Epilogue
Eliot woke with a scream. His bed covers were cloying and he couldn't seem to breathe. Fighting with the blankets that seemed to have turned to manacles around his ankles Eliot nearly fell from the bed. He stood for a moment and focused on his breathing. Slow inhale through the nose, equally slow exhale through the mouth. Slow inhale through the nose, equally slow exhale through the mouth. When his breathing slowed and his heart stopped hammering in his ears he took stock of the pack bonds and his surroundings. He'd definitely woken Nate but it felt like he was on the edge of sleep again. He'd woken Parker and Hardison but he tried to send calmness through the bonds so that Parker wouldn't worry and drag Hardison out of bed. Eliot looked with derision on his rumpled bed and decided to head downstairs.
When he stepped out into the hall he heard the door at the far end open. "Everything is fine. Go back to bed." He whispered knowing that Nati and Ewen would hear him just fine.
Mark and Henry had left much earlier and Lucas had found a flight to take him back to the east coast. No one had seen Jim since just after they'd finished burying the bodies. Mark would send Brian back in the next few days and there would be explaining to do but that wasn't a concern for now. The full moon was less than twenty hours away now and Nati had decided that she and Ewen would stay for it. Eliot was glad that none of the other alphas had stayed. Nati already knew about the nightmares and he didn't feel that he needed to be 'on his A game' all the time around her.
Eliot fixed himself a cup of tea and settled on the couch. He thought about turning the TV on for the distraction of it but decided he just wasn't up for the flashing lights and continuous noise. Instead he decided to sip his tea and just try to relax. His solitude didn't last for long. The quietest creek of a support told him that Parker was coming down the stairs. Looking up he saw her in a pair of Hardison's Star Wars pajama bottoms and an old tank top.
"I'm sorry I woke you. Everything's okay now, you can head back to bed." Eliot spoke softly not wanting to wake anyone else upstairs.
Parker just shook her head and came down to join him on the couch. She settled with her back to the arm of the couch and tucked her bare toes under Eliot's right leg. She curled forward over her knees and sat that way for a moment before she scooched around so that her toes were still under his leg but her head could rest on his shoulder. With a deep sigh she closed her eyes and seemed to drift off to sleep. Eliot raised his arm across the back of the couch and pulled her into his side, letting his arm rest around her.
A few minutes later Hardison came shuffling sleepily down the stairs. "Knew I'd find her here." Hardison flopped down on the couch and before long he drifted to sleep.
. ͽϿ Ѻ Ͼͼ .
Nati waited until she was sure that Ewen was solidly asleep before she crept out of the room. Standing in the hallway she heard breathing in Nate and Sophie's room but the rest of the floor was quiet. Taking the stairs as lightly as possible she stopped on the landing and took in the scene below.
Hardison and Parker had curled themselves into Eliot's sides, for warmth or comfort, and he'd wrapped his arms around them keeping them close. Eliot had finally drifted off to sleep with his head resting on top of Hardison's.
She knew this wasn't what any alpha would want observed but she knew from her own experience that having that connection and the comfort of your pack was one of the very best parts of being alpha and she was glad that Eliot had found it.
"From the ghoulies and the ghosties and the long-leggedy beasties and all the things that go bump in the night, dear Father, deliver them."