Page 172 of Pack Frenzy
“We love you, Jess,” Cassian says, voice rough.
“Always,” Rowan murmurs, kissing my temple.
“Welcome home, Omega,” Eli says, warm against my shoulder.
And for the first time since Sabrina disappeared and the world cracked open, I know exactly where I belong. Not lost. Not running. Not alone.
Here. With them. Forever.
CHAPTER 42
EPILOGUE
JESS
The bell over the café door jingles when I push it open, and I don’t hesitate. Not anymore. No more dares just to feel alive. No more running to prove I’m not the girl everyone leaves behind.
I’m done disappearing.
Casey spots me first. Her chair screeches back so hard it nearly tips, and then she’s moving, so fast she almost eats tile, laughing and half-crying, arms already wide. “There she is! Took you long enough, Mancini!”
The old me would’ve thrown back something sarcastic, kept the armor up. But the new me—the one who’s learning it’s okay to be soft sometimes—just grins and opens my arms.
“Missed you,” I say when we collide, and I mean it bone-deep. “Missed all of you so damn much.”
“Took you long enough,” Casey hiccups against my shoulder, laughing and crying at the same time.
Something in my chest settles, and I choke on a laugh. “Coordinates? Really?” I pull back enough to look at Casey, grinning through the tears.
“Obviously.” She swipes at her eyes, laughing. “You think I’d let you ghost us just because you got yourself a pack? Please.”
“Hey, I was under Nexus’s strict 90-day trial. No contact with fam or friends, even if you guys are both. Not that I didn’t try, but I got busted.”
“Two Alphas and a Beta,” Kayla adds, eyebrows waggling, then gives me a quick hug. “We need details.”
Danica cups my face, mascara already threatening mutiny. “You look different. Good different.”
“I feel different,” I admit. And I do—solid where I used to be hollow, anchored instead of adrift. “I found my pack.” I squeeze her hands. “But you three? You were my first pack. You taught me I deserved one.”
Casey’s chin wobbles. “Damn it, Jess, we just fixed our makeup.”
“Lies,” Kayla says. “You cried the whole drive here.”
For a wild, perfect second, we’re the girls from Nocturne again—loud, glittering, untouchable.
We collapse into the booth in a tangle of elbows and stories that can’t wait. A tiered tray of macarons sweats in the steam, the teapot sighing like it knows secrets.
I pull out my phone, thumbs flying:
With my girls. Living my best life. Don’t wait up. If I send or a string of emojis that don’t make sense, we’re all drunk and need an extraction.
Eli: + . Three DDs on standby. Hydrate. I will quiz you!
Rowan: Proud of you. Have fun. We’ll pick you up when you’re ready to come home.
Cassian: Behave. I know you won’t.
I can’t stop grinning and flip the phone face down on the table.
