He wanted me?

Lexi

It has been three days since I was dragged back to Bay Pack to live in Vanessa’s shadow. Three days locked in the same room. No food. No water. No words. Just the sound of my heartbeat and the weight of my fury.

Dean tried to coax me out. So did my mother. Even Cedric had mumbled something pathetic through the door. I ignored them all. Let them feel a fraction of the emptiness they’d left me with.

By the third day, weakness replaced anger. My stomach ached, my throat burned, but when someone knocked again, rage returned like a flame to dry wood.

“Hey, Alexis.”

I froze. I knew that voice.

“Raven?” I whispered, sitting up.

She was the one person who didn’t believe Vanessa’s lies. I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten her.

“I need to speak to you,” she said softly through the door. “I’m coming in.”

“As if…” I scoffed, lying back on the bed, knowing that the door was locked, but before I knew what was happening, she was suddenly standing beside my bed.

“What the – how did you get in here?” I blurted.

Raven smiled, and a tray of steaming food appeared across my blanket like magic.

“Just a little magic trick,” she said, her eyes gleaming.

I stared at her. “The Raven I know didn’t have magic.”

“I found out about my father’s side of the family,” she said proudly. “Turns out, we’re part mage. Now eat.”

I shook my head. “No thanks.”

She laughed softly. “You haven’t changed. Still cautious.” Then her voice gentled. “Look…I get it, Lexi. You’re angry. They betrayed you. They shouldn’t expect forgiveness just because they’re sorry.”

“Exactly!” I snapped, before catching myself. She smiled knowingly.

“But they also didn’t know Vanessa was like me,” she continued quietly.

I frowned. “Like you?”

“Half wolf, half mage. Except she mastered her magic completely, and it was strong enough to cast a spell over an entire pack just to make them believe her lies about you.”

I stared at her, my chest tightening. “That’s impossible.”

“Is it?” she asked gently. “They all turned on you suddenly, didn’t they? Like they were reading the same script.”

My throat went dry. “Then why weren’t you affected?”

“I have magic,” she said simply. “Her spell didn’t affect me. But living in a puppet town became unbearable. So, I went to my father’s people for help. It took two years to break the spell, but when I finally did, everyone saw the truth. The people even tried to have Vanessa executed.”

A bitter laugh escaped me. “That sounds like them.”

“She escaped with Derrick. It turns out that he was her ally all along,” Raven said. “No one’s seen them since.”

“So… Dean only sent me away because of her spell?” I asked, half in disbelief. “My family never really betrayed me?”

“Exactly.” She nodded softly. “They didn’t know how to tell you without making it sound like an excuse.”

I let out a shaky sigh. “Honestly, if I hadn’t seen you conjure food out of thin air with your little magic trick, I’d think you were lying too.”

Raven smirked. “Well, that little trick saved this pack.”

For the first time in days, I laughed. Really laughed.

“You should give them another chance,” she said gently. “Especially Dean. He lost himself after you were gone. Became someone cruel.”

“Yeah,” I muttered. “He seemed that way when he found me.”

She gave me a soft, knowing smile. “He’s waiting outside, Lexi. Talk to him.”

I hesitated, staring at the door. My heart ached in a way I didn’t want to admit.

“Okay,” I whispered.

When she left, the silence stretched until the door creaked open again. Dean stepped in. He smelled faintly of lavender and mint, freshly showered, but his eyes looked haunted.

For a moment, neither of us spoke. Then his voice broke the stillness. “I thought I killed you.”

I froze.

“When I saw you again,” he said, voice rough, “I shouldn’t have acted the way I did to your friends. I shouldn’t have taken you away so roughly that you thought I’d hurt you. I shouldn’t have spoken so harshly.” He swallowed hard, the regret evident in his voice. “But I was selfish. I wanted you back, Lexi. After thinking I’d lost you forever, I just… wanted to get you back by whatever means necessary.”

He turned back to me, eyes burning with that same desire I used to know. “What I should’ve done,” he whispered, “was hold you. Tell you how happy I was to see you again. And then kiss you like a man who’s missed the love of his life for four long years… quite like how I want to kiss you now.”

Something in me cracked. The anger, the loneliness, the doubt…all of it crumbled under the weight of his words.

Before I could speak, he moved closer and pulled me into his arms. I sobbed against his chest, my tears soaking through his shirt as he kept whispering, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” again and again until the words melted into my skin.

When I finally looked up, his eyes were wet too. I reached up, trembling, and pulled him toward me. He leaned in, but before our lips met, a knock interrupted us.

It was that scent again – cold, acrid, and unmistakable. Jax. He stepped inside cautiously, his blue eyes flicking around the room before settling on us. He murmured something about urgent news, his voice steady, his presence far too composed for someone who hadn’t seen me in years.

But just before leaving, he stole one last look at me. His gaze lingered, sending an unexpected shiver down my spine. This time, it wasn’t disgust that made me tremble, but something else – something that made me wonder just how loyal Jax was to Dean, and wonder, just for a heartbeat, if Jax wanted me.