LILA - We made our way through the winding Louisiana roads. To my surprise, the twins were doing incredibly well. Hardly a peep from either of them and that included on the plane. Tory remained alert, her curious eyes darting to everything that caught her attention while Roxy slept. I had braced myself for chaos on this sudden trip, but it was proving to be the opposite. Kael and Knox Monroe sat in the front of their large SUV as we drove. Their strong alpha presence was impossible to ignore. Even from the backseat, their sheer potency commanded attention in a way that sent ripples through me. I had once thought Linc and Cast were the most commanding men I’d ever meet. But these two were something entirely different.The country had always been divided. The regular werewolves stayed along the coasts, and the interior belonged to the Lycans. I had never been around their kind before. The energy they carried felt ancient and untamed, yet honed with precision. It wasn’t just their stre
LILA - Teddy grabbed the stack of buckets from the boat and turned to us with a grin. “Y’all stayin’ for supper? Reckon we’re gonna fix up a feast tonight.” His thick Cajun accent rolled off his tongue, and I had to blink a few times to catch all the words. “I’m sorry, can you say that again?”He grinned and exaggerated his following words, his accent nearly gone. “I said, are you all staying for dinner?”I nodded quickly. “Oh, yes. Definitely. Thank you.”“What’s for dinner?” Teddy slung the buckets over his shoulder with a grin. “Crawfish boil. Best you’ll ever have, you. Fresh from the traps this mornin’. Y’all are in for a treat.”“Really? I’ve never had that before,” I admitted.“Never?” Teddy stopped in his tracks, his shock exaggerated as he winked at me. “Well, ain’t you lucky you showed up here? Can’t get fresher than this, cher. You’ll be ruined for anythin’ else after tonight.”Phin laughed and muttered something quick and low in Cajun French, too fast for me to catch. Te
LINC - Helping Teddy and Phin with the crawfish wasn’t something I thought I’d find enjoyable, but there was something satisfying about the process. We worked side by side, sorting through the wriggling creatures as Phin gave instructions in that fast-paced Cajun drawl I struggled to keep up with. Cast moved quickly, dropping the good ones into the buckets and tossing the rest into the discard pile. Teddy whistled a tune, occasionally throwing in a teasing remark that sent Phin into a rapid burst of words, blending Cajun and French so quickly I could barely catch half of it.“Y’all gettin’ the hang of it. Not bad for first-timers. Don’t let Phin scare ya. He’s all bark.” Teddy grinned, tossing another crawfish into the bucket.Phin muttered something sharp and quick, earning a laugh from Teddy. Cast shook his head but didn’t stop working.“What’s next?” Cast hoisted one of the buckets, ready for the next step.Teddy gestured toward the tubs. “Now we let ‘em soak. Gotta clean ‘em up g
CAST - I lay on my back, arms resting behind my head as Lila straddled me, her mouth trailing over my mark with slow deliberation. Her touch burned into my skin, each kiss leaving a trace of something deeper, something undeniable. She knew exactly what she was doing, taking her time and making sure I felt every bit of it. Then she stopped.She shifted slightly, glancing toward Linc, who sat beside us on the bed, watching."Kiss my neck. Or his."Linc exhaled sharply. His hesitation was brief, but I caught it. He adjusted, moving closer. "Uh... okay."He leaned in, brushing his lips over the mark on her neck. The position put him right next to me, our faces only inches apart. His breath ghosted against my cheek, the proximity impossible to ignore. I stayed still, unsure whether to move or let it play out. There was an awkwardness to it, but not in the way I expected.Then the ridiculousness of the moment hit me, and laughter burst from my chest before I could stop it. Linc jerked back
LINC - Lila’s lips moved against mine. It had been too long since she and I had been together, and the bond was aching from the time apart. But this was different. This was the first time all three of us had come together like this. I regretted fighting it last time when she marked him. I thought it would cause issues between us. All it did was put off everything for months. Now, only one piece remained unfinished. Cast.He had marked Lila. I had marked Lila. She had marked both of us. But Cast and I had never taken that step.Now, with everything between us, with Tory, the impact of it hit me full force.A groan escaped as I gripped Lila’s body, holding her back against my chest as she rolled her hips against him. Cast lay beneath her, moaning and growling as she rolled her hips. My lips trailed from Lila’s to her neck, brushing against the place I had marked. I bit down gently, and she shuddered between us. So did he.A sharp gasp broke from her lips as she rocked into him, the r
LILA - Linc groaned dramatically, stretching his arms behind his head. "You know, I think this makes me the luckiest guy alive."Cast scoffed, shifting closer to both of us. "You? I was the one under you two. Pretty sure that makes me the winner here."I laughed as my body was still tangled between them. "So what does that make us now? A perfect triangle?"Linc rolled onto his side, propping his head up with his hand. "A damn good one. No weak links, no half-bonds. Just us."Cast hummed, his fingers tracing the mark on my neck before sliding over Linc’s. "Feels different, doesn’t it? Like we’ve always been this way, and we were just waiting to catch up."I closed my eyes, the bond between us buzzing beneath my skin. I could feel them both. Every lazy heartbeat, every slow breath, the steady warmth of love wrapping around all of us. It wasn’t just about me. They were connected too, their bond as deep and intense as what I shared with them.Linc smirked, nudging Cast’s thigh with his k
LINC - I hadn't expected it to hit me so hard. Loving him. Loving all of them. It wasn’t slow or cautious. It was immediate, absolute. I’d never wanted something so much, never been so sure of anything. This was us. This was our family. This was what I was fighting for, even when I wasn't aware of it. Walking up to the packhouse, I felt the change in him before I even looked over. He carried himself differently. Cassy barely waited for us to make it up the steps before her attention locked onto him. "You should stay out here, talk to me," she urged, waving him toward the porch steps. "We’ve got a lot to go over, and I have a feeling your two and mine are going to be lifelong friends." She tipped her head toward the twins inside. "Might as well get ahead of it and start making sure their parents are solid too." She wanted to talk. Needed to.Phin sat on the porch with Viv curled up against his side, a bottle of beer balanced on his knee. Teddy had his own, his cheeks already flushed
CAST - Cassy’s eyes dropped to the mark on my neck. "Didn’t take long."I rolled my shoulders, the lingering sensitivity from Linc’s mark still settling into my skin. "It’s been a long road."She leaned against the railing as she studied me. "Mom picked you for Lila, you know. I took over right about the time she walked in and saw you with Selena. That moment hit me harder than almost anything I’d ever felt from one of my subjects. For a split second, her heartbreak was stronger than any other wolf in the world. That’s what made me pay attention. It was more than pain. It was total devastation and from someone as strong as her? It was hard not to take notice. That was when I knew she would never truly leave you, no matter how much she wanted to. She knew in her heart she belonged with you."That memory clawed at my senses. "I was a different person back then. An idiot. Almost threw everything away." My throat burned from just speaking the words out loud. The thought of losing what I
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