The bonds were done. Ryan was her alpha. Their whole pack had united against her family. The Quades deserved it, but she still worried for them. Why she didn’t know. Her parents never cared about her. She was just the extra girl they had after their perfect boy—Daniel. Daniel was as bad as her grandfather. As bad as so many of the men in the Quade family. Not all of them had been poisoned by Grandfather, but most…

She squeezed Ryan’s hand as they walked around the side of the house away from the noise of the crowd. Eating and drinking. Celebrating that Ryan was their alpha. That they had a common enemy instead of each other.

“Busy couple of days, huh?” she said, a hint of a smile tugging up the corners of her mouth.

Ryan chuckled and then sighed. Then slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her close to his side. He patted her hip and tensed.

“Why do you have that ring?”

Kate felt a rush of guilt through their bond. He certainly didn’t need to feel guilty. “Dee gave it to me. She found it in the truck where I left it.”

“I’ll mail it back to him,” Ryan said, his voice gruff.

“No. Julian said to consider it his wedding present to us.”

“What? Really, but that’s got to be worth…I don’t know,” Ryan said, doubt running heavy in his voice. “You should give it back.”

“It’s enough for me to buy the dress I want. It will not be wasted or returned,” she said, letting a little giddiness into her tone. “He told me he wouldn’t take it back. He said he was moving forward from that memory and the ring is mine. He would have thrown it in the river if he hadn’t given it to me.”

Ryan growled, though he didn’t object again. She could feel his fluctuating emotions—he wasn’t quite okay with Julian’s generous gift yet, but he was on his way. Because he wanted her to be happy.

She loved that nothing was hidden between them anymore. Kate had never felt so perfectly at home her whole life. Bonded to Ryan twice over as her mate and her alpha. She had a new home. New family. They liked her. Even his mother seemed to really like her.

She would help Ryan get his dream ranch off the ground—one that would help support all four families of the Trewitt pack equally. There were still some kinks to work out, but it was a good plan and she couldn’t wait to get started on it. First…there were a few things that would have to be straightened out. Like Christian…and the threat her old pack presented.

This war with her family would be ugly, but the Quades had been on a path of self-destruction for a long time. This conflict between the packs would likely have happened regardless of what she’d chosen. Perhaps it would have happened because of Will and Dee, if it hadn’t been Ryan. Now Ellie and Jace were both missing. She could only hope… No. They were okay. Ryan knew they weren’t injured. As their alpha, he could feel them. Nothing had happened. Not yet. There was still time to fix everything.

She glanced away from Ryan to the rolling hills up from his house. This was home now. And it was beautiful. She was glad Will was here in Durant with the Trewitts. He was one of the good ones. He deserved a second chance and Ryan seemed willing to give it.

Kate wondered how many of her other cousins back home would sacrifice an appendage to be in Will’s place. There were plenty who completely agreed with her grandparents’ way of doing things, but there were also many who didn’t drink the proverbial Kool-Aid as well. It was too bad her brother would almost certainly not be among the friendlies.

“What’s running through the mind of yours now?” Ryan said, his voice a low rumble.

She turned to her mate and sighed. “Just thinking how split the pack back home is likely be. There are some who would switch their allegiance if given the chance…”

“But?”

“The other half are more likely to kill the deserters than let them leave,” she said, her tone breaking with emotion. Either way the chips fell, she was going to lose people she cared about. Her childhood home had been broken for a long, long time, but it still felt different to see it fracture in truth.

“I promise you, we’re going to figure this out. One person at a time, Kate.”

She nodded. “I know. I know.” She squeezed his hand back, grateful for the calm he pushed her way.

He reached for Kate’s other hand, turning her to face him. “Believe in me, Kate.”

“Always.” She breathed a slow sigh as his warmth and love filled her completely. The stress of the current situation filtered out of her mind until all she could feel was Ryan. His dedication and determination to get through whatever came their way.

And whatever came, they were in this together.