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
I woke up to the door of the guest bedroom slamming open and Selena barging in like she owned the place. Castor shot up beside me, blinking against the morning light. He looked like a deer in headlights, unsure of what to do. But when he saw Selena standing there, his body tensed."What the hell?" I muttered, pulling the blanket tighter around me. Cast was already swinging his legs out of bed and standing up between me and Selena.Selena crossed her arms as she scanned the room. "You're both pathetic," she spat, locking on Cast. "You seriously chose her? After everything we had?""Selena, what are you doing here?" Cast's voice was rough, and I could feel the anxiety rolling off him. His fists clenched at his sides, but he didn't move toward her."What am I doing here?" She laughed bitterly, stepping into the room like she had every right to be there. "I came to remind you of a few things, Castor Roman. I was here first. I was the one you loved before she came into the picture. She i
I walked into Indy's apartment, the familiar creak of the door reminding me of all the times I'd escaped here before. This place had always been my refuge, the one spot where I could breathe without the weight of the world pressing down on my chest. But even now, it didn't feel like enough. Not after everything. Indy was on the couch, scrolling through her phone when I came in. She glanced up. "You look like hell." "Thanks," I muttered, kicking off my shoes and collapsing beside her. My stomach had been twisting in knots all morning, the nausea refusing to let up, and the exhaustion wasn't helping. "I feel worse." She tossed her phone onto the coffee table and turned to face me. "You know, you could make this much easier on yourself." I shot her a look. "How?" "You could just… not pick either of them." I sighed, leaning my head back against the couch. "That's what I'm trying to do, but it's not exactly working." Indy tilted her head, giving me that look that always tol
( CAST POV ) Selena barged into my office without knocking. I barely looked up from my desk. I didn't want to deal with her shit today. Or any day, for that matter. "Castor Roman... We need to talk," she said. She was acting all sweet and never used my full name unless she wanted something. I sighed and leaned back in my chair. "Selena, I don't have time for this. I'm busy." She dropped a thick folder onto my desk, the papers spilling across the wood. I didn't need to open it to know what was inside. Copies of the texts. Every single damn message I'd ever sent her during our relationship. The years when I said whatever I needed to just to keep her quiet. "You should make time," she hissed, crossing her arms as she stared at me. "Because if you don't, everyone will know what you said about Lila and precious widow Roman." "You've already shown them to both, haven't you? What more do you want?" She smirked. "I want you. I want what we used to have. You remember, don't you, C
DECLAN - We took the long way back to the packhouse. It took far longer than the ten minutes I'd agreed to. Suki was going to give me hell for that. She’d probably time it down to the second and bring it up at dinner, then again at breakfast. I was already prepared to ignore the first three times before I gave in to whatever atonement she had planned. Honestly, I was looking forward to the punishment. Gaia and I fell into old habits. She challenged me to spot tree knots shaped like animals. I told her she was making them up when she did. She called me arbitrary and pronounced it correctly. I lobbed a pinecone at her head. She caught it, grinned, and tucked it into my hood when I wasn't looking. It was familiar. Just two people who used to know every inch of each other, finding the quiet rhythm again without forcing it. When the porch came into view, I slowed. "You and Dorian should stay," I paused. "The east wing at the Roman packhouse is yours if you want it. No strings. Just.
DECLAN - "I'm sorry." I looked over. She kept her eyes forward. Hands shoved into the front pocket of her hoodie. Shoulders stiff. We walked side by side. The trees closed in around us while the porch lights faded behind. Neither of us said anything for a long time. Our feet crunched through the undergrowth. The breeze rolled between us. I didn't try to close the space. Neither did she. But neither of us veered away either. The remains of the old house peeked through the trees. Blackened beams and collapsed stone still scattered across the clearing. A skeleton. A memory. "For how I rejected you. And for not telling you why." I didn't answer until we reached the house. "You didn't just reject me. You vanished." She flinched. "I know." "So why?" She took a deep breath and stopped walking. Her eyes stayed on what was left of the front steps. "I'd gotten the call. The implant was finally approved, and they found a werewolf doctor who could do it. It was scheduled. It was final
DECLAN - That was her fated mate.It was written in the way he tracked her every move, in how he hovered just close enough to guard but not crowd. His posture said protector. His eyes, sharp and constantly scanning, said no one would get within reach unless she wanted them to. He moved like he'd been made for that role. Like every instinct in his body had clicked into place the moment he met her.He moved like he already belonged next to her.Judson finally spoke. "This going to be a thing now? Fated mates falling out of the sky onto your porch?" Then he squinted. "Wait. No way. Dorian?"The other man stepped forward, arms crossed. "Judson."Judson huffed. "Damn, talk about the sky falling. Of course it's you."Gaia looked between them. "Wait. How do you know him?"Judson tilted his head toward Dorian but didn't look away. "Med school. He was top of the class. Never let anyone forget it. Ever."Dorian crossed his arms. "And you were always one sarcastic comment away from getting kic
DECLAN - "You're not gonna pout if I drink the last one, are you?"Judson didn't even glance over. "Only if you waste it."I reached for the bottle closest to him, smirking when he didn't try to stop me.Crickets chirped loudly in the trees. The house behind us had finally gone still. It was peaceful.A lazy row of empty beer bottles lined the railing like some halfhearted scoreboard. Judson leaned back again, one ankle hooked over the other, shoulders loose. That rare kind of settled that only happened when nothing needed to be said.We were both quiet. Not the kind of silence that needed filling, just the kind that held space. The kind that made it really easy to notice how much I liked having him here. Judson wasn't soft, but he didn't crowd either. There was something about the way he held space, like he understood exactly how not to mess it up. I hadn't realized how rare that was until I felt it.Until headlights swept across the tree line.Judson didn't move, but I straightened
DECLAN - I squinted. "So... you left your pack?"Judson shook his head. "Not really. My sister's mate stepped in. Human guy, believe it or not. Doctor. Weirdly chill. He helps now with the medical side, which freed me up to go to college and train properly. They all said it made sense. I guess... I just haven't thought much about what I was gonna do after."He paused, then shrugged. "Now I get it. I wasn't supposed to leave the South yet. I was supposed to be here. Meeting her. If I'd been back in North Carolina, this wouldn't have happened. Or it would've taken years."He looked out toward the trees. "So no. I didn't leave them. I just followed where I was needed next."I blinked. "You live on the Riverwalk."He grinned. "I know. Kind of perfect, right? It's loud on the weekends and peaceful at sunrise. Plus, amazing food within walking distance."I stared at him.He raised his bottle. "Look, I didn't plan to meet my mate while helping chart bloodwork samples in a borrowed lab, but
DECLAN -When we pulled into the driveway, Dad and Linc were already waiting.They didn't speak, but I felt something in the way they stood there. At the time, I'd figured they were just sizing up Judson, doing the protective dad routine. But now, after everything Judson had said, it clicked in a way that made my chest feel too tight.They already knew.Not just about Judson. About what he might be. About how important he was going to be. Just like they'd known about Mom. Just like they'd kept it all quiet. For me.I'd spent so long thinking I was figuring all of this out on my own. That the timing was random, or fate, or whatever the hell else. But maybe it wasn't. Maybe Cassy hadn't just guided me.Maybe my whole damn family had. Perhaps they'd been walking beside me the entire time, keeping quiet so I could come to it on my own.Judson wasn't the surprise.I was.They stood at the edge of the porch, arms crossed, matching unreadable expressions locked in place. The second we still,
I stepped forward and stifled the growl as best I could. "Hey. Get up. Now!"The guy startled awake. "What?"Tory shot up in the bed, wide-eyed. "Declan, no! No, wait! This is... this is Judson."She looked panicked. But not afraid. Not at all."He's... he's my..."I stopped. Everything shifted. I looked at her. Looked at him. Looked back."You're mate."She nodded.I took a breath. Held it. Then stepped forward and stuck out my hand. Judson stood, still looking like he expected me to deck him. He shook my hand. I shook his harder.Tory glanced between us, then spoke up. "He's a nurse practitioner here. Was walking past the ICU when I first came in. Caught my scent in the hallway and almost dropped his coffee."Judson rubbed his hand where I'd gripped it "I tried to play it cool. Avoided eye contact, walked the long way around, you know, the usual 'don't poke the angry fathers and big brother' protocol. I thought I was being slick about it too. Barely even looked at her. Just nodded a
We didn’t leave the woods.Not that day. Not that night. I didn’t want to, and neither did she.We ran until our legs trembled. We played, circling and snapping at each other’s heels, tackling and wrestling in the mossy patches of clearing. We swam again, slower this time, more tangled up in each other than anything else. We lay in the grass and the sun, curled together, drowsy and content.And then we shifted.Over and over.Human, wolf, back again. Each shift smoother than the last. No moon. No pain. Not really. Not like the pain I had braced for my entire life. Just choice. Pure choice and ability. The power that came with it was almost addictive. I always wondered what they meant when saying the power overtook the pain. It was raw. It was strong. I loved it.And I loved her.We didn’t talk much, not out loud. But we didn’t need to. We were in each other's heads and had no plans to leave. When we shifted back to skin, we couldn’t stop touching. Couldn’t stop reaching. It was like
It hit all at once.One second I was halfway to my knees, still trying to breathe through the pull of her shift. The next, my ribs cracked outward and my body folded. I didn't fall. I collapsed.The pain was nothing like the moon-forced change I'd endured before. This wasn't guided or timed. This was raw. A hundred fractures all at once, my limbs pulling and twisting, muscles screaming as they rearranged.I couldn't stop the sound that tore out of my throat."Cassy!"I didn't even know what I was asking. Just that I was begging. My mind reached for her. I was desperate and frantic.Her voice came, faint and steady."You're never selfish, so you would've never asked."Bones popped in my jaw. My fingers stretched, then broke, shifting in crooked bursts. I slammed my hand into the dirt and gritted my teeth against the next snap. My skin burned. My eyes blurred.Oh shit.Did she make me...Cassy... Did you do this?Another bone cracked somewhere deep in my back, cutting the thought in hal