I sat on the porch, the cool night air offering a brief relief from the stifling house. Linc had fallen asleep not long ago, exhaustion pulling him under despite the mess we were still trapped in. He needed the rest. The baby didn’t care about that. My belly felt tight, the little one shifting and rolling like it had decided tonight was a good time for gymnastics. I rubbed a hand over my stomach, trying to calm him down. He was going to be a strong Alpha, and he was making sure I knew it.The creak of the porch door behind me didn’t startle me. I’d known he would come out here eventually. Cast stepped onto the porch and lowered himself to the step beside me, his shoulder brushing mine. For a moment, neither of us said anything. We didn’t have to.“He asleep?” Cast asked after a while, glancing back toward the house.I nodded. “Like he should be. His body’s still a wreck.” I paused, exhaling slowly. “But the baby wouldn’t let me stay still up there with him any longer, so I came down
LINC - I knew Cast was coming before I even saw him. The drag in his steps gave him away. His heavy steps echoed through the house. I stayed seated at the kitchen table, trying not to wince every time I shifted. The bruises and cracked ribs from my fight with Astin hadn't let up. Every inch of me felt like it was screaming, reminding me of how badly I'd lost.When Cast finally stepped into the kitchen, he hesitated for a second. He didn't speak, just stared. I didn't have the energy to argue and wasn't in the mood to deal with his silent brooding. Instead, I gestured to the chair across from me. He dragged it out."We need to talk," he finally grumbled as he dropped into the seat."Yeah, no kidding," I muttered. Everything hurt, and I wasn't in the mood for small talk.Cast rubbed his face, and I saw the dark circles under his eyes. He looked like hell, just as bad as I felt. "I told Lila already," he began, his words slower than usual. "I marked Selena. Lila and I… we're done. For
The new house felt cold and unfamiliar. It didn't matter that we'd spent the last couple days moving in. Nothing about this place felt like home. Boxes were scattered everywhere, half-unpacked, like we hadn't committed to staying here. I didn't know if I could.I stood in the living room, staring at the mess of belongings. Nothing fit. Nothing belonged. We were forcing ourselves into this house, into this situation. The air felt heavy, and I struggled to breathe, pushing that thought down as I absently rubbed my belly. The baby moved, a subtle kick that brought me back to the present. I had to do this for him. It wasn't just about me anymore.Linc was in the master, probably trying to figure out where everything went, though I doubted he had any more answers than I did. Cast was outside, yelling at one of his assistants on the phone as he paced. He was pretending to be busy, though we all knew he was avoiding us.Avoiding me. And Selena… she hovered in the background, like some sil
I wandered aimlessly through the house. Every step was heavy, like walking through someone else's life. The Riverwalk house had an eerie stillness to it, a pressure that seemed to creep into every corner. It had only been a few days since we moved in, but the air hadn't cleared. We were all waiting for something to break.I didn't know what had pushed me out of bed. Maybe it was the unfamiliar surroundings, maybe the pregnancy hormones messing with my sleep, or perhaps it was Cast. The way things felt so unresolved between us. I couldn't settle, couldn't find peace.I stopped by the large window at the end of the hall. The trees outside swayed gently in the wind, illuminated by the moonlight. A full moon was coming in two days, and I didn't know what that would mean for us. For me. I would be the only one not shifting. I'd have to manage both guys again, and now Selena. I was on edge, to say the least. A noise pulled me from my thoughts. At first, it was barely noticeable, a murmur
I wasn't sure what to make of it. I laughed, trying to figure out if he was serious. "You really think I could?" "Yeah." He chuckled softly. "You've got me wrapped around your finger. You just don't know it yet." I rolled my eyes. "That's not the same thing." He stood from the bed and stopped right in front of me. "Why don't we find out?" I scoffed hard. "You want me to try… dominating you?" He shrugged like it was nothing. "Only if you want to. But I'm telling you, you've already got a head start." I stood slowly, unsure what to do. The idea felt wrong, foreign. Linc was taller and stronger. He was the man here. The Alpha. I was over a foot shorter than him. It made the concept of control feel almost impossible. But a small part of me was curious. Could I do this? Could I take the lead with him? I caught the waistband of his pants, pulling him closer. The fabric tensed under my grip, and he moved toward me without hesitation. I led him toward the bed, but each step
I flipped the last pancake onto the plate. I was on autopilot. Linc's voice echoed from the shower down the hall, the sound of running water barely drowning it out. He was humming all carefree while I stood here unraveling.I'm glad someone was happy.The soft creak of a floorboard snapped me out of my trance, and I turned just in time to see Cast stroll into the kitchen. His eyes locked on me the second he walked through the doorway. He sat at the bar, silently watching my every move. I could almost feel his exhaustion. I hated that he could still do that.Ignoring him, I plated up a stack of pancakes and added a handful of strawberries I'd cut up earlier and berries before setting it down in front of him. He picked up a fork and slowly, methodically, began to eat.I didn't dare look at him, busying myself with wiping down the counter, rearranging things that didn't need rearranging. Every second felt like an hour, but I couldn't leave. Not yet. Not until Linc got out of the damn sho
I stared at myself in the mirror, smoothing the fabric of the simple black sundress that I’d managed to find. Something that stretched comfortably over my growing belly but still looked good enough to wear out. I felt a bit more like myself, like a version of myself I hadn’t seen in years. The last time I’d dressed up like this was a lifetime ago, before everything with Cast. Before the complications of our bond had turned into something I couldn’t unravel. The makeup, the heels, the sleek way my hair fell over my shoulders... It was a lot of effort, but Linc had asked me to come to the office with him today. I wanted to make a good impression. He hadn’t said it outright, but I knew it was because he didn’t want to leave me alone with Cast and Selena. It was getting harder to ignore the strain, the way Linc’s unspoken jealousy flashed through the bond we shared, even if he never brought it up. He felt it, the connection that still lingered between Cast and me, and I couldn’t pr
I stood at the door, hand resting on the knob. Cast had asked to come in, and even though every part of me screamed not to, I stepped aside and let him pass. He walked straight to the bed, sitting down heavily before leaning back and staring at the ceiling.I didn't close the door.It felt strange having him here. The familiarity between us was undeniable, but so was the distance. I stayed by the door for a moment, watching him. Waiting for him to do something, say something. He didn't. His eyes remained fixed on the ceiling.I pushed away from the doorway and started peeling off the ruined dress. The smell of vomit lingered on the fabric, sour and sharp, and I tossed it aside, stepping into the bathroom.I didn't close the bathroom door then, either.I half expected him to sneak a glance, but he didn't. He just stayed there, lost in his own world, oblivious to me stripping down and scrubbing my skin clean.Part of me hated that he wasn't looking, but another part was relieved. I pull
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