LOGINChloe’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 POV – Two Months LaterI stared at the little plastic stick in my hand, reading the result for the fourth time like it might change.Pregnant.Two lines. Clear as day. Unmistakable.“Oh shit,” I breathed.This wasn’t planned. We’d talked about kids eventually, someday, when the time was right. Not now. Not while I was waiting to hear back from law schools, not while we were still stabilizing everything.But apparently my body had other ideas.I’d missed my period. Felt nauseous for three days straight. Been exhausted despite sleeping normal hours. Chloe, during our weekly video call, had asked if I was pregnant, and I’d laughed it off.But then I’d bought the test. Just to be sure. Just to rule it out.Except it wasn’t ruled out. It was confirmed.I was pregnant.With one of three possible fathers, no way to know which.“Oh shit,” I said again.A knock at the bathroom door. “You okay in there?” Maddox’s voice. “You’ve been in there for twenty minutes.”“I’m fine,” I called bac
Alina’s POVPut that way, it almost sounded empowering instead of manipulative.“Okay,” I agreed. “I’ll go. But I want to say something. To the press, to whoever will listen. Put my version of events out there before Hart’s lawyers twist everything.”“That's Risky,” Ronan said. “Anything you say ca
Alina’s POVThree days after the bail hearing, the Vultures made their first move.I was in the war room with Ronan, reviewing legal documents for my upcoming testimony, when the call came through. Blade’s voice on the speaker, tight with controlled fury.““The safehouse in the south is gone. It wa
Ronan’s POVMy blood went cold. We hadn’t planned for this—hadn’t prepared Alina to take the stand today.“She is, Your Honor,” Rios said, glancing back at us. “Miss Hart is present in the courtroom.”“Then I’d like to hear from her,” Reynolds said. “Miss Hart, please approach the witness stand.”A
Alina’s POVThe compound felt different now—no longer just a safe place to stay but more like a stronghold getting ready for an attack. Security cameras were set up in every corner, solid barriers blocked the main entrances, and armed guards walked the compound in shifts.“We’ve upgraded everything







