LOGINChloe’s POVThe universe had a terrible sense of humor.Two days after the tattoo shop disaster, I was working late again. Marketing campaigns didn’t write themselves, apparently, and Adrian needed the social media strategy completed by morning.By the time I finally saved the document and shut down my computer, the office was empty. The cleaning crew had already been through, leaving that antiseptic smell and perfectly aligned chairs.I grabbed my purse, locked up, and headed for the parking garage.Seattle at night was different than Chicago. Quieter, in some ways. The streets didn’t have that same constant hum of danger I’d gotten used to. I’d told myself that was better. Safer.Turned out safe was relative.I was halfway to my car when I heard footsteps behind me. Fast footsteps.My self-defense instincts—learned from watching Alina train with the Serpents kicked in. I spun around just as
Chloe’s POVI woke up Saturday morning with a terrible idea.The smart thing would have been to go for a run, meal prep for the week, maybe deep clean my apartment. Responsible adult things.Instead, I found myself Googling “tattoo shops near me” at nine in the morning.I’d never gotten a tattoo. Never wanted one. My mom would have killed me, and besides, tattoos were permanent. Commitment. No taking them back if you changed your mind.But that morning, scrolling through photos of other people’s ink, I thought: Maybe that’s exactly what I need. Something permanent. Proof that I’m different now. That Chicago changed me.The search results showed dozens of shops, but one caught my eye: Ink & Iron. The photos showed dark walls, vintage furniture, and artwork that looked more like gallery pieces than flash sheets. The neighborhood was rough—South Seattle, definitely not the trendy area my cowor
Chloe’s POVSix months in Seattle, and I still wasn’t sure if I’d made the right choice.My apartment was nice enough—small studio in Capitol Hill with a view of a brick wall, but the rent was reasonable and the neighborhood was supposedly trendy. The kind of place a twenty-two-year-old starting fresh was supposed to want.I stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, forcing my face into something resembling a smile. Professional. Friendly. Exactly the kind of person who loved their job at a tech startup and definitely wasn’t dying inside.“You’ve got this,” I toldmy reflection.My reflection looked unconvinced.The InnovateTech office was everything a modern workplace was supposed to be—open floor plan, bean bag chairs in the “creativity corner,” a kit stocked with kombucha and organic snacks nobody actually ate. My coworkers were nice. My boss, Adrian Winters, was a dec
Maddox’s POV – Six Weeks Later Elena came home on a Tuesday. Six weeks in the NICU. Six weeks of learning, growing, fighting her way to strength. And finally, finally, she was strong enough to leave. The entire club gathered when we arrived at the compound with her. Not crowding, just… present. Witnessing the newest member of our family coming home. “She’s so small,” Blade’s wife whispered. “Almost six pounds now,” Alina said proudly. “Growing every day.” We’d converted Ronan’s old office into a temporary nursery closer to our bedroom. The big nursery upstairs would wait until Elena was older, and stronger. For now, we wanted her close. That first night home was chaos. Elena cried a lot. We took turns trying to comfort her, feed her, change her, and figure out what she needed. By three AM, all four of us were exhausted and slightly hysterical. “How do people do this?” Jaxon asked, pacing with Elena while she screamed. “I have no idea,” I admitted. “Maybe we should
Alina’s POV – Thirty-Two WeeksThe pain woke me at three in the morning. Sharp, cramping pain, it felt wrong.I sat up carefully, trying not to wake anyone, but Jaxon’s eyes opened immediately.“What’s wrong?”“I don’t know,” I said, pressing a hand to my stomach. “Something feels… off.”Another cramp, stronger this time. I gasped.That woke Ronan and Maddox. Suddenly all three were alert, surrounding me.“What kind of pain?” Ronan asked, already in crisis mode.“Cramping. Sharp. I don’t… this doesn’t feel right.”“We need to get to the hospital,” Jaxon said immediately. “Now.”They moved fast. Clothes thrown on, car keys grabbed, and then they helped me down the stairs while trying not to panic. The ride to the hospital was a blur, Maddox was driving too fast, Jaxon holding my hand, Ronan calling ahead to tell them we were coming.The ER admitted us immediately when they heard “thirty-two weeks pregnant, with severe cramping.”There were Tests. Monitors. Questions I barely registered
Jaxon’s POV – Four Months Later“We need to baby-proof this entire hallway,” I announced, examining the compound’s second floor with a critical eye.“The baby isn’t even born yet,” Alina pointed out from where she sat, very pregnant, very amused at my paranoia.“So? We should be prepared.”“Jaxon, baby-proofing is for when kids can crawl. We have months before that’s relevant.”“Better early than late,” I muttered, making notes. Corner guards for every sharp edge. Outlet covers. Gates for the stairs. Maybe padding on the walls?“You’re insane,” Maddox said, reading over my shoulder. “Padding on the walls? Really?”“What if she falls?” I defended.“Then she cries and we comfort her,” he said. “That’s how babies work. They’re not made of glass.”“How w
Alina's POVClasses started properly the next day. I’d enrolled in three courses—Criminal Justice, English Composition, and Introduction to Psychology. Basic stuff to ease back into academic life after months of chaos and violence.The Criminal Justice classroom was in a
Alina’s POVI stopped walking, my hand instinctively moving toward the concealed weapon I still carried despite leaving the compound. Muscle memory from months of training, of learning that safety was an illusion and preparedness was survival.The man stepped into a patch of s
Alina's POVFRIDAY NIGHTThe party was in a rental house near campus, already crowded when I arrived at ten-thirty. Music thumped through walls, people spilled onto the front lawn, and the smell of cheap beer hit me before I even entered.Tyler found me near the door, offering me a red plastic cup.
Later that afternoon I found Chloe in the library, surrounded by boxes and packing materials. She was leaving for Seattle tomorrow, starting her new job, beginning her fresh start away from all this chaos.“So you’re really staying,” she said when I entered. It wasn't a q







