CHAPTER 5: A Plan To Own Her

***BLAKE***

“You fucking sly bastard.”

Dylan’s voice cracked across the chamber, sharp enough to bite.

I didn’t move. Didn’t blink.

I stayed seated, elbows resting on the arms of the chair, fingers loosely interlaced. Calm enough that it pissed him off more.

Jeremy leaned against the wall, arms crossed, head tilted like he was trying to solve a puzzle that offended him personally.

“If he’s a bastard,” he said slowly, “does that make the rest of us accessories to the crime?”

No one laughed.

Dylan turned on him. “This isn’t funny.”

“I didn’t say it was,” Jeremy shot back. “I’m just trying to understand how Blake managed to imprint without—” He paused. “—warning the group chat.”

That earned him a glare from Kade.

“Watch your tone,” Kade said. Flat. Cold. Enforcement-first, always.

Dylan exhaled hard and turned away, dragging a hand through his hair before dropping into the chair opposite me. His knee bounced once. Then again. He was trying not to look at me like I’d personally betrayed him.

“You felt it,” he said finally. Not accusing. Hurt. “All of us did. And you didn’t say a word.”

I met his eyes then.

“My wolf reacted,” I said. “Before I had a chance to think.”

It wasn’t the full truth. But it wasn’t a lie either.

Silence settled between us.

Kade pushed off the wall and stepped closer, posture straight, shoulders squared like we were about to negotiate territory instead of fate.

“Intent matters less than outcome,” he said. “And the outcome is this—she’s our mate. Singular. Shared. Complicated.”

Jeremy snorted. “That’s one word for it.”

Dylan leaned forward, forearms on his knees. “Blake,” he said quietly. “What exactly happened in that room?”

I considered the question. Then, I chose my words carefully.

“She recognized me,” I said. “Before I spoke. Before I moved. Our bond reacted first.”

Jeremy winced. “Ouch.”

“That doesn’t mean she chose you,” Dylan said quickly. Not defensive—protective. “It just means the pull leaned your way.”

Kade nodded once. “Biological priority doesn’t equal emotional consent.”

I didn’t argue. Because they were right.

My wolf might have surged first—but the bond didn’t belong to me alone.

“And we still don’t have a plan,” Jeremy added. “Which is a problem. Because my wolf is pacing like it’s about to punch a wall.”

Dylan shot him a look. “Your wolf wants to punch walls even on a good day.”

“True,” Jeremy said. “But now it’s emotional about it.”

I exhaled slowly.

“We need structure,” I said. The room stilled. They always listened when my tone dropped like that. “She doesn’t get cornered. She doesn’t get rushed. And she doesn’t get lied to.”

Dylan nodded immediately. “Agreed.”

Kade folded his arms. “Transparency reduces fallout.”

Jeremy blinked. “Wow. I like this version of us.”

No one acknowledged him.

Dylan tilted his head. “So… what does that look like?”

Jeremy straightened. “Okay, hear me out before you all murder me with your eyes.”

He waited for a beat.

“We don’t force a choice,” he said. “We give her time. Equal time. With each of us.”

Kade’s brow furrowed. “Define equal.”

Jeremy shrugged. “Dating. Courtship. Whatever wolves call it when they don’t bite each other’s throats.”

Dylan hesitated. “You mean… sequentially?”

Jeremy snapped his fingers. “Yes. Exactly. No marking. No claiming. No goddess witnesses. Just time.”

The idea hung there.

Unsteady.

Dangerous.

Possible.

Kade was the first to speak. “Duration?”

Dylan frowned. “A month?”

My gaze snapped to him.

Kade didn’t soften it. “Unacceptable. Our wolves wouldn’t last.”

Dylan exhaled. “You’re right. Too long.”

“Two weeks,” I said.

They all looked at me.

Jeremy squinted. “That was… reasonable. I don’t like how reasonable that was.”

“Two weeks per brother,” I continued. “Eight weeks total. Enough time for her to see us. Enough time for the bond to stabilize.”

Dylan considered it. Slowly. Carefully. “And she chooses at the end?”

“Yes.”

Kade nodded. “Clean resolution.”

Jeremy raised his hand. “Objection.”

All eyes turned to him.

“What if she says no?” he asked. “To all of it.”

Silence again.

Because that was the question none of us wanted to voice.

Dylan swallowed. “Then we let her go.”

It hurt to hear. But it was right.

“We don’t cage our mate,” Dylan added. “Even if it breaks us.”

Jeremy blew out a breath. “Damn it. I hate when you’re noble.”

I leaned back in my chair.

“We explain everything,” I said. “No manipulation. No pressure.”

Dylan nodded. “Honorable.”

Kade added, “Rules.”

Jeremy grinned. “I knew you’d say that.”

“No interference,” Kade said. “When she’s with one brother, the others stay out of it. No scent-marking. No influence.”

Dylan’s gaze flicked to me. Sharp. Measuring.

“And if someone breaks that?” Dylan asked.

“They’re out,” Kade said instantly.

My jaw tightened—but I nodded.

“Fine.”

Jeremy stretched. “So who goes first?”

Dylan didn’t answer immediately.

Then, carefully, “Birth order.”

I knew what he was doing.

Claiming first contact.

Testing restraint.

Kade nodded. “Logical.”

Jeremy shrugged. “Fair’s fair.”

That put Dylan first.

Then Kade.

Then Jeremy.

Then me.

The last slot.

The one with the most to lose.

I didn’t argue.

“Another thing,” I said.

They looked at me again.

“Rena is the target of Alpha Andrew’s hunt.”

The mood shifted instantly.

Kade straightened. Dylan stiffened. Jeremy stopped smiling.

“She’s the daughter,” Dylan said slowly.

“Yes.”

“And she says she’s innocent?” Dylan asked.

“My wolf believes her,” I said.

That mattered.

Dylan exhaled, relief softening his shoulders. “Then I do too.”

Jeremy groaned. “So the moon goddess gives us a mate with a death sentence attached. That’s poetic. In a cruel, soul-crushing way.”

Kade’s voice was cold. “If Andrew enters our lands, he follows our laws.”

I nodded. “And he won’t touch her without my permission.”

Without ours.

The meeting ended not with agreement—but with resolve.

We stood. Moved toward the doors.

Jeremy glanced over. “So… who tells her?”

Silence.

Dylan shook his head. “Not me.”

Kade said, “Conflict of interest.”

Jeremy grinned. “Shocking.”

They all turned to me.

I opened my mouth—

And froze.

Because her scent was there.

Closer, warm, and familiar already.

“She’s here,” Dylan whispered.

I felt it too.

Footsteps.

A pause.

Then her voice.

“It’s fine,” Rena said softly. “You don’t have to decide who tells me.”

We all turned at the same time.

She stood in the doorway, with a calm expression on her face.

And somehow… already choosing.

My wolf surged.

I didn’t move.

Didn’t speak.

Didn’t claim.

I only looked at her.

And waited, hoping she'd choose me in the end..