CAST - The sterile scent of antiseptics always hit me first. It always snapped me back awake, no matter how tired I was. This hospital, with its polished floors and monotone walls, held too many memories. Linc’s room waited at the end of the hall, but the sight of her standing at the nurses’ station stopped me in my tracks.Kat. She’d been gone for weeks, ignoring every text I sent once the nurses told me she left on a leave of absence. Now she was here, calmly flipping through Linc's chart like nothing had happened.My breath stalled as the anger threatened to choke me. She looked the same. Sharp green eyes and dark hair pulled back in a way that framed her perfectly. Every text I sent about the baby went unanswered, leaving me to wrestle with the questions on my own. Seeing her now with so much energy ignited every frustration I’d tried to bury.I moved before I fully realized it, boots scuffing loudly against the floor. She turned slowly. Her eyes met mine, and the detachment th
CAST - We sat together on the bed, her hand gripping mine as she leaned into me through each contraction. Her body tensed with the rhythm of pain that came and went like waves crashing against a shoreline. I reached out through the bond, drawing the sharp edge of her pain into myself, giving her space to breathe, to endure."You're doing good," I whispered, brushing a damp strand of hair from her face. She didn't answer, just squeezed my hand tighter as the next contraction rolled through her. I held her steady, focusing every ounce of my strength on pulling the worst of it away from her.But something shifted. Her body jerked against mine, a strangled cry escaping her lips. The bond flared wildly, erratic and overwhelming, like a dam breaking. I staggered, trying to keep control, but the pain surged back into her with twice the force. Her grip slackened, her head falling back as her eyes fluttered open, unfocused."Lila?" My voice cracked. I pushed harder through the bond, pouring
CAST - He wasn't gone, but he wasn't here either. Just a hollow shell tethered to a string. I stood at the edge of his bed, staring at the faint bond that flickered between us, a fragile thread stretched too thin. There wasn't enough energy left between us for both. It was him or me. They needed him. As much as I needed him, needed Lila, needed the girls just as much as he did, they needed him more than they needed me. I ripped the dry-erase board off the wall so violently that some of the drywall came with it. I quickly scribbled a message. "Wake up. Lila is in labor and needs you. The twins need you. Go NOW!" I stared at the message. It wasn't enough. I had no idea if I would be able to tell them anything after this. I didn't know if I would even be anything after this. My hand shook violently as I added, "WARNING: WATCH MY MOM. SHE WANTS DECLAN. TO REPLACE ME. TAKE CARE OF HER" I hoped he would understand what I was saying. What I needed him to do. What I couldn't do myself
LINC - The chaos hit me the second I opened my eyes. The sounds around me were disjointed. The weird reverberating noises were filled with distant shouts and the piercing wail of monitors. It felt like waking in the middle of a storm with no memory of how I got there. Despite the haze, one thing was clear... I had to find Lila. The pull toward her was primal. Every fiber of my being demanded I get to her. To my girls. My body felt trapped between waking and drowning, my legs refusing to cooperate at first. Even so, I dragged myself forward, step by agonizing step. The walls seemed to pulse around me, each sound bouncing sharper off the next, but none of it mattered until a sound from behind drew my attention. I turned, catching sight of nurses rushing toward a figure sprawled across the floor. It was Cast, and I knew instantly what he had done, the idiot. He lay motionless, his face pale against the sterile tiles, and could not breathe for a second. They worked quickly, lifting him
LINC - The first cry made everyone in the delivery room pause. Hearing my daughter's first sounds cut through everything else still fogging up my mind. The doctor held the baby briefly, her tiny body trembling, slick with the effort of entering the world. Her arms flailed as she let out another wail that seemed to reverberate around the room. She was clearly strong and undoubtedly alpha. The nurse stepped forward to take her.I couldn't move. She was here. Our baby. My surroundings blurred as the emotions hit me. She was fragile and real, and somewhere in this chaos, Lila's strength carried us here. Lila and Cast got us here. While I was frozen, lost in the dark void I'd fallen into. I didn't even know how long I'd been out yet, but it didn't really matter at that point. I was here. Because of Cast and his foolishness, I was here, and just like last time... He wasn't.Life was rushing forward without delay, just as it had done when I was unconscious. Just as it had done when he stor
LILA - The cold, sterile lights above me blurred into a harsh, endless glow as the bed wheeled forward. My chest felt tight, my breath shallow and quick as the nurses moved around me. "It's normal," one of them said, her tone steady as she adjusted the IV line. "This happens more often than you'd think. One twin finds their way, and the other decides they're not ready. Don't worry, sweetheart. We're going to take care of you and that baby." I focused on what she said, on the idea that this wasn't an emergency, just something that happened sometimes. Still, the fear was hard to let go of. The baby was stuck. They had to cut me open. It wasn't the natural way. My mind spun, desperate to find something to cling to, some reassurance that I and this baby would make it through.If it were worse, Linc wouldn't have been so calm, I reminded myself. He'd be tearing through the walls, demanding answers, flipping beds, doing anything to fix this. That thought kept me from losing it entirely. L
LILA - The second baby came faster than I could process. It took longer to get me ready than to actually do the surgery and get the baby out. Maybe the nurse was correct. This happened every day and was totally normal. The room erupted into urgency as the doctor worked. My heart almost stopped when he looked up at the nurse. "The cord is wrapped around the neck. Three times. Please jump in as soon as the head is free. I will continue to work around you." I wanted to scream, to do something, but all I could do was watch the shadows behind the sheet in front of my face. Linc tightened his grip on the baby in his arms as he fought the urge to do something as well.As soon as the head was out, the nurses moved fast, loosening the cord one loop at a time. Every second dragged until a faint cry finally pierced the silence. I couldn't stop the tears. Linc didn't get the chance to cut the cord this time since they rushed to get it off her neck. I could tell he was sad about that. "She's a
LINC - I didn’t remember the drive home. The journey blurred into headlights and turns, each one blending into the next. Pulling into the driveway, I barely registered the strange feelings Cast being the alpha on my land brought. It made me realize that I was done with this whole switching back and forth bullshit. If we were going to constantly be trading off and trying to keep the family afloat, then we both needed to remain alpha. Both of us. I'm not sure how the council would see it, but at that point, I didn't really care.Selena burst out of the house. She stopped short in front of me and waved me inside, scanning me from head to toe before stepping aside.I moved past her into the house, my body heavy with exhaustion. I turned to her as she shut the door. “The girls? How are they? Are they okay? Wady said someone called to say that she was in labor.”I dropped onto the couch as I caught my breath. “They’re perfect. Two tiny fighters. Strong lungs. Healthy despite being early
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