Page 24 of Strays
“You just told us your full name,” Shane says, barely getting the words out.
I glance at him, grateful. I needed someone to say it out loud. I need to know what it means. I want her to answer. I want to hear her say it.
She looks at him with a soft smile, but there’s a trace of sadness in her eyes. “Can’t you feel it?” she says quietly. “What’s the point in delaying it?”
She’s right.
God, she’s right.
There’s no point pretending. No point holding anything back. We and her are inevitable now.
The thought hits like a landslide, and when it settles, all I feel is a crashing, unstoppable relief, so strong my throat aches with it, my eyes burn, and the traitorous tears I’ve been holding back blur my vision and cling to my lashes.
We’re all grinning like idiots again. I can’t help it.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Johane,” I say, my voice hoarse.
She laughs. It’s shaky and nervous, but I already love it. “This is the most awkward first date I’ve ever had,” she says. “I mean, we know nothing about each other, but we already know we’re going to be together. That’s weird, huh?”
It’s not.
It’s perfect.
Jay steps forward. “We’ve got all the time in the world to learn everything about each other.”
When he reaches her bedside, she leans her head gently against his stomach.
My chest unclenches. Just seeing her touch one of us helps. Some of our scent will stick. The need eases.
“Jesus,” she murmurs, eyes fluttering closed. “This hum is amazing.”
Jay’s hand trembles as he slowly lifts it. Then his fingers touch her hair, feather-light, and she doesn’t move away.
He looks at me and Shane with wide eyes, like he’s in awe of what he just did. Then he turns back to her and lets his arm drift down until it cradles the back of her head, his palm settling gently on her shoulder.
We all go still, watching her. Waiting.
But she doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t pull away. She just nestles in closer, no hint of rejection, like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
I step forward, Shane just behind me, and together we move to her bedside, like a current drawn toward something we’ve waited our whole lives to reach.
My hand twitches with the urge to touch her, and I don’t fight it. I lift it slowly and place it gently against her face. Her skin is warm and soft against my palm. And suddenly, I’m hyper-aware of the calluses at the base of my thumb and along the lower edge of my hand, rough patches earned from years of handling, gripping and reloading my gun.
But she doesn’t seem to mind, because when she opens her eyes, she smiles at me.
And this is it. That’s the moment.
This is my person. My nyra.
The one I’ll touch for the rest of my life. The lily scent that’ll weave itself into our nest.
Shane moves last, and he’s the boldest. He leans down slowly, almost reverently, and presses his lips to her forehead with infinite tenderness.
For a moment, we all breathe together, four heartbeats in sync for the first time.
When I lower my hand and Shane straightens, all three of us just stand there, wearing the same stunned smile, until she speaks again. “I’ll probably be discharged tonight. Can you guys stay with me? If you do, Alice can go home.”
“We’re not going anywhere,” I say firmly.
