LOGINKAI POVThe guest quarters were nicer than I deserved. Small room on the second floor with a bed, desk, and window overlooking the training grounds. Marcus dumped my bag inside and turned to face me with an expression that could freeze fire."Let's get something straight," he said. "I don't care that you're the twins' father. I don't care that Elara gave you thirty days. If you hurt her again, if you make her cry, if you do anything that even slightly upsets those children, I will personally throw you off Shadow Creek territory and make sure you never come back. Clear?""Clear." I wasn't about to argue with the male who'd saved Elara's life when I'd left her to die. "For what it's worth, I'm not here to hurt anyone. I just want to protect my kids.""Your kids." Marcus's laugh was bitter. "You've known about them for less than twelve hours. Don't act like you've earned the right to call them yours."He was right. But it didn't stop the instinct that had roared to life the moment I'd se
ELARA POVKai looked like he was facing a firing squad, which honestly wasn't far from the truth. Every wolf in this room had a reason to hate him. They'd all heard the stories, seen the scars his rejection left on me. And now he stood in front of us asking for help like he had any right to it."Start talking," I said, keeping my voice neutral. As much as I wanted to throw him out on principle, my pack deserved to hear what he had to say before we made any decisions.He cleared his throat, and I noticed his hands were shaking slightly. Good. He should be nervous. "Three months ago, Thornwood Pack started experiencing unusual attacks. Rogues, but organized. Professional. At first we thought it was territorial disputes, bad luck. But the attacks kept escalating. More frequent, more coordinated, more deadly.""Sounds like you've made enemies," Zara said flatly. "Not our problem.""I thought the same thing." Kai didn't rise to the bait. "Until we started capturing rogues and interrogating
KAI POVThe Alpha command hit me like a physical force, and I had to fight every instinct not to obey. A three-year-old just used Alpha authority on me. Perfect, controlled command that most wolves didn't master until their teens. And he'd done it accidentally, just because he wanted me to stay.I looked up at Elara, and the fear in her eyes mirrored what I was feeling. This wasn't normal. This was dangerous. Children this powerful would attract attention, and not the good kind."Aiden, baby, you can't do that." Elara was beside him in seconds, scooping both twins into her arms. "Using your Alpha voice on people isn't okay unless it's an emergency.""But I didn't mean to!" Aiden's lip wobbled. "I just wanted him to stay. Did I do something bad?""No, sweetheart. You're not in trouble." She kissed his forehead, but I could see the tension in her shoulders. "But we need to be more careful with your gifts, okay? They're very strong."Luna wrapped her arms around her mother's neck. "Is Da
ELARA POVI heard Aiden's question before I saw Kai standing there, and my entire world stopped.He smells like Mommy.No. No no no. This wasn't supposed to happen. Kai wasn't supposed to be here, wasn't supposed to see them, wasn't supposed to ever know they existed. I'd been so careful. Three years of keeping this secret, and it all came crashing down because Marcus brought him through the damn dining hall instead of straight to my office.I moved without thinking, crossing the room in seconds to put myself between Kai and my children. My children. Not his. Never his. He'd given up any right to them the moment he rejected me."Mommy!" Luna bounced in her seat, oblivious to the tension. "We're having pancakes! Harper made them with chocolate chips!""That's wonderful, baby." My voice came out steadier than I felt. I could feel Kai's eyes burning into my back, could practically hear his brain putting the pieces together. "Why don't you and Aiden finish eating in the kitchen with Harpe
KAI POVThe walk back to my car felt longer than it should have. Every step away from Elara was wrong, Titan snarling and clawing in my mind to go back, to not leave our mate. Except she wasn't our mate anymore. I'd made sure of that three years ago.I'd gotten what I came for. Sort of. She hadn't killed me on sight, which honestly was more than I'd expected. And she'd agreed to think about helping, which was more mercy than I deserved. So why did I feel like I'd just lost something important all over again?Because you saw her. Because she's not the broken omega anymore. Because she's everything you should have recognized from the start, and you threw it away.I shoved the thoughts down and focused on driving. I had three days before Elara gave me her answer. Three days to figure out how to save my pack if she said no. Three days to prepare myself for the possibility that I'd have to watch Thornwood fall apart because of my own failures.The territory line back into Thornwood land fe
ELARA POVI was wiping mashed carrots off the kitchen counter when the memory hit me. No warning, no build-up. Just Luna asking why she didn't have a daddy like the other pups, and suddenly I was eighteen years old again, standing in Thornwood's ceremony hall wearing a dress that didn't fit right.The memory dragged me under before I could stop it.I'd known something was wrong the moment I walked into that hall. The whispers had started immediately, spreading through the crowd like poison. There's the omega. What's she doing here? Why is she dressed for a mating ceremony? The pitying looks from some wolves, the disgusted sneers from others. I'd kept my head down and tried to make myself smaller, the way I always did back then.Then Kai had walked in, and the bond had snapped into place so hard it stole my breath. Mate. Mine. The word had echoed through my entire body, through the empty space where my wolf should have been. I'd looked up at him with hope I shouldn't have allowed mysel







