Page 23 of Craved By the Werewolf
The Q&A session was easier, somehow. Vala slipped into her radio persona effortlessly, asking the kids about their experiences at Haven House, letting them share their stories with the cameras. She was a natural with them, finding the balance between letting them be heard and keeping things light.
I found myself watching her more than I should have, noting how she remembered names and details from previous conversations, the gentle way she redirected when one of the teens started to get emotional talking about what Haven House had meant to them.
This was what she'd be leaving behind if she went to LA. These kids, this community.
The thought sat like a stone in my chest.
"Alpha Thorne?" Lily's voice broke through my brooding. "What would you say to people who think supernatural youth don't need special support?"
I refocused on the question, on the cameras, on anything except the way Vala was looking at me with those sharp, intelligent eyes.
"Every young person deserves a safe place to figure out who they are," I said. "For kids, that can be even more complicated. Haven House provides that space, along with mentorship from people who understand what they're going through."
"And what does House Party mean to you personally?" This from Theo, who was clearly going for the hard-hitting journalism angle. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Vala watching me—sharp gaze softened by something unspoken. I didn't look back. If I did, everyone in the room would see exactly what I was thinking.
"It means making sure places like this can keep their doors open," I said simply. "It means these kids get to have what some of us take for granted—community, support, family."
Then Lily turned to Vala. "And what about you? What does Haven House mean to you?"
Vala's smile softened, and her voice dropped just enough that everyone leaned in. "It saved my life when I had nowhere else to go. Haven House taught me that belonging somewhere isn't about fitting in perfectly—it's about finding people who see you for who you are."
The kids hung on every word. So did I.
And then, because teenagers have zero survival instinct, Theo leaned forward with a smirk.
"So... when are you two getting married?"
There was a beat of stunned silence. Vala blinked. I felt my wolf go perfectly still.
From across the courtyard, Kai barked out a laugh. "I'll DJ."
"Next question," I said flatly, though my jaw might've ticked just enough for Vala to notice.
She shot me a look—half amused, half warning—and damn if that didn't make my wolf like the idea even more.
The Q&A session wrapped up a few minutes later, the photographer taking some final shots of us with the kids, all of us laughing at something Lily had said. For a moment, it felt almost normal. Natural.
Like we belonged together.
"I think that's everything," Lana said, consulting her tablet. "Thank you both so much. This is going to be wonderful publicity for Haven House and the House Party."
The kids started to disperse, heading back to their activities, and suddenly it was just me and Vala standing in the Haven House courtyard while the photographer packed up his equipment.
"That was fun," she said softly, adjusting her bag on her shoulder but making no move toward the parking lot. "The kids are... they're everything, aren't they?"
"They are." I watched her face as she looked back toward the building, noting the way her expression had gone soft, almost wistful. "This place means a lot to you."
"I was sixteen and living on the street. Lana found me one night and brought me here."
The confession shattered me. I'd known she'd been at Haven House, but I hadn't known the details. Hadn't realized how desperate her situation had been.
"It didn't matter to Lana that I had no powers, couldn't cast spells or see the future. I was just a scared kid with nowhere to go. But she said Haven House doesn't turn anyone away—that family isn't about what you are, it's about who you choose to become."
I felt something shift in my chest, a deeper understanding of the woman standing in front of me. She'd been an outsider among outsiders, accepted into a community that could have easily excluded her.
"I lived here for two years," she said, looking back toward the building with eyes that were suspiciously bright. "Learned that being human in a supernatural world—wasn't something to hide from. Lana and the other kids taught me that belonging somewhere isn't about fitting in perfectly. It's about finding people who see you for who you are and choose to keep you anyway."
I wanted to reach for her, to offer some kind of comfort, but something in her posture told me she wasn't finished.
