LINC - I stared at Dr. Tessa's message, reading over her words for what felt like the hundredth time. She wanted Lila and me to come to dinner. My first instinct was to decline. Between parenthood, pack duties, and a lingering unease shadowing me lately, socializing sounded like the last thing I wanted to do. But Tessa had been there for me through some of the darkest points in my life. I respected her more than words could capture. If she wanted to meet Lila, it wasn't something I could just brush off. Lila stepped into the room, curious and concerned as she noticed me staring at my phone. "What's up?" "Tessa invited us to dinner," I mumbled. "She wants to meet you." Lila eyed me. "Sounds like a good thing, right?" "Yeah," I agreed, though something about the invitation unsettled me. Tessa had mentioned introducing us to her family for a while now. It was overdue, and she'd been such a tremendous help that meeting her family felt only fitting. "Then we should go," Lila shrug
I stared at my reflection, smoothing down the dress I'd picked out for tonight. It was simple, nothing too flashy, but something about tonight made me feel like I should have done more. Maybe it was the fact that we were going to meet Dr. Tessa and her family. Maybe it was how Linc had been acting a little off lately. Like he had something on his mind he wasn't ready to talk about. Or it was something he didn't even understand himself. I couldn't tell which. I turned away from the mirror, feeling the growing pit in my stomach. The feeling wasn't new. It had been creeping in for weeks now. Linc was still the same with me, still just as attentive and loving, but something was different. Even though he hadn't said anything, I could tell he was struggling with something. But I'd pushed it aside. We had a baby, a home, and a life together. This dinner was supposed to be fun, a chance to get out and socialize a bit. With adults. That was something that hadn't happened much s
LINC -The Marie estate stretched out before us, all grand and pristine. It was the kind of place that shouldn't have made me uneasy. Lila stood beside me, her hand brushing against mine as we approached the entrance. My mind buzzed with a strange anticipation I couldn't shake. I told myself it was just nerves, nothing more than that.We were greeted warmly and invited inside by Dr. Tessa and her husband. The house felt too perfect, too polished, but I pushed that thought aside. Tonight wasn't about me. It was about making connections, building alliances, and introducing Lila to more people I worked with.Everything seemed fine at first. Tessa's hospitality, her husband, Neal Marie, the pack Alpha of over 40 years, friendly welcome. And his comical explanation of how he remained of Alpha for so long. He was a formidable Alpha in his own right, but his wife dwarfed him in comparison. His human wife. He was a big enough man to admit that. She went out into the world and worked while he
LINC -Across the table, Tessa looked over to me and smiled. I couldn't shake the feeling she saw right through me, that she sensed the storm beneath my calm mask. Lila, catching my eye and smiled at me as she took my hand under the table. She seemed perfectly at ease, her laughter filling the spaces where mine should've been. Just like the perfect Luna would if her Alpha was distracted. Phoebe leaned forward, passing a dish to Harold, and I took a long sip of water, willing my pulse to slow down.I needed air. I needed to escape. But Lila glanced at me before I could make an excuse to leave."What's wrong?" she asked quietly. She could feel I was freaking out. Of course she could. How she was sitting there feeling this and still maintaining her composure was beyond me. I shook my head and tried to smile. "I'm fine."She wasn't convinced. "You've been off since we got here."I swallowed hard as panic rose in my chest. I couldn't tell her. Not here. Not now.Phoebe laughed, and I ten
LINC - I helped Lila back up to the house, barely holding it together as I tried to keep her steady. I managed a quick exit, explaining to Tessa that she'd started feeling sick. Tessa gave me a look but then tilted her head slightly and smiled. "She was glowing tonight. Get her home and into a hot bath, she'll feel better." That was enough to make me pause. I wondered if she knew somehow, if there was something she sensed that I hadn't picked up on.On the way out, there was no avoiding it anymore. Phoebe reached out for a quick handshake as we left, and I hesitated before reluctantly taking her hand. She was polite, but the second her hand touched mine, her eyes widened just enough that I noticed. She pulled back, quickly masking her expression with a calm "Thank you for coming." She knew something, and now I was sure.Phoebe was my fated mate, without a doubt. Lila was quiet as we headed to the car, too quiet. As soon as we were seated, she turned away, pressing herself tightly
LILA Linc drove silently, gripping the wheel so hard I thought he might break it. Outside, darkness smeared across the window, but inside, I felt like I was trapped, locked in by the words he'd said hours ago. Fated mate. Phoebe. He'd put it out there as if it was something simple, logical. Like it hadn't ripped through me like a jagged knife. We shouldn't have gone to that dinner. If I'd stayed home, I could pretend none of this was real, that the life we'd built wasn't dangling by a thread.How in the hell was she his fated mate? She was older than Cast's mom. Years older. If I had to guess, she was closer to 50 than 40. Hell, I was probably closer to her kid's age than hers. Why the hell had we come to that dinner? What had I done to deserve this all over again?He pulled into the pharmacy lot and cut the engine. "You can stay here if you want. I'll be quick," he murmured.I nodded and kept staring out the window. I was trying to focus on anything but the nausea still rolling t
LINC - I held Lila's hand, guiding her slowly toward the bathroom. My pulse pounded in my head, drowning out everything else. I didn't dare look at her or that test. Every instinct told me to brace for impact, but I had no idea what to do once I finally hit the ground.We stopped in front of the sink. I stared down, gripping the edge of the countertop hard enough to feel the rough grooves pressing into my palms. I couldn't look at her. Couldn't look at the test. I couldn't even look at myself. "Linc," she whispered. Her eyes remained fixed on the test sitting by the sink."Well," she murmured. "This is a big night for you, I guess."It barely registered. My entire world tipped sideways, like the ground had vanished beneath me. I sank down onto the bathroom floor. I was a free fall of fear and guilt and something close to joy. A fated mate I didn't want, and now this. This new life growing inside the mate I chose that I should be ecstatic about. But all I could feel was the rising pa
CAST - As soon as Lila's car pulled away, I scooped up Declan. I could still see that worried look in her eyes as she left, and it made me wonder if she thought I wasn't up to handling the night shift. But I had this. More than that, I wanted this. Time with just me and my son, no interruptions, no one else to lean on. Just us.I carried him to the living room, where I'd set up a large playpen space filled with new toys. I'd gone a little overboard, but I couldn't help it. Declan deserved everything, every advantage I could give him. The latest interactive learning toys were spread out, each promising to help with development, motor skills, focus, and more.I wanted him to have it all. I wanted him to grow up strong and smart. More than anything, I wanted him to know he had a dad who would do whatever it took to make that happen.Declan's eyes widened as he saw the array of colors and lights. I placed him on the bright play mat, surrounded by toys, and watched as he reached for a
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