Are you a mother hen?

KANE

I wake before dawn.

The bond hums low in my chest quieter than last night, but still present.

He’s still inside the territory.

I dress quickly and head towards the main house.

I step inside. And I smell him immediately.

Shawn is at the long wooden table, leaning back in his chair casually . He's oblivious of how his presence physically hurts me from restraint.

Mike sits across from him, mid-conversation.

Shawn laughs at something.

The sound lands straight in my chest.

My wolf stirs.

Mine.

I push it down.

Shawn looks up first when I enter.

“Morning,” he says easily.

Mike glances between us.

“Morning,” I reply.

---

“You’re not finishing that,” I say before I can stop myself.

Both of them look at me.

Shawn glances at his plate. “Finishing what?”

“Your eggs.”

Mike’s mouth twitches.

Shawn blinks. “I… wasn’t that hungry.”

“You need to eat.”

Mike lowers his coffee slowly.

Shawn stares at me. “I’m twenty-three. Not five.”

“That doesn’t change your metabolism.”

The words come automatically.

Mike coughs into his cup.

Shawn leans back in his chair, studying me. “Are you tracking my nutrient intake now?”

“I’m observing that you barely touched your food.”

“Wow,” he mutters. “You are irritable in the morning.Also.”

“I’m not irritable.”

“You’re commenting on my breakfast.”

Because you’ll burn through energy too fast. Because you’re human. Because you’re in a wolf territory. Because if something happens - I stop the spiral.

Mike sets his cup down. “Uncle.”

I ignore him.

Shawn picks up his fork slowly, almost theatrically, and takes a bite of eggs while holding eye contact with me.

“There,” he says after swallowing. “Crisis averted.”

He reaches for his coffee.

“It’s going to tip,” I say.

Shawn looks down. “It’s not.”

He bumps it with his elbow while turning.

Coffee sloshes dangerously close to the rim.

I reach forward instinctively, steadying the cup before it spills.

Our hands brush.

Heat snaps up my arm.

He freezes.

Mike sees it.

I pull my hand back immediately.

“You were saying?” Shawn asks, voice a little less steady now.

Mike leans back in his chair, watching us both. Assessing.

“Kane,” he says casually, “since when do you monitor tableware stability?”

“It was going to spill.”

“It wasn’t.”

“It almost did.”

Shawn looks between us. “I feel like I’m missing context.”

“You’re not,” Mike says smoothly.

I stand abruptly.

“Where are you going?” Shawn asks.

“You’re not going into the southern woods today.”

Mike’s eyes narrow slightly.

Shawn frowns. “I wasn’t planning to?”

“Good.”

I move toward the counter, pouring myself coffee I don’t need.

“You’ve been there before,” Shawn continues. “You showed me the trails two summers ago.”

“That was different.”

“How?”

Because you weren’t mine then.

“Pack patrol patterns have shifted,” I say instead. “It’s not necessary for you to be there.”

Mike stands slowly now.

“Uncle,” he says carefully, “I’ll handle patrol assignments.”

“I’m aware.”

“Then stop issuing directives.”

Shawn’s gaze sharpens at that.

“Issuing directives?” he repeats.

“I’m advising.”

“You’re hovering,” Shawn corrects.

“I’m ensuring your safety.”

“There are twenty wolves on this land,” he says. “Why am I the only one getting a safety briefing over breakfast?”

Because you’re the only one whose absence would split me in half.

Mike steps closer to me now, lowering his voice slightly.

“You’re doing it again.”

“I’m doing nothing.”

“You just banned him from half the territory before he finished coffee.”

Shawn pushes his chair back slightly.

“I can hear you,” he mutters.

Mike ignores that.

“You can’t treat him differently,” he says quietly to me. “Not like this.”

“I treat every guest under my protection the same.”

“That’s a lie.”

Shawn’s brows lift. “Okay, now I’m definitely not missing context.”

“He’s human,” I say.

Mike’s jaw tightens. “He’s not fragile.”

“I never said he was.”

“You’re acting like it.”

Shawn crosses his arms. “I appreciate concern. I don’t appreciate being managed.”

“I’m not managing you,” I say evenly.

“Then what are you doing?”

Noting every exit in case I need to move you.

I look at him.

Mike interrupts us.

“That’s enough,” he says quietly.

“You’re overcorrecting,” he says. “And it’s noticeable.”

“If you’re going to stay in this house,” he continues carefully, “you need to act like former Alpha. Not—”

He stops himself.

Not what?

Not a mated wolf guarding territory?

Not a man one breath away from claiming something he has no right to yet?

“I am acting appropriately,” I say.

“You nearly took his cup out of his hand.”

“It was spilling.”

“It wasn’t.”

The room feels smaller.

“This is about last night, isn’t it?” he asks.

He exhales sharply. “Unbelievable.”

He grabs his coffee and stands.

“I don’t know what switched in you two after the ceremony, but I didn’t sign up to be the stress outlet.”

He walks toward the doorway.

Every instinct in me screams to follow.

To stop him.

I take half a step.

Mike’s voice cuts through the room.

“Don’t.”

Shawn pauses at the doorway but doesn’t turn around.

“I can take care of myself,” he says. Not defensive. Just firm.

Then he walks out.

Mike studies me.

“You see it now?” he asks.

Mike’s voice lowers.

“You can’t mother-hen your mate in front of everyone.”

I meet his gaze.

“I wasn’t.”