Jason Black rarely let himself feel anything too deeply—not anger, not fear, and definitely not grief. The pack saw him as unbreakable, the warrior who never faltered, the protector who never slept.
But tonight, as the moon crept higher and Hailey's eighteenth birthday ceremony approached, something inside him cracked.
He sat on the edge of his bed, elbows resting on his knees, fingers digging into his hair. The room was dark except for the faint silver glow spilling through the window.
And for the first time in months… he let himself think her name.
Gabriella King.
His mate.
His future.
His other half.
Gone.
Killed by rogues before he could even tell her how deeply he loved her.
He had held her in his arms as life slipped away, her wolf fading with a whimper that still haunted him in his sleep. The blood on his hands that night never washed away—not in his mind.
Jason's jaw clenched so hard it hurt.
He couldn't stop picturing Hailey tonight—finding her mate, stepping into a world she didn't fully understand yet. What if something happened to her? What if fate was as cruel to her as it was to him?
He couldn't lose her too.
His chest tightened painfully.
A soft knock on the door pulled him from the spiral.
"Jason?"
Hailey's voice—quiet, gentle, cautious.
He wiped his face quickly, even though no tears had fallen. He didn't cry. Ever.
"Yeah," he said, forcing steadiness. "Come in."
The door opened slowly, and Hailey peeked inside before stepping in fully. She closed the door behind her, then turned toward him with those big, warm eyes that always saw too much.
She didn't speak.
She just walked over and sat beside him on the bed.
Jason stared forward, silent.
Hailey swung her legs slightly, her shoulder touching his. "You're thinking about her again."
He stiffened.
Hailey didn't say Gabriella's name—she didn't have to. The pain was carved into Jason's expression so clearly that Hailey could read it like a book.
Jason exhaled shakily. "How did you…?"
"You get this look before you shut everyone out." She tilted her head. "You only get it when you're thinking about Gabriella."
His throat tightened. "Hailey…"
"You don't have to pretend with me," she said softly. "Not ever."
For a long moment, he just sat there, breathing heavily, wrestling every emotion he didn't want to feel.
Then he whispered, barely audible, "I should've protected her."
Hailey instantly grabbed his hand. "Jason, you did everything you could."
His voice broke. "It wasn't enough."
Hailey squeezed his fingers tighter. "If it wasn't enough, she wouldn't have died in your arms, knowing she was loved and safe."
Jason inhaled sharply, eyes burning.
Hailey's voice gentled even more. "She wouldn't want you to torture yourself. She wouldn't want you to shut everyone out. She loved you, Jason. You still honor her every day by protecting the people she cared about."
His head dropped, shoulders shaking from the weight of everything he held inside.
Hailey rested her head on his shoulder, speaking quietly into the silence.
"You're scared for me tonight."
Jason turned his head away, ashamed. "I can't lose you. Not like that. Not again."
"You won't," Hailey whispered. "I promise."
"You don't know that."
"No," she admitted. "But I know you. And I know you'd burn the world down before you let something happen to me."
That broke him a little.
He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her against him in the kind of protective hug only a big brother could give.
Hailey hugged him back just as tightly.
Jason closed his eyes and allowed himself, for the first time in a long while, to simply feel the grief instead of burying it.
In the quiet of his room, with the moonlight soft on the walls and his sister holding him together, Jason finally whispered her name.
"Gabriella."
Hailey held him even tighter.
"I'm here, Jason. I'm not going anywhere."
For the first time in months, Jason believed it.