MasukGrandma stood in the doorway, squinting through her thick glasses, oxygen tank humming.“Well,” she said again, softer this time.Noah was still bent over the island, Cade’s knot locked deep inside him, both of them frozen like deer in headlights.Grandma tilted her head.“Nora, honey,” she said, looking straight at Noah. “You naughty girl.”Noah’s brain short-circuited.Cade made a choked sound.Grandma shuffled closer, cane clicking. “Cade, you spoiled child. If you keep this up you’ll give me a great-grandbaby before I’m in the ground. Perfect reason I dragged you and your fiancée up here.”She laughed, a dry little cackle, then turned around and sleep-walked right back out, mumbling, “Young people these days…”The kitchen door clicked shut behind Grandma.Silence for exactly two seconds.Then Cade and Noah lost their damn minds.They burst out laughing so hard Cade’s knot slipped and they both yelped.“Oh my god,” Noah wheezed, tears in his eyes. “She called me Nora.”“How the hel
“Welcome to Aspen, lovebirds!” Liv sang the second the private jet steps dropped.Cold mountain air slapped Noah in the face. He was still half-asleep, hoodie zipped to his chin, trying not to look at Cade, who was standing way too close in sunglasses and that stupid rich-boy coat.A black Suburban rolled up. Driver in a suit. The whole deal.Nora bounced down the steps like she’d been born on private jets.“This is the life,” she whispered, elbowing Noah. “Play your cards right and you’ll be riding this dick, I mean jet, forever.”“Shut up,” Noah hissed.Cade’s mouth twitched, but he pretended he didn’t hear.The drive to the lodge was forty-five minutes of Liv on her phone yelling at cousins while Nora took selfies with the mountains.Noah stared out the window and tried not to think about how Cade’s thigh kept brushing his every time the car turned.The lodge was ridiculous: three stories of logs and glass, Christmas lights everywhere, smoke curling from six chimneys.The second th
“Jesus-fucking-Christ, my back,” Noah groaned, rolling onto his side on the cold garage floor.Everything hurt. His ass. His thighs. His heart.The creeper board was still under him, covered in dried cum and grease.Cade was gone. Truck gone. Scent already fading.Noah closed his eyes, swallowed hard. Part of him wanted to curse Cade, to slam the truck keys on the workbench and walk away. But another part… that dumb, desperate part… ached like a punch to the chest. Three years, and he still wanted him. Still couldn’t get him out of his head.Noah laughed, one sharp, broken sound.“Same old Cade. Fuck me raw, knot me stupid, disappear before the sun’s up. Classic.”He sat up slow, wincing when the movement made Cade’s cum leak out of him.“Stupid,” he muttered, wiping his face. “So fucking stupid.”His phone buzzed on the workbench like it was laughing at him. Nora: biggest tree order of the season — already took the deposit. need your truck and your muscles. move your ass. The messa
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Cade growled, slamming his hand against the steering wheel as the SUV jerked, skidded, and sank deeper into the snow. “Move. Move! Come on—dammit!”The wind slapped the windows like it wanted to rip the doors off. The blizzard whited out the road, swallowing the forest, the streetlights, everything.His wolf snarled inside him, restless, irritated.“I told you not to come back here,” the wolf hissed. “This place is trouble.”“Shut up,” Cade muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I didn’t come back for fun.”He hadn’t wanted to come back. Not once in Three years.But Grandma was dying. Dad laid down the law:“Christmas lodge. Whole pack. Bring a mate or don’t show your face.”So here he was, stuck in a ditch five miles outside town limits, phone barely alive.His phone buzzed. He snatched it up.“Finally.”His sister’s voice came through, bored and too calm for someone safe and cozy in a warm house.“Hey, Cade. Yeah, we can’t send anyone. Roads are
“Get out” Layla whispered, the words scraping her throat like broken glass, barely audible over the smoke hissing from Big Daddy’s shattered skull.The living room was a war zone—wood shards glittering under the dying sunlight, oil pooling black like blood on the beige carpet, sparks popping from exposed wires. The air reeked of burnt plastic, sweat, perfume, and rage. Max barked frantic behind the baby gate in the kitchen, paws clawing tile, leash rattling like chains. The clock on the wall ticked loud—6:47 PM—each second a hammer.Layla stood in the center, barefoot, tank top torn at the hem, oil smeared across her chest like war paint. Her cheek still burned from her mother’s slap, blood crusted at her lip. Her eyes—red, hollow—swept the room.Her mother opened her mouth—pearls clacking, face twisted in disgust.“Layla, honey—”“OUT” Layla roared, voice cracking the silence, hands trembling at her sides, fists clenched so tight her nails drew blood. “ALL OF YOU. NOW.”Blake stepped
“How could you disgrace us like this” her mother shrieked, the slap still echoing in Layla’s ears, cheek burning like fire.The living room exploded into chaos—voices overlapping, furniture scraping, tears and accusations flying like shrapnel. Sunlight sliced through the blinds, striping the carpet in harsh lines, the air thick with perfume, sweat, and rage. Max barked frantic from the kitchen, paws scratching tile, leash rattling.Layla stumbled back, hand on her face, blood metallic on her tongue, vision blurring.“Mom” she gasped. “Stop—”Her mother advanced, pearls rattling like bullets, finger jabbing Layla’s chest.“You destroyed your marriage over a toy” she spat. “A sex doll! Seven years of therapy, church, prayers—wasted! You’re a whore in silicone! Shame on you!”Blake stepped forward, hoodie rumpled, fists clenched.“Is this why you left Dad” he yelled. “For a machine? We thought you were lonely—not insane! You lied to us!”Madison wiped tears furious, ponytail whipping.“W







