft, desperate, tasting of salt and relief and something that felt like finally. My hand cradled the back of his head, fingers threading through his hair as I poured everything I had into that kiss. All the fear from the past hours, all the need I'd been refusing to admit for months, all the hope I had for our future.

When we finally broke apart, both breathing hard, Danny pressed his face into the curve of my neck and just held on. I wrapped myself around him, and we stayed like that for a long time—two broken people fitting together in a way that made us whole.

"I want to go home," Danny murmured against my skin.

"We are home," I said.

"No. I mean our home. The new territory.” He pulled back enough to look at me. "I want our cubs born there. I want to wake up every morning in a place that's ours—not borrowed, not temporary. Ours."

My heart swelled so much I thought it might crack my ribs. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." He smiled, and it was the most genuine, unguarded smile I'd ever seen on his face. "But first, I need to see my mom, make sure she’s okay. And this time, you're coming with me."

"As your crazy mountain man?" I asked, echoing his earlier words.