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
Jeremy's phone buzzed. He answered immediately. "Report." I couldn't hear the other side of the conversation, but I watched his face. Saw the tension increase, the lines around his eyes deepen. "Understood. Keep me updated." He hung up and finally turned from the window. "That was my father. The
My Cheating Mate Emma pov I shouldn't be doing this. That's what I told myself as I let myself into Jeremy's house with the key I'd kept, armed with cleaning supplies and groceries. He was meeting with his father about the rogue situation, and I'd decided—impulsively, maybe foolishly—to take a
My Cheating Mate Jeremy pov The plan had been for Emma to stay at the pack house in the fortified safe room with maximum security. She'd agreed. Promised. Said she'd follow protocols. But when the alarms blared at 3 AM, she was still at my house. We'd talked strategy until midnight—my father
"I know. I'm done making that mistake." I paused. "Dad, I slept for twenty hours yesterday. My body literally shut down. That's not going to happen again." "How can I be sure?" "Because Emma will kill me if it does," I said, only half-joking. "She made it very clear—if I go back to those pattern







