Chapter 12: The Beta Knows

The raised voices outside the door lasted only a few minutes before falling into a tense, controlled silence. Footsteps approached. The lock turned. Cassian entered first, expression carved from stone. Behind him stood Kieran Ashford.

The Beta was thirty-two, tall, and built with the lean, lethal muscle of a born enforcer. Dark hair, sharp grey eyes, and a permanent air of restrained violence.

He closed the door behind them and locked it without being asked. His gaze swept the room once—lingering on the rumpled bed, the scent of repeated claiming thick in the air, and finally on the black leather collar around my throat.

“So it’s true,” Kieran said quietly. “You knotted her.”

Cassian did not deny it. He moved to stand between us, one hand resting possessively on the back of my neck just above the collar. “She is mine. The bond has begun. You will keep this knowledge to yourself, or we will have a problem.”

Kieran’s nostrils flared as he took in the full scent of what had happened in these rooms. His eyes darkened. “The entire east wing reeks of it, Cassian. Isolde is not stupid. The pack will notice soon enough. And you brought me here knowing I would scent the truth the moment I crossed the threshold.”

“I brought you here because I trust you more than any other male in this pack,” Cassian answered. “And because I need to know where you stand.”

Kieran’s gaze shifted to me. The intensity in it made my pulse jump. “Does she understand what this means? An Alpha claiming his stepdaughter is not a private sin. It is a political weapon waiting to be used.”

I met his eyes without flinching. “I understand exactly what it means. I asked for it. I begged for it. And I will keep begging for it.”

A muscle flexed in Kieran’s jaw. He looked back at Cassian. “You’re playing a dangerous game. If Isolde discovers this before you control the narrative, she will use every resource she has to destroy both of you.

And there are Alphas outside this territory who would pay a fortune for proof that the Thornwood Alpha is knotting his own daughter.”

Cassian’s hand tightened on my neck. “Then we control the narrative. Starting now.”

He turned me to face him fully, lifted me onto the edge of the bed, and pushed my thighs apart. I was still wearing only his shirt. He opened it, exposing me completely to both of them. Kieran did not look away.

“Watch,” Cassian ordered his Beta, voice low and absolute. “See exactly what I have claimed.”

He freed his cock and thrust into me in one deep stroke. I gasped at the sudden fullness, fingers clutching the sheets. Cassian fucked me with deliberate, powerful thrusts while Kieran stood motionless a few feet away, grey eyes locked on the place where we joined.

The wet sounds of my body taking him filled the room. When the knot began to swell Cassian gripped my hips harder and forced it inside with a final, brutal snap. I came with a broken cry, walls clamping down around the thick lock. Cassian followed, flooding me while his teeth found the mark on my neck once more.

Only when the initial intensity of the knotting eased did he look at Kieran again. “She is mine. The footage exists. The bond is real. You will either stand with us or walk out that door and never speak of this again.”

Kieran’s breathing had deepened. The scent of his own arousal was now unmistakable in the room. He stepped closer, stopping at the edge of the bed, and spoke in a voice roughened by restraint.

“I will stand with you. But I want honesty in return. This will not remain a secret between two people. Others will learn. And when they do, the dynamics of this pack will change.” His eyes flicked to mine. “Including who is allowed to touch what you have claimed.”

Cassian’s growl was soft but dangerous. “We will discuss limits later. For now, you will help me manage Isolde and the pack. No one else learns of this until I decide.”

Kieran inclined his head once. “Understood.”

He left without another word. The lock clicked behind him.

Cassian remained buried inside me, the knot still holding us together, his forehead pressed to mine. “He knows. That was inevitable. The question is how many more will know before this is finished.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck, the collar shifting against my throat. “Let them know. I am done hiding.”

Cassian’s eyes burned. He kissed me hard, then began to move again even while still locked, grinding deep and slow until a second, softer orgasm rolled through me.

When the knot finally eased he cleaned us both, settled me against his chest, and spoke quietly into my hair.

“Tomorrow we begin damage control. Tonight you stay right here, collared and filled, while I decide how far I am willing to let this secret spread.”

I opened my diary later, writing by the low light of the bedside lamp while Cassian dozed beside me:

Dear Moon Diary,

Kieran knows.

He watched Daddy knot me.

He did not look away.

The circle is growing.

And I am not afraid.