LOGINI 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
"Hope Reed-Castellan." Caden's voice. Was it my imagination or did it sound—different? Deeper? "You're avoiding something. What's wrong?" The way he said my name. The intensity in his gray eyes. The—the way he was looking at me like he could see through every excuse. Did he know? Did he feel the
The Next Generation Hope pov I stood with my family at the pack gathering, trying to focus on Alpha Marcus's speech about the anniversary of the Great Integration War. Twenty years. Twenty years since my parents' generation fought extremists who wanted to eliminate hybrid babies like me. Twent
"Months." I looked at Rose. At Hope sleeping peacefully despite violence that had erupted around her. "Rose, we might—we might be able to go home. Back to Crescent Moon. Back to our life. In months. Maybe weeks if Uncle Cas's hunts go well." "Home." She said it like prayer. "Nate, we can—we can re
"How much time?" "Grace gave me twenty-four hours. I have eighteen left." "She gave you a deadline?" Courtney's laugh was sharp. "That's very—controlling. Connor, is that really the kind of mate you want? Someone who issues ultimatums?" *She's protecting herself. She saw you with Courtney and
"Do you ever think about where we'd be if you hadn't made that phone call?" Emma's voice was quiet. "That night, six years ago, when you called Cas for help with Black River?" "Sometimes. Usually when I'm watching him explain horse parliamentary procedures to our daughter with complete seriousness
"I asked Mrs. Chen at school. She teaches art and she knows which ones are good." Grace leaned against his knee in that casual way she'd been doing since she could walk. "Uncle Cas, after my birthday, can you teach me about vampire art? Like what paintings you've seen that are really old? Mama said
He was quiet for a moment, something shifting in his expression. "You're asking me to let people die defending me. Defending what we've built here. That's not—I'm not accustomed to being worth that." "Get accustomed to it." Jeremy's voice was firm. "Cas, you've been family for five years. You thin







