LOGIN"Me neither. Caden, we're both—we're both learning. Both trying. That's—that's okay. As long as we're honest. As long as we—we talk instead of assuming. As long as we give each other chances to fix mistakes." "Honest communication. No assumptions. Multiple chances." He was still holding my hand. S
"You felt it?" My voice was small. Hopeful. Terrified. "Caden, you actually felt the mate bond? You—you recognized it?" "Yes. Not immediately. Not when we were talking at the gathering. But after—after I was alone and thinking about why you looked so upset—it hit. The certainty. The pull. The—the
The Next Generation Hope pov I lay on my bed facing the wall, knees pulled to my chest, trying not to cry anymore. The mate bond was—excruciating. Every instinct screaming that Caden was mine. That he should be here. That watching him with Emily was wrong on fundamental level. But he'd looke
I went upstairs. Found the second door on the right. Knocked quietly. "Come in." Hope's voice. Muffled. Like she'd been crying. Fuck. I'd made her cry. Had devastated my mate before even realizing she was my mate. I opened the door. Hope was sitting on her bed, eyes red, looking—looking vulner
"I didn't want to hurt her feelings. Didn't want to—to make things awkward since we're friends and train together and—" I stopped. "I was being a coward. Should have been honest months ago instead of letting her build expectations." "Yes. You should have." No judgment in Dad's voice. Just observat
The Next Generation Caden pov I watched Hope Reed-Castellan leave with her family, and something in my chest twisted. She'd looked—gutted. Devastated. Like something had broken when we were talking. And I—I didn't understand why. We'd just been having normal conversation. Me and Emily planning
"It's exactly what you did to us," I said, my voice carrying through the speaker system from the observation room. "You made us vulnerable. Made my daughter vulnerable. Now you get to choose: help fix the damage you caused, or face the consequences of your betrayal." "Emma?" Dr. Chen looked toward
My Cheating Mate Emma pov Dr. Sarah Chen sat in the interrogation room—a space normally used for rogue questioning—looking smaller than I'd ever seen her. Her hands were cuffed to the table, silver-lined to prevent any supernatural interference, though as a human she posed no physical threat.
My Cheating Mate Jeremy pov The morning came too quickly. I'd maybe slept two hours total, my mind racing through scenarios, contingencies, ways this could go wrong. Emma hadn't slept much better. I'd felt her wake multiple times, heard her check on Grace, felt the tension radiating from her b
"We can arrange that." My voice was darker than I intended. "Emma, whatever you want—" "No." She shook her head. "I want—I want her to be useful. To actually help undo some of the damage she's caused. And then I want her gone. Exiled. I don't care if she lives or dies, as long as she's never anywh







