4/30/2025, 7:24 PM
cole didn't breathe, not really, not until she was in his arms.
first twitch, then winnie—his girls, his family, throwing themselves against him like waves come crashing to shore, and all he could do was hold on. arms thick around their trembling ribs, jaw clenched so tight it ached. it had to be real. had to be. because if it wasn’t, if this was some trick of the gods or death’s last joke—then he wasn’t sure he’d come back from it again.
when winnie buried herself into his fur and he felt her stomach press against him—round, warm—cole went still.
his heart kicked like a mule in his chest.
eyes flaring wide, he pulled back just enough to look at her, to really see. a thousand questions on his tongue. but in the end, he just touched her face with a paw, calloused and trembling.
his girls. he had them again.
first twitch, then winnie—his girls, his family, throwing themselves against him like waves come crashing to shore, and all he could do was hold on. arms thick around their trembling ribs, jaw clenched so tight it ached. it had to be real. had to be. because if it wasn’t, if this was some trick of the gods or death’s last joke—then he wasn’t sure he’d come back from it again.
jesus,he muttered into twitch’s crown, his voice cracked and wrecked, arms tightening as she sobbed into his chest.
i got you. you hear me?he shifted, dragging winnie into him next, his broad chest bracing both of them.
you’re here. both of you.his voice thickened, gone gravel-deep with emotion he didn’t know how to show without breaking.
when winnie buried herself into his fur and he felt her stomach press against him—round, warm—cole went still.
his heart kicked like a mule in his chest.
eyes flaring wide, he pulled back just enough to look at her, to really see. a thousand questions on his tongue. but in the end, he just touched her face with a paw, calloused and trembling.
we’re not gonna lose each other again,he said, rough and certain, like it was something carved in stone.
ever.his eyes turned to twitch, fierce now, sure.
we stay together. whatever this place is—whatever’s happenin’—we face it as a family.
his girls. he had them again.