LILA -I straddled Linc, keeping him pinned to the bed. I slid my fingers through his hair and leaned in until I was sure he could feel my breath on his skin. "You're mine," I whispered as my lips grazed his ear. "And I think you need a reminder."He tensed, his breathing sharp as I grabbed a fistful of his hair. I jerked his head back hard, exposing his throat to me. He fought it with a deep growl but didn't break free. He stayed still, his chest rising and falling fast against mine as I hovered over him.I rested my lips on the mark and slowly traced it with my tongue. He growled again, and it made me shiver when I felt it vibrate through the skin on his neck. I couldn't help the low growl in response. I let it vibrate against his skin. He reacted with a shudder as he rolled his hips up into me. I grabbed his hair tighter and yanked back."Stop," I said firmly as I held him still. "I'm in control here. You don't get to take over."He looked like he was about to challenge me. That
LINC -My whole body burned under her as she lowered herself onto me, moving with the slowest, most deliberate control. Every nerve and sense was alive and raw, and I couldn't do anything but let her take the lead.I gave in, my whole body surrendering to her.She moved slowly, rolling her hips, drawing out every second in agonizing detail. I gritted my teeth, trying to keep the control I had left. But even that started slipping as she lowered herself further, dragging me into her rhythm."Lila," I groaned, feeling her power radiate through her, knowing that she loved seeing me desperate and raw like this.She leaned down, her lips hovering inches from mine, close enough to drive me mad. "You want a kiss?" Her tone was teasing, commanding, everything I craved and couldn't resist. "Then lift yourself up. I want you to earn it."I forced my back off the bed until my face hovered just below hers. I stayed in place, holding myself in that half-sit-up position."Good," she murmured. "Now s
LILA - I sat up, leaning against the headboard, watching Linc sleep. He was face-down, his arm tucked under his head in the way he always did when he was stressed. His face looked peaceful, but I knew him too well to believe it. Most alphas slept like this when they were under strain—some instinct in them sought the earth, grounding them when their wolves felt restless or cornered. Tonight, I'd left him spent, utterly exhausted, but still... he lay there tense, his fingers gripping the pillow, his whole body in that defensive position.The mate bond had that kind of grip on him, even after everything we'd just shared. He'd told me...over and over...that he didn't want Phoebe. That he only wanted me, our life, and the future we were building together. I believed him, I did. But I also knew what it was like to have a mate pull on you, that feeling that hummed under your skin, no matter how hard you fought against it. I knew how real that pull could feel, how persistent, how overwhelmi
LINC - My phone buzzed, dragging me from sleep. I reached over automatically, thinking maybe Lila had gone to check on Declan and needed help. I picked up my phone, barely registering what I was doing, before pressing it to my ear."Hello?"Silence.Then I heard breathing.I stiffened, the familiarity prickling at my senses. Then it hit me.I'd answered a call from Phoebe. My stomach twisted with dread and guilt instantly. How the hell had I picked up? I forced myself to breathe, to shake off the grogginess, but I couldn't bring myself to hang up."Phoebe?" The name slipped out.She hesitated like she hadn't expected me to answer. "I texted you earlier. I thought you'd respond."I exhaled sharply. I'd seen her message. I'd even looked at the photo Selena sent with her in it, but I'd ignored it, hoping she'd take the hint. I deleted it all. I'd done everything right, yet it seemed nothing would stop this mess from continuing. "Phoebe, I didn't respond for a reason. I've been trying
LILA Linc sat there, rubbing his jaw like he had something stuck under his skin. I stayed silent, allowing him to say whatever made him look like he'd swallowed a rock. Finally, he sighed and mumbled, "I answered a call from Phoebe."I blinked, my brain stalling as it tried to process that. "You… answered her call?"He nodded as his shoulders slumped. "Yeah. I thought it was you calling. I just picked up without thinking."That prickled at all my senses. The fact that she'd succeeded at getting to him made me hate this whole thing even more. She's older, way older than us. Why didn't she take the hint and move on? "What did she want?" I forced the question out."She… she wants to meet." He struggled to keep looking at me. "Tomorrow, before the full moon."I had to force my breathing steady. "You said yes, didn't you?"I could see his frustration as he ran both hands through his hair, making it stick straight up. It only added to the wild mess he looked like right now. "Lila, I cou
The morning hit me hard. Nausea twisted in my stomach, and I barely reached the toliet before everything came up. Today was going to be hell, and my body wasn't even letting me pretend otherwise.Cast had already agreed to come with us, and I was grateful he hadn't even hesitated. Linc was out front, tying up last-minute pack duties before we'd leave. Just the thought of facing Phoebe and Selena made me queasy all over again. Just as I finished applying makeup, Cast appeared in the doorway, holding Declan. I looked up, catching his eyes in the mirror. "You can come in here, you know." He stepped inside, shifting Declan in his arms as he sat beside me on the small makeup bench. His leg pressed against mine, and just like that, the nausea disappeared. His hand slipped into mine, and I sighed."I'm scared," I admitted.He pressed closer. "I know.""It's not just about Phoebe or the bond," I continued. "It's the fear of what fate will do. Remember how hard it was for us? How intense
LINC - Every step I took pulled me farther from Lila, further from the only thing I wanted. I'd promised her I'd do this, to set things right, but with each step toward Phoebe, I felt the strain between promises and instincts tearing at me, testing the limits of my resolve.Phoebe was waiting. The evening light softened the lines of her face, casting her in a glow that made her seem almost ethereal. She looked so at ease, a calm I couldn't understand, given the significance of what we were about to do. I wondered if she was as conflicted as I was, or if she was somehow prepared in ways I wasn't.She studied me in silence, then spoke with a quiet curiosity. "Do you ever wonder what would have happened if things had gone differently? If this bond would have brought us together sooner?""I have," I admitted. "But the only answer I ever find is that I wouldn't change a thing. Lila's my choice, my future, my everything. I'd choose her again and again."Phoebe sighed and looked away. "I lo
LINC - The ride back from the rehab felt longer than the journey out, but that was probably just my mind, twisting everything around as it tried to process the past few hours. Cast drove quietly. I sat in the backseat next to Declan's car seat, with Lila on his other side. I reached out and found her hand over the top of the seat. Her fingers intertwined with mine.I leaned my head back against the seat and closed my eyes. My mind buzzed with a strange energy. There was this dull ache inside me, the phantom feeling left over from severing the bond with Phoebe. I couldn't quite shake the discomfort. Maybe I'd expected the rejection to feel more like a relief, but it didn't. What I'd felt for her had torn away violently, leaving behind raw edges. I didn't regret it, not even for a second.Lila didn't say anything, nor did I. She squeezed my hand occasionally. She could feel whenever my thoughts started to spiral and would pull me back without a word. Every so often, I opened my ey
Gaia lunged at him. Ian didn't move. He braced himself, standing firm as her massive form slammed into him. The force of it sent a shockwave through the ground. He held his position, absorbing the impact, pushing her back with raw strength alone. His white fur bristled. Gaia struck again, snapping at his throat, but he dodged, twisting at the last second to drive her off balance. She hit the dirt hard, paws digging into the earth as she pushed herself back up in an instant. Her entire body shook, not from exhaustion but from pure, unchecked aggression. Ian snarled, lowering his stance, but he didn't strike back. He didn't need to. He was blocking her, stopping her, keeping her from finishing what she had started. Something shifted in Gaia. Her breaths came hard, her body still wound too tight, but the moment stretched longer, stretched too long. Then, finally, she stopped. Ian didn't move, waiting, making sure she was really done. I didn't wait. The second she hesitated, I forced
DECLAN -The trees blurred past as Gaia ran, powerful and sure beneath me. I gripped her fur tighter, not because I was afraid but because I had never felt anything like this. The wind cut sharp against my skin, my pulse pounded in my ears, and my body moved in sync with hers like we were built for this. Everything in me buzzed with adrenaline, with the rush of speed, the sheer force of her muscles coiling and flexing beneath me. Then I saw it. A shadow slipped between the trees, fast and silent, keeping pace with us. Suki. Not now. Not like this. I silently begged her to stay back, to leave this moment alone, to not push this any further than it had already gone. But she didn't. Her wolf stayed just on the edges of my vision, always there, always lingering, never letting me forget what was still tangled inside me. The pull. The connection that refused to break, no matter how much I willed it to disappear. Then Gaia saw her. Her muscles coiled. A ripple of tension passed through
DECLAN -I made it back to the house just as Gaia came tearing out the front door, furious. She was barely holding herself together. The second she saw me, she yanked her shirt over her head. My brain barely caught up. I froze as every muscle in my body seemed to ripple at once. I was still reeling from being near Suki. From the way she looked at me. From the way my body reacted even when my mind told me I belonged to Gaia. The confusion pulled me in opposite directions, turning every second into a battle. And now Gaia was storming toward me, tearing off her clothes, taking up every bit of space in my mind. "Damn, Gaia." I snapped my head to the side, forcing myself to look anywhere but at her. She stalked closer, bare feet kicking up dust. I frowned. Why the hell were her shoes off? She had stormed out of the house so fast that she hadn't even thought to put them on. That wasn't like her. She grabbed my chin and jerked my head forward. "We... werr 'dults. We... need to stop act
DECLAN - Suki stretched out on the rock beside me, legs extended, fingers tapping idly against the stone. She wasn't in a rush, and that only made everything worse for me."Why are you upset?"I stared at the dirt, exhaling hard. "You don't want to know.""Please. You rejected me. Nothing else you say can be worse than that."That shouldn't have hit as hard as it did. My hands tightened against my knees, but I kept my voice even. "Yeah... Sorry for that too."She shrugged like it didn't matter. "You did what you had to do. That doesn't mean I can't tease you about it."She smiled, not mean, not teasing, but something about it still made it impossible to ignore. I didn't push. Couldn't. Not right now.Some of the pressure in my shoulders eased. "You're handling it better than I thought.""What, did you expect me to run off crying?" She kicked a loose rock down the slope. "I don't do the whole helpless thing."I huffed. "I know. Takes a lot of strength to live out here on purpose all t
DECLAN - Mom knocked once before stepping inside, moving like she expected this to be a fight. Maybe she did. Maybe it was."Your dads worked out a deal with Jaed."I stayed where I was, back against the headboard, arms locked around Gaia. Keeping her here. Keeping her mine. "Doesn't matter. Nothing is changing."She did her best to ignore my attitude. "Gaia can still stay until her birthday."I scoffed. "You heard what I said. She was staying regardless of all the bullshit."Gaia sat up fast, then shoved off the bed completely. "Don't talk to your mother like that."Heat crawled up my spine fast. A burn that made my stomach wrench. Being called out pissed me off. Being called out by someone below me? Made my teeth ache.And I hated that I felt like that.Mom just watched, waiting. No reaction, no expression, no wasted effort. My breath felt thicker, slower, body bracing for something I wasn't even sure of. I forced my attention back to her instead of the fire sparking hot under my s
DECLAN - Jaed turned on his heel and stormed out, steps heavy enough to shake the floor. The door slammed hard enough to rattle the frame. Gaia moved fast, pushing out of the room after him without looking back. My body still burned, everything wound so tight I thought I might snap in half. There was no way in hell I was walking out there right now, not like this. I sat on the edge of the bed, planted my feet, and dragged both hands through my hair before forcing them down. If I kept doing that, it would only make everything worse. I needed to get it together. I needed to think about something else. Anything else. My breathing was too hard, too uneven. My pulse pounded in my ears. My entire body ached, my skin too hot, my blood thick and heavy. Every inch of me still screamed for her, for more, for everything I had been seconds away from having. I stared at the ceiling and tried to focus. No good. Every thought ran straight back to her. To the way she had felt pressed against m
DECLAN - By the end of the lesson, most of them had the alphabet down. It wasn't perfect, but it was a start. More than that, it was proof that this was happening. That Gaia was becoming part of us, not just some outsider with no way to connect.As the room emptied out, I felt her before she even touched me. Gaia slid her arms around my waist from behind, pressing herself against my back."You're incredible," she signed against my chest, looking up at me.I swallowed. Hard. "Come on," I muttered, taking her hand and pulling her toward my room.The second the door shut behind us, she was on me. She dragged me down to meet her lips. I didn't hesitate. I kissed her hard, ignoring the dull ache still lingering in my ribs. My shoulder moved without protest, and most of the cuts had already faded into thin scars. I knew I should still be careful, but touching her made everything else disappear. The soreness, the exhaustion, the remnants of pain all vanished the second she was in my arms.S
I found Cast and Linc in the office, going over some pack reports. Linc leaned back in his chair while Cast was half-standing, flipping through pages with a scowl. They barely looked up when I walked in, but I didn't care. I had something to say, and they were going to listen."We're starting ASL classes," I said, crossing my arms. "Everyone is required to attend. That includes both of you."Linc's brow lifted slightly, and Cast set the papers down with an exasperated sigh. "You're giving us orders now?" Cast asked, folding his arms over his chest."Yes."They exchanged a look. Linc sighed first. "Declan, you don't get to just..."I cut him off. "I do. And I am. This should've happened the second we knew Gaia was deaf. Jaed made sure every single person in his pack knew how to communicate with her before they moved there. But here? We're still scribbling on notepads like it's the Dark Ages."Linc's jaw tightened. Cast clenched his teeth, looking more annoyed than guilty. But I wasn't
Life felt strange now. Not bad. Just different.The routine of school was gone, replaced by the quiet predictability of home. I woke up early, trained with Dad Cast and some of the others, then spent the rest of the day doing whatever needed to be done around the packhouse. The only difference now? I was healing far faster than I should have been.The gashes along my ribs had already started closing. My shoulder still ached, but nowhere near what it should have been given the damage Suki had done. Even the deep bruising felt more like old aches instead of fresh wounds. It was fast. Too fast.Gaia noticed it first. She was there when I peeled off my shirt after training, her eyes narrowing as she reached out, fingers barely brushing over the nearly-healed claw marks."That’s not normal," she signed, eyes flicking up to mine.I already knew that. "I heal fast now that I'm an adult alpha?""Not this fast," she countered . "Do you think,"I exhaled. "It’s you."She nodded slowly. "We heal