Luna. Chapter 96

(Lyra's POV)

I made my way downstairs carefully, still feeling unsteady on my feet but drawn by the sounds of my family and the smell of Elena's cooking. The scene I found in the living room stopped me in the doorway.

Asher was curled up on the couch between Victor and Elena, all three of them watching a nature documentary about wolves. But it was the sight of Kael sitting on the floor beside the couch, his back against the wall, that made me pause.

He looked like he was standing guard. Even in the relaxed domestic setting, even with everyone safe and accounted for, he had positioned himself where he could see all the entrances to the room and keep watch over everyone I cared about.

Old habits from his enforcer days, probably. But it suggested that despite the successful resolution of our immediate crisis, he was still expecting trouble.

Maybe Selene's warning wasn't as mysterious as I'd thought.

"You don't have to keep watch," I said softly, settling onto the floor beside him. "The danger is over."

He looked up at me, and I saw exhaustion in his face that matched my own. "I know. Logically, I know that. But I keep thinking about how close we came to losing him."

"We didn't lose him."

"But we could have. If you hadn't been strong enough, if the ritual hadn't worked, if any number of things had gone wrong..." He shook his head, running his hands through his hair in a gesture I remembered from our younger days. "I can't stop thinking about all the ways it could have ended differently."

I understood that feeling. The what-ifs were almost as traumatic as the actual events had been.

"But it didn't end differently. Asher is safe. We're all safe." I paused, studying his profile. "Are we?"

The question hung between us, heavy with implications neither of us wanted to voice in front of the others.

"What do you mean?" he asked quietly.

"I mean whoever planted those cursed glasses in his room is still out there. I mean we still don't know who's been targeting my family or why they've been so determined to hurt us. I mean the immediate supernatural threat might be over, but the larger danger isn't."

Kael nodded grimly. "That's exactly what I keep thinking about. This feels like we won a battle, but the war is still going on."

"So what do we do about it?"

"We stay vigilant. We don't let our guard down just because one crisis is resolved. We prepare for whatever comes next."

I looked over at Asher, who was completely absorbed in watching a pack of wolves hunt together on the television screen. He looked so normal, so perfectly like any other four-year-old enjoying a nature program with his grandparents. It was hard to believe that just hours ago, he'd been possessed by the angry spirit of a dead alpha werewolf.

"Do you want to come sit with us?" I asked, nodding toward the living room where my family was gathered. "You don't have to stand guard alone in the hallway. You can be part of this instead of just protecting it from the sidelines."

"Are you sure?"

The question carried more weight than just asking about seating arrangements. He was asking if I was ready to include him in our family dynamic, if I trusted him enough to let him be part of our normal moments instead of just our crises.

"Kael, you helped save our son's life last night. You've been nothing but supportive and protective through this entire nightmare." I reached out and took his hand, feeling the calluses on his palm from years of physical labor. "I think that earns you a place at our family movie night."

He followed me into the living room, and I was pleased to see that no one seemed surprised when he settled into the armchair beside the couch instead of maintaining his guard position by the wall.

"Daddy!" Asher said excitedly. "Come see! The wolves are working together to catch dinner!"

"Are they?" Kael leaned forward to watch the screen, genuinely interested in what had captured Asher's attention.

"They're like a team. Everyone has a job, and they do it together, and then everyone gets to eat."

"That's how the best families work too," Elena said with a meaningful look in my direction. "Everyone contributes something, and everyone benefits."

I felt my cheeks warm at her not-so-subtle commentary on our domestic situation, but I couldn't deny the truth in what she was saying. Tonight, with all of us together in one room, with Asher safe and happy and chattering about nature documentaries, this felt more like a real family than we'd been in years.

Maybe that was worth the risk of letting my walls down just a little bit more.