“We’ll need to go to my pack’s land,” Linc said, his hand resting on mine. “The moon isn’t full, so we’ll need to be there for it to work.” He hesitated for a moment. “Plus, I want to take you somewhere special.”“Special?”He nodded. “It’s a place I used to go when I needed to calm down. It’s a bit of a mess now, but it meant a lot to me growing up.” I agreed, and we left the pond behind, heading deeper into the woods. The further we walked, the quieter everything became. The trees were thicker here. Everything was overgrown and untouched. It was subtle, but I could feel the shift in the air as we neared the border of his pack’s land. After a while, we entered a clearing. In the center stood the remains of an old house, or at least what was left. The roof had caved in, and thick vines tangled through the crumbling stone walls. Arches that once framed the structure now leaned to the side. The stone was weathered and broken. Despite its decay, the place had a kind of beauty.Like nat
CAST - I paced the empty house. The silence felt wrong. It didn't belong here. She didn't belong anywhere but here with me, but she was gone. She had left with Linc, and deep down, I knew that meant something I wasn't ready to face. She'd said she'd come back, but I wasn't stupid. This wasn't her just stepping out for a few hours. This was her walking out of my life. I had broken her. She wouldn't return. She shouldn't. If I had been in her shoes, I would've run from me too. I had ruined everything we had. Sitting in that silence, in the house I had bought for her, for our baby, was driving me mad. I couldn't just stand there, surrounded by the remnants of a life I had thrown away. So I started working on the house again, putting the nursery together, even though I knew deep down that she might never come back to see it. But it gave me something to focus on. Something other than the hole inside my chest where she had been. This house was supposed to be a home for her. For us.
Linc stood in front of me, so close I could feel the heat radiating from his body. I wasn’t used to feeling this way, but with him, it was different. I wanted more.He stepped closer, softly brushing the side of my neck with his fingers. My heart raced, but it wasn’t from panic. It was anticipation. I knew what he would do, and for the first time, I wanted it. I really wanted it. It was nothing like when Cast marked me. With Cast, I had been terrified, my body stiff with fear because deep down, I knew he hadn’t wanted me.Not then, not in the way I wanted him.But Linc… he wanted me.He leaned in, his breath warm against my skin, and kissed where my shoulder met my neck. I closed my eyes, letting the feeling wash over me. This was different. This was right. I had been scared before, unsure of what it meant to be marked, but now I understood. This was what it felt like to be claimed by someone who actually wanted you. Someone who saw you, wanted to be with you, and wasn’t just fu
LINC - I only thought I was starting to fall for Lila before I marked her. Those feelings, the pull I'd felt growing stronger day by day, were nothing compared to what slammed into me the moment my teeth sank into her skin. The bond between us snapped into place, flooding my senses with something deeper than anything I'd ever experienced. I was gone, completely. Head over heels, no going back. Even if she wasn't my fated mate, she was more than just a chosen one to me. There was something else. Something far more significant. I felt it in my bones, in the way every fiber of me screamed that she was mine. Not because of tradition or pack expectations but because I wanted her. I needed her. She was everything, more than I'd ever thought possible. I lay beside her, watching her sleep, my mind still reeling from the intensity of what had happened between us. Hours had passed since I marked her, since we had made love, yet I couldn't stop looking at her. The bond pulsed between u
CAST - I stared at my phone, the light from the screen blurring my vision. Hours of texting Selena had led me to this.A mess I couldn't seem to pull myself out of. Each message from her seemed to heighten my desperation, like I was reaching for a lifeline I knew I shouldn't take, but couldn't stop myself. She had promised everything. She'd bring all her devices, the cloud files, whatever incriminating texts or photos she had, and let me burn them. Right in front of her. She even offered to let me comb through her phone myself, to prove she had no other copies. I could check every single thing."Plus, if you mark me, you'll know if I'm lying," she reminded me. I didn't want to mark her. That much I knew. I didn't want her in my life at all, not now, not after everything that had happened with Lila. The thought of marking someone else was like trying to swallow broken glass. But the way Selena played on my fears, on my insecurities, was masterful. She always knew how to make me q
CAST - Linc texted me a pin to their new house. Theirs. That didn't take long. The message was simple. An address, no words, just the location of their new home. I floored the gas, racing toward the spot on my phone. I knew what I was walking into, but my mind was stuck in a loop. Lila was his now. I'd told myself I accepted that, but deep down, it tore me apart. As I got closer, I realized... The house wasn't just near his pack's land. It was practically on it. I couldn't believe how close it was. The trees that lined the road grew denser as his pack's scent filled the air. Linc had moved her right into his world, where I no longer had a say. I barely parked the truck before I was out and storming toward the front door. I was about to knock when the door swung open. Linc stood there, his eyes locked on me like he'd been waiting for this. Before I could speak, he grabbed my shirt and yanked me toward the shed at the back of the house. "Not here," he muttered, pulling me wit
I woke up on the couch, and it took me a second to figure out where I was. Linc's house. Our house. Linc wasn't there. The spot next to me was cold, and the house was silent. I sat up, rubbing my eyes, trying to shake off the grogginess. It was still night. I must have fallen asleep waiting for Cast to show up. I'd set up the spare bedroom for him earlier, knowing he'd need somewhere to crash if he actually came out here. Linc hadn't been thrilled about it. He didn't say much, but I could feel it. I couldn't leave Cast to self-destruct. Not again. Not when I knew where that road led. Right back with Selena. Even though I was head over heels in love with Linc now, something in me still needed to take care of Cast. It wasn't love, not anymore, but it was something. A deep connection that I couldn't just shake. That feeling messed me up. I stood up, wrapped the blanket around me, and wandered over to the window. Cast's truck was sitting in the driveway. He'd come. He hadn't go
LINC - I watched them both sound asleep, wrapped up on the couch together. Tangled up in a way that should have made me lose it. But now? It was different. There was nothing I could do but face the reality in front of me. I'd marked her, yes, and I felt our bond grow stronger every second. But she hadn't been given time to disconnect from him entirely. I knew that when I did it. I'd been impatient, pushing forward because I was sure of how I felt, even if she hadn't fully realized it yet. Now, I was left to deal with the consequences. Cast had hurt her in ways I couldn't fully understand, and yet she still cared for him. She loved him. That much was clear. No amount of marking or bonding with me would erase that. And the more I thought about it, the more I understood it wasn't a weakness on her part. It wasn't some flaw that she still held onto her love for Cast despite everything. No, it was a strength. A real strength that few people had. To care for someone after they had t
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.