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
"No." I cut him off. "Jeremy, you're responsible for your choices. For the affair, for the lying, for the betrayal. But you're not responsible for Vanessa hiring assassins and leading a pack assault. Those were her choices. Her crimes." "Dr. Chen said something similar. That I can't take responsib
I stared at her, stunned. She'd never yelled at me like this before. Never lost control in quite this way. "You want to take responsibility for something?" Emma continued, her voice shaking. "Take responsibility for actually healing. For doing the work in therapy. For being present instead of drow
"That's not true," Jeremy said, his voice breaking. "Emma, you were never—" "It felt true!" I shouted, the anger finally breaking free. "It felt like I didn't matter! Like I was just a means to an end, a broodmare with the right bloodline!" The words hung in the air between us, raw and painful.
Jeremy was quiet for a long moment. "I don't know," he admitted finally, and the honesty hurt worse than a lie would have. "I think I wanted to want you. Wanted to make the bond work because it was what I was supposed to do. But I never gave us a real chance. Never let myself see you as anything oth







