LOGINNadia's POVRoman's voice was warm through the phone and it made something in my chest loosen. "I am glad you called, Nadia. Sophia is excited to meet you."The mention of his fiancée should have stung but it did not. "She knows we dated?""Briefly, yes." Roman laughed softly. "She is secure enough not to care. We all have pasts."His ease about it made me realize how completely he had moved on. Roman had found love and left whatever we had been in the past where it belonged. Meanwhile, I was still drowning in mine."How are you?" Roman's question was gentle."Honestly?" I sank onto the bed. "I am a mess. Trying to fix things with Dylan but I keep having panic attacks. I cannot let him touch me without freezing. His mother thinks I am not good enough. Cassandra still needs help with the baby. Everything is falling apart.""You dese
Nadia's POVA cream envelope sat on my kitchen counter like an accusation. I stared at the elegant script announcing the mating ceremony of Roman Steele and Sophia Laurent and felt something twist in my chest. Not jealousy exactly. Something else I could not name.Inside was a handwritten note from Roman. His words were simple and kind like everything about him had been. “Nadia, you were important to me during a difficult time. I would be honored if you attended as a friend. No pressure. Roman.”I traced the ink with my finger and remembered his gentle smile. His patient eyes. The way he had made me feel safe when I thought I would never feel safe again."What is that?" Dylan's voice came from behind me.I turned and held up the invitation. "Roman is getting mated. He invited me to the ceremony."Dylan's jaw tightened instantly. The muscle in his cheek twitched and his hands clenched at his sides. "You are not going."The command hit me like a slap. Something hot and angry flared in m
Luna's POVI showed up at Nadia's house with coffee, wine, and a decision to fix what had been breaking my sister for months. Enough was enough. I had watched her suffer and shrink and lose herself piece by piece and I was done staying quiet."Kids outside." I pointed to where Kael was already kicking a ball with Aiden. "Dylan, please take Lyra. This is sister time."Dylan looked between us and seemed to understand this was not negotiable. He scooped up Emma and followed the boys into the yard. I watched through the window as he sat on the porch steps with our daughter in his lap and kept his distance from the older kids."Sit." I pushed Nadia onto the couch and handed her coffee even though it was four in the afternoon."Luna, I am fine." She started but I held up my hand."Do not lie to me. I am your sister and I have watched you fall apart." I sat next to
Nadia's POVThree days after Margaret finally left and her words still clung to me like smoke in my hair. Dylan was trying to reconnect and I saw the effort in every gesture. He brought me coffee in the mornings, he tried to start conversations, and he reached for my hand when we passed in the hallway. But every time he touched me, my body betrayed me.His hand on my back made me flinch. His arm around my shoulders made me go rigid. When he leaned in for a kiss, I pulled away so fast I saw hurt flash across his face. I kept apologizing but the words felt empty because I could not stop my body's reaction."I am sorry," I said it for the hundredth time that week. "I do not mean to.""I know." Dylan's voice was patient but I heard the strain underneath. "Take your time."One evening after all three kids were finally asleep, Dylan found me on the couch staring at nothing. He sat down carefully and left space between us like I was a wild animal that might bolt."Can we try something?" His
Nadia's POVI officially met Margaret Winters the next day and wished I had not. She arrived at noon with that same cold elegance and her eyes swept over me like I was something she found on the bottom of her shoe."So you are the famous Nadia. The White Wolf." Her lips curved into something that was not quite a smile. "I expected more."My spine straightened. "Excuse me?""Well, you have this reputation." Margaret circled me slowly. "Strong, powerful, legendary bloodline. But standing here in Dylan's old t-shirt and yoga pants, you look rather ordinary. Tired even.""Mother." Dylan's voice held a warning but Margaret ignored him."I am just being honest." She settled onto our couch like she owned it. "Someone needs to tell the truth around here. You have let yourself go, Nadia. When is the last time you wore something feminine? When is the last time you tried to be attractive for your mate?"Heat flooded my face. "I have three children and I am trying to hold my family together.""Ye
Dylan's POVI had not spoken to my mother Margaret in three years, not since she left Silver Moon after my father died. Now she stood at my door in a perfectly pressed suit and her hair pulled back in a tight bun. Everything about her screamed elegance."Dylan." She looked me up and down. "You look terrible.""Mother. What are you doing here?" I did not move to let her in."I heard about your situation through pack gossip." She raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "May I come in or are we going to have this conversation on the porch?"I stepped aside because turning her away would only make things worse. She walked past me and her expensive perfume filled the entryway. She surveyed the house like she was cataloging its flaws and her gaze lingered on the guest room door."You are not staying with Nadia." It was not a question."We are working through some things." I closed the door harder than necessary."I also heard about the pregnant woman. Cassandra, is it?" Margaret settled onto







