I leaned against the car door as Indy pulled up outside my apartment. The exhaustion that settled over me wasn't just from the hospital stay.It was deeper than that. Weeks of stress had drained me, but I couldn't let it take over. I had to keep moving and stay strong, even if every part of me was screaming to rest.Indy parked, glanced at me and sighed. "Are you sure you want to do this? We could go somewhere else, maybe somewhere with fewer stairs.""I'm fine," I said. "I just want to be home.""Home," she repeated, eyeing the narrow staircase leading up to our second-floor apartment. "Alright, but take it slow."I nodded, opening the car door and stepping out. The first step was fine. The second, too. But by the time I reached the middle of the staircase, my chest was burning, and my legs felt like they were weighed down by lead. I gripped the railing, willing myself to keep going.Indy hovered nearby. "You sure you're okay?""I've got it," I insisted, forcing myself to take an
CAST I stormed through the gate of Selena's house. She'd gone too far this time, slipping copies of our old conversations under my office door, a veiled threat hanging between the lines. I'd had enough. No more games. No more manipulation. She couldn't control me anymore.The door swung open before I could knock, and there she stood, wearing that smug, calculated look I had grown to hate. "You always show up when you're mad," she said, stepping aside for me to enter.I didn't say a word, just pushed past her and walked inside. "You want to tell me what this is?" I asked, holding up the stack of papers. "What are you trying to pull now?"Selena didn't flinch. "I'm not pulling anything. I'm reminding you of what we had. What we could still have if you'd stop pretending like you don't need me."I laughed. "Need you? That's rich, Selena. This isn't about us. This is about control. Do you think you can blackmail me with these conversations? I've moved on. You should as well."She scoffe
LINCI stepped into my office, dropping my briefcase onto the desk, ready to wrap up the day. I barely had room to think between Lila's and Castor's never-ending mess. But I was getting close. So close to pulling her out of that damned prenup, close to finally getting her some peace. At least, I thought I was until I noticed the envelope. It sat on the floor, just inside the door, with my name scribbled on the front. No stamp, no sender. I tore it open, and a stack of printed messages spilled onto my desk. Selena's name was at the top of the first page. I skimmed the first lines. They weren't just old messages. They were dangerous. I dropped into my chair, scanning the pages. The texts were between Selena and Castor, going back years. But this wasn't about them. This was about Castor's family. His mother, to be exact. The more I read, the clearer it became. These weren't just complaints or idle thoughts. These were confessions. Castor had been venting to Selena, and he had no idea
CAST I stepped out of the car and stared at the estate, its looming walls suffocating even in broad daylight. The familiar anxiety tightened around me, knowing that woman controlled my entire world. I hated it. I hated that I couldn't do anything to stop it.The front door swung open before I could take a step. My mother stood there, hands clasped in front of her, wearing that icy, practiced smile. "Castor," she said, scanning me like a stranger."Mother." I climbed the steps. The moment I passed her, the door closed with a soft click behind me."She dropped something off," she said. I didn't ask who. I already knew. She followed me down the hallway. "Selena came by earlier."I stopped at the edge of her office door, my back still turned to her. "What did she want?"A pause. "To make sure I saw everything."Oh shit. I stepped inside, and the papers were on her desk. I didn't need to pick them up. I knew what they were. Printed copies of my conversations with Selena, every message
CAST I stood outside their apartment, my hand hovering over the door. It was 5 a.m. I knew I shouldn't have come here like this. Disheveled, a wreck, with nothing to offer but the mess that was my life. I wasn't thinking straight. I barely slept. But I needed to see Lila. That was all I could think about.The door swung open before I could knock. Indy stood there, still in her pajamas with her hair tied up. "What the hell, Castor?""Where's Lila?" I asked, stepping past her before she could stop me. "I need to see her."Indy moved in front of me, blocking my path. "She's not here."I froze. "What?""She couldn't make it up the stairs after she was released from the hospital. She was too weak, so…" She trailed off, rubbing her temples like she didn't want to deal with any of this. "Linc took her to his place."Linc? She went to him?I tried to speak, but nothing came out.It made sense. Of course, she wouldn't come to me. Coming back with me would mean coming back to my mother, and
Castor lay face down beside me, snoring loud enough to shake the walls. I sat up in bed, watching him, my fingers trailing slowly down his spine and then back up again. His breathing stayed steady, deep, as long as I kept the rhythm slow. He needed the sleep, and I didn't mind giving it to him, even if I couldn't sleep myself. I traced another line down the center of his back, feeling the warmth of his skin beneath my touch. My mind was a mess, as tangled as everything between us. How could I still want this? After everything, after all the hurt, I still felt this need to protect him. It wasn't fair. He didn't deserve it, not after everything he'd done. But here I was, trying to keep him from waking and give him peace when I couldn't find any myself. I glanced out the window as the light outside faded. I could feel it coming. Tonight was the full moon. Both Cast and Linc would shift. And now, Cast didn't have any pack land to do it on. My hand stilled on his back for a second,
The chains rattled as I locked Castor into his bay, the weight of the metal clinking against the cold concrete floor. Linc stood on the opposite side of the room, already securing his own cuffs. He didn't look at me, and I didn't say anything to him. This wasn't a moment for words. The full moon was high, and we had no time to waste. I stepped back, checking the locks once more. Both bays were old, built for emergencies, for wolves with nowhere else to go when the moon took hold. The building had been werewolf-owned for generations, and these cages were for situations just like this. I was relieved because I didn't have any other options tonight. Cast watched me as I moved between the cages. His eyes followed every step I took, the tension in his body growing with each passing second. Linc, on the other hand, had already closed his eyes. He was breathing slowly, preparing for the shift. They were both alphas, and I knew once they shifted, there wouldn't be anything calm about this.
It took them over an hour to shift back. I sat in that chair, frozen, as I watched them, their forms twisted and contorted in pain. I'd never seen it take this long. But I knew why.Both were alphas, fighting the shift with everything they had, refusing to back down. And both of them wanted me. They could sense that as wolves.Castor snarled, pacing inside his cage. Linc followed every movement. They couldn't shift back until they accepted the inevitable, and I could feel it dragging out, minute by minute. It felt like it would never end.Finally, they started to break. Castor's body began to change, the fur retreating, bones cracking back into place, his form shrinking into the man I knew. Linc followed soon after, the same agonizing process tearing through him. Their bones snapping echoed in the small basement, and I clenched my fists to avoid reaching out. I couldn't comfort them now. Not like this.When it was over, they lay naked and broken on the floor, both gasping for a
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
LINC - Phoebe's scent hit me hard, sharper, and more potent than ever before. It nearly dropped me where I stood, my wolf surging to the surface in chaotic waves. It rooted itself in my instincts and refused to let go. My entire body reacted violently, muscles tensing as my wolf clawed for control. I wanted to fight it, to reject every maddening urge it awakened, but the instincts were overwhelming. All I could think about was the need to hunt, to claim, to dominate. I hated all of it.The basement air carried the acrid tang of lingering shifts. The full moon always left its mark, draining energy from our bodies and our minds. I didn't want Lila away from me during the shift, but the plan had been the safest for everyone. She'd stayed upstairs with Declan while Cast and I had been confined below, locked in the reinforced cells to ensure no one else bore the brunt of our transformations.As my limbs ached from the shift, the exhaustion was intense. Knowing Declan was safe upstairs h
CAST - The morning of the full moon was chaotic. Lila was a mess, and it wasn't just her—it was everything. She was overwhelmed, emotional, and I could tell the energy from the twins was making everything worse. Her emotions bounced all over the place, and it was impossible to know what would set her off or calm her down. Linc and I spent most of the day in and out of the bedroom, trying to comfort her. She couldn't settle, and every time she reached a moment of peace, something seemed to bring the turmoil back.I knew why she was on edge, and so did Linc. The full moon brought too much baggage, especially after what happened with Jaed. Her need to protect Declan overrode everything else. She didn't want to leave him alone, not with the energy vibrating between all of us. Finally, when it was getting too late to keep waffling, she pulled me aside, her gaze distant as she looked toward Declan's room."I can't go. Wady is great, but I can't leave him." Her hand rested over her stomach.