LUCAS' POVI should’ve known better.The moment my mother announced game night, I should’ve grabbed Sophia and run straight for the door. But no, I let my guard down, got comfortable, and now – now I was sitting in the middle of the Sinclair family war zone, aka the living room, with Sophia at my side and absolutely no way out.“We’re playing Secrets and Lies.” Maddie declared, practically bouncing on the couch. “House rules.”I groaned. Of course, we were playing Secrets and Lies.It was a Sinclair family original, designed to break spirits and expose weaknesses. Obviously coined from Two Truths and a Lie, we put our own little spin on it and made it our own thing. The rules were simple. One person made a statement about themselves, and the rest of us had to decide if it was the truth or a lie. If we guessed wrong, the liar got to dare someone to do something ridiculous. If we guessed right, the liars had to do the dare themselves.And with my sisters? These dares were never harmless
SOPHIA'S POV The house had finally quieted down. After an evening filled with laughter, teasing, and fierce competition over board games, the Sinclair family had retreated for the night. Emily had taken the baby to bed, Maddie had declared herself the undefeated champion of trivia – despite Lucas arguing otherwise – and their mother had given me a knowing wink before disappearing down the hall. Now, I stood outside on the back porch, letting the night air cool my flushed skin. The sky stretched endlessly above me, dark and speckled with stars. It was peaceful – the perfect contrast – to the whirlwind of an evening. A soft squeak of the door behind me signaled Lucas’s arrival before I even turned. “Stealing another moment?” He teased, stepping up beside me. His voice was quieter now, more thoughtful. I smiled, glancing at him. “Guess I am. Your family is… A lot.” Lucas let out a short laugh. “You can say it – they’re overwhelming.” “They are,” I admitted, but then I nudged him p
SOPHIA'S POVThe morning air was thick with the scent of coffee and maple syrup. The wisps of aroma weaved through the Sinclair household like a gentle nudge from the arms of slumber, stirring me awake even before I fully opened my eyes. For a moment, I simply lay beneath the covers, savoring the unfamiliar yet strangely comforting feeling of waking up somewhere that wasn’t my own home.The previous night had been filled with warmth – laughter, teasing, the kind of easy chaos that only close-knit families could create. It had been nice, more than nice, and I wasn’t quite ready to step away from it just yet.Still, reality had a way of creeping in. I knew I couldn’t avoid my thoughts forever. Nathan’s unexpected reappearance in my children’s lives, Lucas’s unwavering presence, the weight of everything left unsaid – it all loomed in the back of my mind. But here, at this moment, with the sound of voices filtering through the walls, I let myself breathe.I climbed out of bed and stretche
NATHAN'S POVAlex had no shortage of energy.After fixing the sink and surviving Mrs. Jackson’s sharp tongue, I expected a moment of quiet. But Alex had other plans. He wanted to show me everything – his drawings, his books, even his attempt at a handstand that ended with him toppling over and laughing like it was the best thing in the world.But I knew I wouldn't trade this moment with him for anything in the world. It reminded me just how much of his life I'd been missing and I could have been a part of. Even my wolf lay content as he watched everything unfold. It reminded me why we were doing this. To be a family again. With our mate. To make up for lost time To prove we were worthy. Alexia, on the other hand, sat curled on the couch, her locket resting against her chest, watching me with sharp, knowing eyes. She was thinking. Analyzing. I just knew that a great deal was going on behind her young, bambi-doe eyes, the blue of them that always seemed to look into your soul when they
NATHAN'S POVThe twins were relentless. As they usually were. As I had come to expect. Alex had latched onto my arm, determined, while Alexia watched with quiet expectancy, arms crossed like she already knew I’d give in. They wanted a bedtime story. No, they expected one.“Mom tells us stories all the time. Kate does too when she's here. Even Aunty Grace tells us stories.” Alex argued, tugging me toward their room. “And since you’re here, you have to tell one too.”“I don’t have to do anything.” I pointed out, but I was already moving, much to Alex’s delight.He grinned. “But you will.”I sighed, shooting a glance at Alexia. “You agree with him?”She didn’t say anything right away. Just tilted her head, assessing. Then, after a long pause, she shrugged. “You don’t seem like a bad storyteller.”A compliment. I’d take it.Mrs. Jackson watched from the doorway, her arms folded, amusement flickering in her sharp gaze. “You’re in trouble now, Nathan. Once they get attached, there’s no sh
SOPHIA'S POVThe morning light filtered through the large windows of the Sinclair estate, casting golden patterns across the room as I sat at the long dining table. It was our last morning here, and the thought sat heavy in my chest.Lucas’ mother, Eleanor, had been nothing but welcoming during our stay, and Lucas himself… Well, he had been everything I expected – attentive, considerate, and, as always, a little unreadable when it came to what he truly wanted from me.“More coffee, dear?” Eleanor’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.I smiled, lifting my cup slightly. “No, thank you. This is perfect.”Across from me, Lucas watched me with quiet amusement. “You know, most guests let my mother spoil them a little more before leaving.”I raised a brow. “I think she’s done enough. She practically forced an entire fruit platter on me before I even had a bite of toast.”Eleanor waved me off. “Nonsense. You need to eat properly. Running a restaurant is demanding, and I imagine you hardly have
SOPHIA'S POVThe moment I stepped into Il Cuore di Sofia that evening, I felt it in my bones. Something was off. Coming off the back of an important investor meeting and the principal at Alex's school calling to inform me that I was to be in school during rush hour tomorrow, I was hoping the rest of the day would be stress free. But I should have known it would have been too much to ask.Especially where the Luna goddess was involved. And New York city.I looked around at the restaurant, trying to determine what was wrong. To crack the code – or hack it, whichever the case may be – before it could come back to bite me in the ass. It wasn’t the usual pre-dinner service buzz. It was heavier – tense, crackling in the air like a storm about to start. The entirety of my staff moved with tight shoulders, exchanging nervous glances, and Kate was already making her way toward me the moment she spotted me.Not a good sign.“We have a problem.” She said in a low voice, falling into step beside
NATHAN'S POV I was reviewing reports in my office when the knock came. Sharp. Purposeful. Intrusive. Could only be one person. Then, without waiting for a response, the door swung open, and Lola strolled in like she owned the place. There we go. "Hello to you too.” I muttered, leaning back in my chair. Lola wasn’t the type to drop by unannounced unless she had a reason. And judging by the smirk on her face, she was enjoying whatever she was about to say. "You’ve been busy, haven’t you?" She leaned against my desk, sipping a coffee that I knew wasn’t from my building. "Helping out at your mate’s place, playing storytime with the twins… I have to say, Nathan, I didn’t peg you for the domesticated type." I sighed. "How did you even–” I stopped before I could complete the question. Of course she did. She always had a way of knowing everything. I looked at her from the corner of my eyes. “Did you come here to talk about my personal life, or do you actually have a point?" Sh
SOPHIA’S POV The sun filtered gently through the curtains, casting warm stripes across the wooden floor. For once, the house was quiet – not with the eerie kind of silence that came from something being wrong, but the kind that only came after a storm. I stood in the kitchen, barefoot, a mug of tea cradled in my hands. “Ow, hot.” I burned my fingers as I dipped it in the mug to taste the tea. Then replied myself, “Of course it's hot you dummy. You just made it.” I sighed and leaned my head lightly against the cabinet door as I stared at the empty hallway beyond. The twins were still asleep, for now. I had let them sleep in. I’d taken the day off. No Kate, no kitchen, no demands. I texted her before dawn. “Can’t come in today. Family stuff. I trust you.” I didn’t say more, and she didn’t ask. She just sent back a thumbs-up and a heart. I knew she would understand even with no explanation. The truth was, I didn’t even know how to put words to what had happened last night. I wa
VICTORIA'S POVThe air reeked of stale beer, sweat, and desperation. Ew.But, it was exactly the kind of place I’d expect to find a disgraced Alpha drowning in his own failure. Go figure.The bar was tucked into the corner of a forgotten alley, away from prying eyes by broken neon signs and shattered dreams. How do the humans say it again? Ahh, yes. What a boulevard of broken dreams.I stood outside for a moment, letting my eyes adjust to the dim glow bleeding through the fogged windows. The faint thundering boom of music sounded from within – some cheap EDM beat vibrating through shitty speakers – and over all of that, somehow louder than it all, the rough voices of men exchanging bets, boasts, and laughter that reeked of low intelligence.I pushed the door open.The warmth inside hit me like a wall, thick with body heat and alcohol fumes. It was a human dive, alright. Ugh.Cheap wood paneling, flickering lights, a couple of dart boards with knives sticking out of them. A fight was b
NATHAN'S POVThe rain had finally stopped.I watched the last beads slide down the windowpane of my office, the world outside slick and silver under the afternoon light. It had been a quiet day—restless, but quiet. The kind of quiet that gets under your skin, makes your wolf lift its head and sniff the wind.Still, I tried not to read too much into it. I had things to do—real things.I turned my attention back to the table in front of me. A spread of papers, drawings, and a carefully wrapped pair of gifts sat in the center. One for Alex. One for Alexia.I had put them together after our last talk—gifts that I hoped the ancestors would be proud of, sure, but also from me. I’d carved their names into the wooden boxes myself. Inside were tokens of our world—hand-polished stones charged with protective runes, small journals bound in soft leather, and a pendant each, etched with our crest. It was slightly different from the other pendants I had gotten them—this one had the Bennett family c
THEON'S POVThe council room was a pressure cooker. It was almost as though the collective heat emanating from the council members could cook a hard, battle-seasoned wolf.Heat radiated from more than just the fire crackling in the hearth. It steamed from the anger in the room – wolves packed wall to wall, voices rising, tempers flaring. And no matter how tall I stood or how hard I glared, it wasn’t enough to keep the unrest at bay anymore.“He left,” Brannon, one of the newer council members, arms folded across his massive chest. “Our Alpha abandoned us.”“He didn’t abandon us,” I snapped, my voice ringing out like a whip. I imbued a bit of authority so as to make lesser wolves obey due to the chain of command. “He made a choice. One he told us about. One he took full responsibility for.”“He left,” someone else echoed. “When the fire hit. When the house burned. When Victoria and her father tried to kill him – he walked away. What kind of Alpha does that?”One of the younger wolves,
SOPHIA’S POVAlexia’s eyes glowed with a strange, pulsing light – unnatural and far too old for her six-year-old face. They didn’t blink as she stared straight ahead, her small hand still raised, fingers curled like she was holding something I couldn’t see.“Alpha Nathan, leader of the Moonstone Pack… you are in grave danger.”My heart slowed down, stuttering in its steady walk. The air itself seemed to still, the warmth sucked from the room. I started to step forward on instinct – my baby – but Elara caught my wrist, holding me firm. Her grip was steady, but her gaze never left Alexia. Her silence screamed, don’t.Then Alexia’s head turned. Slowly. Mechanically, like her bones had turned to gears with knobs for muscles. Until her glowing gaze landed on me.“And you… Sophia of the broken bond…”I stopped breathing.The voice was still hers, still soft and small – but it was laced with something heavy and ancient. Something that didn’t belong inside or anywhere near my daughter’s body.
NATHAN'S POVElara didn’t wait for us to react. She was already halfway down the hallway by the time I caught up.“Is it Alex?” I asked, heart slamming against my ribs.“Yes,” she said sharply. “But not in the way you think. Come on.”I didn’t look at Sophia – we were moving too fast – but I felt her presence behind me. Her heartbeat was quick, light footsteps trailing mine as we reached the twins’ room.When Elara threw the door open, everything in me froze.Alex lay in bed, his body drenched in sweat. But it wasn’t a fever. His skin glowed faintly, like moonlight was trying to escape through his veins. His fingers twitched, his back arched once, and his lips moved silently, like he was trying to speak in a dream.Alexia sat beside him, hands pressed to his chest, brows furrowed in fierce concentration.“Elara–” Sophia’s voice broke. “What’s happening to him?”Before she could answer, Alexia turned to us. “Shhh.”She didn’t shout, didn’t cry. Just raised her tiny finger to her lips.
SOPHIA'S POV“No way in fucking hell.”The words cut through the room like a whip cracking. Sharp and final.But the second they’re out, my chest constricts. Fucking hell. I see it in his eyes – the flicker of hurt – but I don’t care. I can’t care. Not now. Not when my entire world’s been turned on its head again, and he’s the one holding the match.Nathan doesn’t say anything. He just stands there in the kitchen’s low light, like he expected this. Like he knew it would go this way and still came anyway.Good.He should’ve known better.“You think you can just walk back into our lives,” I start, pacing because I can’t be still, my hands doing their part in the conversation too, “say a few heartfelt things, drop some ancient-wolf-magic prophecy on me – and I’m supposed to just what, uproot everything and go back to Moonstone?”“I didn’t say it would be easy,” he said, voice calm but low.I whirl around on him. “Don’t do that. Don’t use that calm, measured tone with me. You left. You ba
NATHAN'S POV Her voice breaks the quiet. “We need to talk.” Fucking hell. I knew what it was going to be about. I nod, even though I already know this won’t be easy. I follow her to the kitchen, where the light is low and everything feels too still. It smells like honey tea and something faintly herbal, probably whatever she brewed to ease Alex’s symptoms. I take the seat across from her, my shoulders tight, heart steady but heavy. She doesn’t waste time. “I saw things tonight,” she says, arms crossed, voice tight. “Things I don’t understand. You touched Alex and… the way your aura shifted, your eyes… even the air changed. I felt it, Nathan. Through the bond.” I hold her gaze. “I know.” Her brows lift slightly. “You’ve changed.” I don’t argue. “I have.” She waits, like she knows I have more. Then she spelled it out for me. “What the fuck aren't you telling me, Nathan?” She’s right. It was time to finally, fully come clean. “I didn’t always know what I was,” I say quietly
SOPHIA'S POVBut that was clearly a problem for another day, as Nathan didn't give two shits about any other thing.“Where is he? Where is he, Sophia?”Nathan’s voice crashes through the house like thunderous waves in a storm. The walls seem to echo with it. My breath hitches. The room spins for half a second before my feet find the ground again.I turn sharply, hand gripping the counter for balance. He’s standing there in the doorway, shoulders tense, chest rising fast, eyes wild and glowing faintly gold. His wolf was really struggling to come to the surface and from what I could tell, it looked like only the gods themselves were holding him at bay. I’ve never seen that look on his face before.Not even when we fought. Not even when everything between us broke.“Nathan.” I breathe, but he’s already moving. Storming past me.“Elara!” He shouts. “Where is he?”Her voice comes from the hallway, calm but urgent. “Upstairs. Second door on the left.”“Nathan, wait!” I go after him, but he’