Chapter 6

“Reid… have you ever thought about starting your own company?”

It was nearly midnight when I asked, my voice low, but the question hung in the air like smoke. That was how Row was born—a single word whispered between two ambitious minds, one hungry for redemption, the other for success. A storm was quietly brewing beneath the surface of the business world, and it started with that name.

I transferred every penny I had saved from years of treating others—rogues, pack members, enemies alike—straight into Reid’s hands. Then I stared at my now pathetic bank balance. Single digits. Not even enough for a cab ride.

In my past life, I built Snow Moon Pack’s prestige with my own two hands—my skills, my healing, my connections. All of it had gone to them. And in the end, they’d let me die. Never again.

This time, I’d use those same assets to burn their empire to the ground.

But even with a master plan in motion, sleep didn’t come easy. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Avery shoving poison down my throat, Lilith sneering at my suffering, and Kane—my fated mate—clutching my lifeless body as if his grief could reverse time.

I jolted upright, heart pounding, lungs tight.

I didn’t want to be alone.

So, I did something insane—I climbed over Kane’s courtyard wall in the dead of night and slipped into his bed like I belonged there.

As I nestled under the covers, his scent wrapped around me—crisp lime mixed with cold pine and something deeply comforting, like home I never had. He stirred but did not wake up. Instead, his arm instinctively pulled me close. The heat of his scars brushed against my cheek, and I melted into him.

For the first time in days, I fell asleep without nightmares.

---

When Kane woke the next morning, he was already warm—and not from the blanket.

His gaze drifted down to see me nestling against his chest, my golden curls spilling across his shoulder, my lips barely parted in sleep. Sunlight caught the tips of my lashes, casting shadows on my cheekbones.

Kane swallowed hard. Heat flushed through him, fast and wild.

He reached out to push me away but hesitated—his fingers instead brushing against my cheek, lingering far too long before gliding toward my lips. Just as his fingertips grazed them, I stirred.

“Mmm… don’t rub my head,” I mumbled groggily, “You’ll make me bald.”

Caught.

Kane yanked his hand away like he had been burned. His voice came out gruff. “Your room is next door.”

I sat up slowly, hair tousled, voice still thick with sleep. “We are already married. You want me to sleep alone forever?” I tilted my head, watching him squirm. “Are you rejecting me?”

He avoided my gaze, jaw clenched. “There is no emotional foundation between us. This… isn’t right.”

I leaned in, undeterred. “We are fated mates. Destiny already made the choice for us. The rest—we build.”

I was bluffing. My cheeks were on fire, and my heart would not stop pounding, but being in his arms had helped me sleep. I could not admit how much I needed that.

Then he said it—his voice dead serious.

“So, if we’re fated… does that mean it’s only natural for me to do what fated mates usually do in bed?”

My breath caught.

His gaze dropped pointedly to the tented sheet between us. I blinked. Heat exploded across my face.

“W-Wait,” I stammered, “Can that even… I mean, you… your legs…”

Kane looked like he wanted to sink into the mattress. “I may be injured, but I’m not dead below the waist.”

I clamped my hand over my face. “I mean, I didn’t check! How would I know—”

“Do you want to?” he challenged, half amused, half annoyed.

“Nope! I’m good!” I squeaked and scrambled out of bed. “I’m going downstairs! Take your time handling your… situation!”

Before I shut the door, I glanced back and caught a glimpse of his bandaged arm.

“Hope he doesn’t hurt the other one,” I thought, cheeks burning.

---

Downstairs, the table was already set and breakfast was waiting. The milk was still warm, and yet no one was around. Zack really was some kind of ghost butler. I wondered how Kane managed living here alone. Didn’t he get lonely?

I bit into a piece of toast just as the elevator hummed.

Zack.

I looked up at him, freshly changed and descending like royalty.

“You’re fast,” I blurted, then instantly regretted it.

His jaw tightened. “I am not.”

The double meaning hit me square in the face. I choked on my toast, eyes darting to the blanket covering his lap.

Flushed, I grabbed my milk and chugged it like it was holy water. “I have plans today! Busy, busy! Bye!”

I bolted out of the villa, toast in mouth, practically diving into the nearest cab.

I wasn’t just escaping him—I had a mission. Alpha Norman of the Moon Pack was in the hospital.

A critical business partner of the Snow Moon Pack.

Time to shake things up.