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
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
"We make them defend the indefensible," Jeremy finished. "They'd have to publicly argue that five-year-old Grace is a threat. That families like ours are dangerous. That species integration is wrong." "Most supernatural communities won't support that openly. The Council's held power because they'v
My Cheating Mate Jeremy pov Grace's fifth birthday party was winding down. The backyard was a mess of torn wrapping paper, half-eaten cake, and exhausted children running on pure sugar. Grace herself was showing Uncle Cas—she'd dropped the "Lord Castellan" entirely by age three—her new art suppl
"On it." Marcus was already moving. "Emma, call our coven allies. Every vampire group that's formed agreements with wolf packs. Tell them what's happening." She nodded, pulling out her own phone. "And Cas—" I looked at my friend. My daughter's Uncle Cas. The vampire lord who'd become family de







