Drowning with Fire #3 ✔

Chapter 24 - Ember

"Do you have any idea how reckless that was? To go after Eric, knowing full-well Killian could've been with him?" Theo yelled at me and Thea. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"We were trying to help!" Thea shouted back at him, unafraid.

I couldn't help but cower; I'd never seen Theo so angry before. While concern and worry tinged his rage, I felt unbelievably guilty – like a kid caught with both hands in the cookie jar.

"Sorry," I mumbled in defeat and lowered my eyes to the floor. I'd teleported us back into the garden, and all of a sudden, those wilting blades of grass hidden beneath the leaves were extremely interesting to me as I stared at them.

Theo's tone became less harsh as he continued, "I've been worried sick about the two of you – and you weren't even gone for that long... Look," he explained with a heavy sigh, "as powerful as both of you are, you can't just run off without telling me – or without telling anyone, for that matter. You both mean too much to me for me to lose either of you."

Keeping my gaze to the floor, I nodded. I could also sense Thea beside me backing down and bobbing her head in her submission.

"Go on inside Thea and gather everyone in one room – we need a... a pack meeting," Theo told her, though couldn't hide his fumble of the concept of a pack meeting with him as the Alpha.

"You got it, bro." Thea walked back into the house and tugged Ryder along with her. "C'mon, Altair, let's leave them to it."

Leaves crackled beneath his feet as Theo slowly made his way over to me – only stopping when the tips of his shoes were mere millimetres from mine.

I felt compelled to repeat my apology; "I'm sorry."

"Em, it's okay." Theo gently took my hand in his, raised it and pressed a soft kiss against my knuckles – forcing me to look up at him. "I'm not mad at you anymore. I'm just glad you're back and safe."

In an instant, I threw my arms around his neck in a tight embrace. His arms encircled my waist and hugged me back just as tight.

Until that moment, I didn't realise how much my Alpha's forgiveness would set me free from the deep pit of guilt and self-hatred I would've sunk into otherwise. Maybe now I could understand how Theo felt when I kept forgiving him last year when we were in Lake Oldoy – when I kept giving him second chances because I knew he deserved them.

Pressing his forehead against mine and still holding me close, Theo revealed his insecure side to me – which, admittedly, wasn't a side of him I'd seen for what felt like a long while. "Promise you'll stay by my side?"

I quickly realised that he'd said the same words to me before we left the ranch in Montana. He still thought he'd lose me – maybe that was his greatest vulnerability, and it wouldn't change even though he was an Alpha now.

"I promise," I assured him, "You won't lose me again. I don't think."

"Well, that's super reassuring." He rolled his eyes at me, though there was playfulness in his tone.

"I can't promise that I won't ever die again," I explained to him slowly, speaking as the thought entered my mind, "But I can promise that I'll always come back to you."

"Always is a long time, you know, Em." Theo pointed out.

"I mean it, Theo," I told him, just as pointedly. "I love you and that's not going to ever change."

"I love you too, Em," Theo said and promptly pressed his lips to mine.

There was no opportunity for our kiss to continue or develop, as Al flung open a window and yelled out at us, "Are we having this pack meeting or not?"