LINC - Lila was asleep, her breathing steady beside me. I slipped out of bed, careful not to wake her.I made my way into the backyard. I felt like I couldn't breathe. I needed space, and I needed someone who would give it to me. Cast. He would understand. In a messed up, fucked up way, he would get this. I crossed the yard. The dim glow from inside was just enough to guide me. When I walked in, the poolhouse was quiet. Cast was asleep, sprawled out in the rocking chair, and Declan was sleeping peacefully in his crib beside him. He looked worn, a blanket loose over his chest, his head tipped back. I lowered myself to the floor, leaning against the wall and just watched them.Declan's tiny fists were curled, his breathing soft, untouched by the complicated world around him. I envied him. Cast stirred as his eyes opened slowly. He didn't seem to see me for a second before he leaned forward."Didn't expect to see you here." He kept his voice low, careful not to wake Declan.I shrugg
LILA - I opened my eyes to find Linc and Cast sitting on the edge of the bed with Declan. Declan squirmed. Every movement told me he was ready to eat. And to see me again. That was the longest I'd been away from him since giving birth. I missed my little guy. So much more than I'd realized with all of this craziness happening… I reminded myself to not use that word anymore. The last thing I wanted to do was upset the spirits that shared blood with the two little alphas I was sharing my body with right now."Looks like someone's hungry," Cast murmured as he passed Declan over to me.I cradled Declan against me, settling him to nurse, but something felt off. After a few moments, he grew fussy, pushing away and making small, frustrated sounds as he gripped and scratched at my skin.My heart sank as I adjusted him, encouraging him to try again. He latched and kept trying, but he only grew fussier."Come on, big guy," I whispered, shifting him to the other side. I tried to keep my thou
LILA - After entering the pool house with Cast, I closed the door quietly, keeping my eyes on the floor as I tried to hold it together. Cast looked up from the couch. "Hey, thought you were getting some rest."Declan was asleep in the crib nearby, his tiny chest rising and falling peacefully. Seeing him like that, so untouched by the chaos around us, made my heart ache. I shut the nursery door, needing a buffer between his calm world and the storm I felt within.And then it all broke loose. Tears welled up as I turned back to Cast, trying to pull myself together, but it was useless. A sob escaped as I almost collapsed on the floor.He jumped up off the couch and was beside me in a second. He wrapped his arms tightly around me as I broke. "I'm so tired of this…all of it," I managed through the sobs, gripping his shirt. "I just want things to be…right. For once. Why does it have to be like this? It's like I don't even deserve to be happy. Nothing ever stays together. It all just falls
LINC - The night felt endless, each second dragging with remorse I couldn't shake. The pack house was empty and silent. Not even the Omegas were moving around. It was odd how still everything seemed, even in the middle of the night. The last thing I needed was still and silent. I didn't want to think about it. I didn't want to think about anything. About the gap that stretched wider every time I thought about the mistakes piling up. I wasn't this person. I wasn't this type of guy. I was smarter than this. Why didn't I just tell her as soon as I noticed the damn text on my phone? Then, she would have helped me through this. Would it have hurt her? Yes, but we would have leaned on one another through it. Instead, I panicked like a damn coward and didn't say a word. Not until it was too late... and to the wrong damn person. Fuck. I tried to keep myself occupied. I scrubbed the countertops, wiped down already clean surfaces, sifted through stacks of paperwork I'd ignored. A
LILA - I didn't want to go, but I couldn't avoid the test for my online class. I told myself it was just a day of independence, but the silence in the car was louder than I'd expected, settling around me like a reminder of everything I'd left back at home... Declan, Linc, Cast, the reality of this life I'd built. A life that sometimes felt too full, with responsibilities I'd never seen coming. Three kids under two. Plus, two guys who can act like children themselves sometimes. A wave of unearned nostalgia washed over me as I parked and walked onto campus. I hadn't spent much time here in person since my classes were mostly online, and now I regretted going that route. Coming here more would have done me some good. Getting away from all the crazy energy and situations at the pack house was like stepping into another world at this point. Students passed by in clusters, laughing, their lives so bright and carefree. They were my age, maybe a year or two younger, but it felt like we we
LINC - Cast and I had Declan for the day, his first without any nursing from Lila. She'd woken up completely dry, and I'd seen the sadness in her eyes as she handed him over. It hurt more than I'd expected, and I could sense how it made her feel clearly through the bond.It was a hard thing to be suddenly forced on them. To be suddenly taken away like it never mattered to begin with. Not just for her but for Declan, who started wailing the moment he realized his morning would be different.He wasn't handling it any better than his mama was. He'd been cranky since breakfast, his cries filling the house as he thrashed, wailing no matter what we tried. The switch to formula was supposed to be gradual, something easy to ease into. But here we were, diving in all at once, without the person who knew best how to calm him.We were a mess, the three of us, that was for sure. Declan let out a low, rumbling growl, something he'd recently started doing whenever he got frustrated. Cast grinned a
CAST - The campus courtyard felt unusually empty as I pulled up and scanned for Lila. I spotted her slumped on a bench near the entrance, looking like the world had done her in. I parked the truck and headed over without turning the heater off. It was so cold out here, and she was sitting without her jacket. As expected, the alpha energy was hitting her much harder this time. There were two in there; apparently, both were Alpha girls. At least according to their weird spirits they had been floating around.Plus, it was so damn soon after Declan was born. I doubted she had the chance to clear it from her system before it surged again. I bet she was in for a ride this time. One that I was more than happy to be a part of and witness. When I reached her, I touched her shoulder lightly. She had no idea I was there until then, which wasn't a good sign. She needed to be more aware of her surroundings than this. "Lila?" Her head lifted slowly, her eyes barely meeting mine before she breat
LINC -I paced the living room, my phone clenched in my hand, Selena's message and the image attached searing itself into my thoughts like a brand. Phoebe. I hadn't wanted to see her face again, had done everything I could to bury that pull, but there she was, smiling next to my sister like fate had just tossed another impossible choice at me. I hadn't asked for this. I'd deleted her text, blocked her out, and done everything right. But now, this picture. And it was Selena who sent it.I shivered. I didn't know how I'd handle this or keep it from pulling everything apart again. I couldn't do this on my own. This was the kind of thing that could ruin everything with Lila if I didn't handle it exactly right. If I misstepped here… I shoved the thought aside, refusing to think about it, and instead ran through my options. I could do one thing right now, one clear, honest thing. I'd tell her. The second she walked through that door, I'd be upfront and ask her what to do. I could follo
I woke up to an empty bed. The absence was immediate, the warmth gone. Stretching out, I let my hand graze the sheets, confirming they were cool. They hadn't been in bed for a while. The faint hum of water and voices carried through the room, pulling me from the remaining haze. I followed the sound to the bathroom door. It was cracked open, steam curling out. Their voices grew clearer as I leaned in to look. Lila sat on the built-in bench, with the water spraying down her back. Cast knelt in front of her, his hands resting gently on her stomach. He spoke softly, leaning closer, and even though the words weren't meant for me, they hit me hard. "I'll be there for them, for you," he murmured. "No matter what. Even if I have to handcuff myself to you to make sure I don't screw this up again." She laughed out loud as he started feathering kisses across her growing stomach to try to tickle her. She leaned forward and pulled him up. Their lips met, and I stayed frozen at the door
LINC - I didn't remember him doing it. Cast didn't remember either. Even Lila, shaking and pale, said she had no recollection of the bite. Yet, as we sat there on the bed in the pool house, trying to piece it all together, his mark stood out darker than mine. It wasn't subtle. It wasn't something we could brush off. We all sat there, unable to articulate the emotions bouncing heavily between us. Between the three of us. She was caught in the middle, her entire body shaking. One hand was pressed to the mark on her neck, the other resting over her stomach. I sat on one side of her, Cast on the other, and we both touched her in the same way. A hand on her knee, the other on her back, trying to steady her, or maybe ourselves. She shifted between us restlessly, leaning against me for a moment, then to him. Her breathing was uneven, and I couldn't stop running my fingers lightly over her skin, trying to calm her. Cast and I didn't look at each other. We couldn't. We didn't need to.
CAST -I wasn't sure why it happened. Why Linc let it happen. Why any of us did. It was like the moment had taken on a life of its own, and we were just caught in its current. She had crumbled onto the floor, overwhelmed by how we were acting. I couldn't leave her there. I bent down and scooped her up, her body slack against me, and something in the way she folded into my arms shattered the last of my restraint.Her lips were right there, and I didn't think before kissing her. It wasn't soft or cautious. It was the kind of kiss that demanded more. Her lips pressed back against mine, but then she broke away, looking toward Linc. He was already behind her, his hands resting on her sides, his fingers dragging in slow, deliberate patterns on her growing belly. She looked caught between us, her breaths uneven as her eyes darted back to me. She was about to panic."You need us both, don't you? Just… just let it happen." My lips brushed hers again, desperate to pull her back to me.Her att
Declan’s breathing finally evened out, his tiny body curling against me in complete trust. I placed him back in his crib, smoothing the blanket over him as gently as I could. The nursery quieted again, leaving just the soft hum of the baby monitor in the corner.I turned to CeCe, still sitting on the floor near the crib. Her hands rested in her lap, and her focus stayed on Declan. “He’s fine now. You should go back to your room and get some sleep.”She hesitated, biting her lip. “Helena’s in there… busy.”I raised a brow. “Busy?”She shifted awkwardly. “With her boyfriend. I don’t really want to walk in on that.”I crossed my arms, leaning back against the edge of the crib. “Are they being safe?”“As best they can,” she admitted, looking at her hands. “The healers won’t exactly help with that kind of thing. It’s… hard to get what we need.”“That’s just the old traditions still lingering,” I explained. “The healers were scared of the old alpha and stuck to whatever rules kept them out
LINC - Her skin was soft and smooth beneath my hands as I traced the curves of her body. I felt the goosebumps rise on her skin as I kissed her neck. The way she responded to my touch left no doubt. She wanted me as much as I wanted her. We fit together perfectly. My fingers slid over her back, savoring the warmth radiating from her. She leaned into me, her breath feathering against my neck as I pulled her closer. Her hands roamed, exploring me in ways that made everything else dissolve into nothingness. The sound of her heartbeat thrummed against my chest, grounding me in the moment, in her. My mouth moved over her skin, tasting every inch. She arched under me, her body soft and eager. I pulled back just enough to look at her, but the shadows covered her face. "I need you," I murmured, letting my lips find hers again. The kiss built into something that made us feel endless. Like our bodies could melt together and become one. My body moved against hers as I growled against her
LILA - The knock startled me. My body stiffened as I clung to the remnants of composure, the ache in my chest almost unbearable. Cast turned off the shower and stepped out, grabbing a towel. I watched him wrap it around himself and head for the door. He seemed far too calm for this. "I've got it," he said, glancing back briefly.I didn't respond. The nausea still twisted in my stomach, and the bond with Linc burned at the edges of my mind, an unwelcome intrusion that wouldn't stop.Cast opened the door, sticking his head out just enough to block whoever it was from seeing inside. "I just finished showering, and Lila's getting cleaned up now. She threw up all over both of us," he explained, his voice casual like it wasn't a blatant lie. "I'll be out in a minute."I froze, heat flushing through me. Not from embarrassment but from pure fury.Before I could think twice, I grabbed a towel and stepped out of the shower, forcing down the bile rising in my throat. The lie was too much, and
CAST -The night stretched endlessly, each tick of the clock reminding me I wasn't going to sleep anytime soon. Tessa had adjusted my meds earlier in the week, upping the dosage just enough to screw with me. It wasn't the first night I'd spent like this, wide awake while the rest of the pack slept. It was starting to wear me thin.Kat, on the other hand, was out cold. Her body rested against mine, curled into my chest like she couldn't get close enough. The warmth of her breath skimmed my skin, steady and soft, the kind of rhythm that should've been calming. I trailed my hand over her back, tracing idle patterns out of habit more than intent.The room we were in wasn't really ours. It belonged to Lila, and she had Declan here, then briefly to me when I didn't have anywhere else to go. Now it was just "the extra," a placeholder no one had claimed outright. Yet, it was starting to feel like ours. Our stuff was scattered across the dresser and floor, the bed smelled like her shampoo, an
LINC - The road stretched ahead, cutting through familiar territory and leading us toward the human city. My eyes darted to the rearview mirror more often than I wanted to admit. Cast and Kat sat in the backseat, wrapped up in their own little bubble.Cast had her pulled against him, whispering something that made her shoulders shake with quiet laughter. Their heads tilted together, foreheads brushing occasionally, like they couldn't bear the thought of any distance.I told myself to be happy for them. They deserved it, after everything. But no matter how hard I tried, the sight made something twist inside me.Lila sat beside me, her hand resting lightly in mine, but it might as well have been someone else's hand for all the connection I felt. Her grip barely registered, her fingers slack against mine. She wasn't even pretending to care about the passing scenery. Her eyes stayed fixed on the window, distant and unfocused.I could feel the anxiety radiating from her, though she tried
LILA - Linc returned hours later without anything other than more exhaustion and cuts and bruises all over his body. He'd tracked over the entire property inch by inch and could not find Pheobe's scent anywhere else but in the nursery. It was unnerving, to say the least. The house felt different tonight. I moved down the hallway, trying to settle my breathing, trying to put the pieces together. Phoebe's scent, that unmistakable presence, was still here, still staining everything with questions. And I had to get to the bottom of it before it shattered the fragile ground Linc and I were walking on.The girl who smelled like Phoebe had been with Declan earlier, changing his diaper. Feeding him, burping him, and her hands all over him all day. She'd been in that nursery all afternoon. She'd never left, according to multiple people. I walked into the room where we'd confined her. I wouldn't allow them to keep her in the cold basement. She looked up, startled, and I could see her anxiet