“Are you okay?” I asked softly. I had watched her break into a run, carefully scrutinizing every step to check for injuries as she got closer. Now that she was in my arms, it was all I could do not to strip her down and inspect every inch of her skin, and not just for injuries.
“I’m perfect now,” she replied, rolling to her toes and kissing me again.
I laughed, kissing her back for a second. “Are we good?” I questioned when she dropped back down. The group was almost all off the plane now and heading straight for us.
She looked over her shoulder. “Yeah. We’re good. They’re here to help us.”
Us.
The word cracked open something in my heart that had my arms tightening around her once more.
I forced myself to let her go. As soon as I did, Addie stepped in, grabbing Skye and hugging her.
Addie started crying, and I stepped around them both, blocking them from view. Rhodes and Michael stepped up beside me as Katy and Larkin stole Skye from her mother.
I looked around at the people standing with me. My council and my father’s had both come, along with a few extra guards. Some were with us and others were in the woods in case we needed them.
I wasn’t taking any chances.
I wanted to believe Skye’s dad was a good guy and her trust wasn’t misplaced, but I also wasn’t taking a fraction of a chance now that she was back with me.
Dante and Ryder had Tate crushed between them, a tangle of hands and arms as they kept her firmly between them. I met Dante’s eyes over Tate’s head, one of his arms wrapped around Tate, the other hand clasping Ryder’s neck. I hated to interrupt their reunion almost as much as I hated to stop mine, but the group was rapidly closing the distance. Dante nodded and started to extricate himself from Ryder’s and Tate’s arms.
It wasn't hard to guess who Skye’s father was as the group approached. Everything about the man in the center of the group screamed Alpha. I watched him, from his dark hair that was the same shade as Skye’s to the cold gray glint in his eyes. Those eyes met mine and held, not challenging, but calculating. He was trying to get a read on us, on me, the same way I was eyeing him.
Skye pushed her way between Rhodes and me, slipping under Rhodes’s arm and hugging his waist.
He hugged her back for a second, relief stark in his eyes as he looked down at her for a beat.
“Hey, Skyewalker,” he greeted warmly, but there was no missing the slight crack in his voice. “We missed you.”
“I missed you, too, Rhodey,” she whispered, giving him one more squeeze before sliding her hand into mine where it belonged.
“That’s him, huh?” I murmured, watching Nikolai Dashkov walking towards us.
“That’s him,” she confirmed, leaning against my arm, her head resting on my shoulder.
When he was only a few yards away, I took a deep breath and started forward, Skye at my side. We all stopped with a few feet separating us. Nikolai’s eyes kept drifting past me to where I was sure Addie was standing.
Skye had given her the heads up that Nikolai would be here, but I still felt the need to protect her after what she had shared with me. On the drive here, she had been a nervous wreck. I felt compelled to protect her if I could.
When Nikolai’s eyes narrowed, I knew Ryder was doing his job as we had discussed, using his large body to shield Addie from view.
“Nikolai, this is Remy,” Skye said, grabbing both of our attention. “Rem, this is … my dad.”
Nikolai’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he wiped the expression away and focused on me.
“Thank you,” I started, glancing down at my mate, “for taking care of Skye and Tate.”
A small, unreadable smile toyed on his lips. “Of course. And thank you for hosting us. My children think highly of you.”
Daniel—
No, Dimitri, stood to his right. He nodded at me.
“We’re a little tight on room right now,” I admitted, ignoring the burn in my gut at seeing the guy who lied to me and took Skye, “but we have two houses for you all to use for the time being.”
“We don’t need formal housing,” Nikolai replied. “We can make do on the ground just as easily.” The blonde woman to his left gave him an