MasukRonan’s POV – Six Weeks Later
The envelope arrived on a Tuesday with an official seal, and a federal prison letterhead. I opened it already knowing what it would say.
Tommy’s final appeal had been denied. He’d serve his full sentence—fifteen years for embezzlement, conspiracy, and attempted kidnapping. No early release, no reduced time for good behavior.
“Good,” I said to the empty office.
Some loose ends deserved to stay t
Ronan’s POV – Six Weeks LaterThe envelope arrived on a Tuesday with an official seal, and a federal prison letterhead. I opened it already knowing what it would say.Tommy’s final appeal had been denied. He’d serve his full sentence—fifteen years for embezzlement, conspiracy, and attempted kidnapping. No early release, no reduced time for good behavior.“Good,” I said to the empty office.Some loose ends deserved to stay tied.I added the notice to my growing file of closures. Morrison, the Vulture president who’d killed Elena Hart, had completed his testimony against Hart and was now serving his own twenty-year sentence in maximum security. Hart’s latest appeal had been denied that morning—he’d die in prison, just like the judge promised.Detective Charleston, one of the few honest cops we’d worked with, had been promoted to captain. She was systematically cleaning up
He had a point. Our entire relationship existed outside normal boundaries. Why would children be any different?“What about legal marriage?” I asked. “Is that something anyone wants?”“I’d marry you if we could,” Jaxon said immediately. “All of us, I mean. But legally, that’s not possible.”“We could do a legal marriage to one person and spiritual commitment to the others,” Ronan suggested. “Some polyamorous families do that for legal protection—insurance, inheritance, that kind of thing.”“We’d figure it out,” Ronan said. “Maybe whoever makes the most sense logistically. Or maybe we don’t legally marry at all. The ceremony we had was enough for me.”“Me too,” Maddox agreed. “I don’t need a piece of paper from the government to know we’re committed.”“But there are practical benefits,” Ronan the strategist pointed out. “Hospital visitation rights, medical decisions, inheritance. Those things matter.”“We could do legal documents,” I suggested. “Power of attorney, medical directives, w
Alina’s POV – One Year After Hart’s ConvictionI stared at my laptop screen, reading the same congratulations email for the third time. My online degree was officially complete. Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, completed entirely from the compound, somehow managing to balance coursework with club business, training, and my completely unconventional life.“You’re doing it again,” Maddox said from the doorway.“Doing what?”“That thing where you stare at something like you can’t believe it’s real.” He came in and looked over my shoulder at the screen. “Congratulations, by the way. You did it.”“I did it,” I repeated, still not quite believing it. A year ago, I’d been drowning in chaos. Now I had a degree, a family, a purpose. How had everything changed so completely?“So what’s next?” he asked, sitting on the edge of
Her answer was to take my hands and place them on the bottom of her sweater, guiding me as I lifted it over her head. The moonlight from the library window caught her skin, painting her in silver and shadow. She was beautiful, and for a moment, I just stared, my throat tight.“You’re shaking,” she observed softly, her own hands coming up to unbutton my shirt. Her fingers were steadier than mine.“I feel… I don’t know. New,” I admitted, the confession leaving me bare in a different way. “Like it’s my first time, all over again.”She smiled, a tender curve of her lips as she pushed my shirt off my shoulders. “In a way, it is. It’s the first time you’re really here with me. All of you.”Our clothes fell away in a quiet heap on the library rug, not with haste, but with a deliberate, almost reverent slowness. Every inch of skin revealed felt like a revelation. When we were both naked, we didn’t rush to the floor or the couch. We just stood there, holding each other, skin to skin, heartbeat
Maddox’s POVShe’d been distant. Not obviously—Alina was good at pretending everything was fine. But I’d spent months learning to read her, and I knew when something was off.It had been two weeks since the Vulture ambush. She’d thrown herself into work, into training, into everything except actually connecting with us on a deeper level.The ceremony had been beautiful. The commitment real. But something was holding her back from being fully present, and it was driving me crazy trying to figure out what.I found her in the library late one night, surrounded by law books, her laptop open, clearly working despite the late hour.“You should be asleep,” I said from the doorway.She looked up, surprised. “Couldn’t sleep. Figured I’d be productive instead.”“Or you’re avoiding something,” I suggested.“I’m not avoiding anything,” she
Alina’s POV – One Week LaterThe honeymoon phase (if you could call it that) lasted exactly seven days.I should have known peace wouldn’t last. In our world, it never did.I was in the garage working on motorcycle maintenance with Jaxon when Ghost burst in, his face pale.“We’ve got a situation,” he said.Jaxon was on his feet instantly. “What kind of situation?”“Vulture remnants. They’re regrouping outside the city, planning something.”My stomach dropped. I’d thought the Vultures were finished, scattered after Morrison’s arrest and conviction. But apparently some people didn’t know when to give up.“How many?” I asked, standing.Ghost looked surprised I’d spoken. “Maybe twenty. Not enough to take us on directly, but enough to cause problems.”“What kind of problems?” Jaxon asked.“Ambush on one of our shipments tomorrow night,” Ghost said. “We intercepted their communications.”Within minutes, we were in the war room—me, the three men, Ghost, Blade, Viper, and a few others. Ronan







