Mag-log inTate pov "I was no hero," I said, my voice dropping into a rough, quiet register. The warmth in my eyes darkened with a heavy, familiar weight. "I was a tyrant. I was acting out every cruel lesson Caesar ever beat into me, and I took it out on you because you were the easiest target.""Tate, don't""No, Nicole, let me say it," I interrupted gently, squeezing her fingers. "I need to look at you and say the full truth. I ordered the maids to put that birth control powder in your food every single day. I convinced myself it was about control, that keeping you from bearing an heir was some kind of pack security because of what your father did. But it was just pure, bitter cruelty."Nicole looked down at our joined hands, her shoulders tightening slightly at the memory. "I remember sitting at that kitchen table every morning. I used to force myself to swallow whatever was set down in front of me while everyone called me barren. I thought my own body was failing me.""It wasn't your body—i
Tate's POVThe apartment was finally quiet. Rosy and Maple were tucked into their small beds, their soft, steady breathing drifting through the half-open bedroom door. I stood in the hallway for a moment, listening to the rhythm of their sleep, a feeling in my chest so deep and unfamiliar it almost hurt.When I walked into the living room, Nicole was curled into the corner of her sofa, a mug of tea going cold in her hands as I sat down across from her."What do you want?" I asked. "Not what's practical. Not what makes sense for the institute, or the twins' schooling, or any of the hundred things you've had to think about for four years straight." I leaned forward slightly, resting my elbows on my knees. "Just you. What do you want the next part of your life to look like?"She blinked, setting her cold mug on the side table then looked at me, a flicker of genuine shock crossing her eyes. "It’s... strange, you asking me what I want," she admitted, her breath catching slightly. "I never
Nicole's POVThe heat of Tate’s kiss still burned on my lips, my heart hammering like a trapped bird inside my ribs. For years, he had been a ghost haunting my memories, a cruel Alpha who had broken my spirit in the dark halls of the South River pack mansion. But standing on the cold stone steps outside the grand hall, the raw, desperate need in his touch had shaken me to my core.I gently pushed against his chest, stepping back just enough to draw a ragged breath as my cheeks flared hot."Tate," I whispered, glancing nervously around the open courtyard. "People are everywhere. The entire board is inside."Tate’s dark eyes were intense, searching my face as if trying to memorize every line, every curve he had lost for years. He didn't pull away completely; his hand lingered at the small of my back, his thumb rubbing a slow, grounding circle against my wool coat."Let them look," he murmured, his voice a low, gravelly rumble. "I don't care about the board, Nicole. I care about you.""
Nicole's POVThe email came in at 5:47 in the morning, and I almost didn't open it right away. I'd learned, over years of trial data, that dawn emails were either miracles or ruin. I brewed coffee, set the hot ceramic mug on the kitchen table, and sat down in my sleep-shirt to open the independent review team's statistical report.My hand shook as my eyes scanned the screen:Subject A (Ashford, D.): Near-complete reversal of mate-bond severance damage.Subject C (Parkville, A.): Near-complete reversal exceeding projected outcomes.Subject B (Caesar, T.): Degradation fully arrested as of week thirty-one, reversal proceeding.I pressed my palm over my mouth, tears blurring the pale blue light of the laptop. Down the hall, a floorboard creaked. The drag of a heavy blanket along the floor drew my attention to the kitchen doorway.Maple dragged his yellow blanket into the kitchen, his dark hair sticking up on one side. He squinted his sleep-clouded eyes at me."Why are you leaking?" he as
Tate pov Before Nicole could answer, Rosy let go of the umbrella handle and tugged hard on the hem of my jacket. "Daddy! Amber said we're gonna be four soon!""Did Amber say that?" I crouched down to her level."Yeah!" Maple agreed, giving up on the gate latch to run over. He held up four fingers, with one tucked awkwardly under his thumb. "And she said when you turn four, you get a giant dragon cake!""We want a big birthday," Rosy declared, bouncing on the heels of her yellow boots. "A real big one! With splashy balloons!""A lavish one," I corrected softly, a rare, quiet smile touching my mouth. "Fine. You'll get the biggest birthday party this institute has ever seen.""Tate," Nicole warned, stepping forward. "Don't promise them things like that. A simple cake is""I wasn't there for their first three," I said, rising back to my feet and looking directly at her, my voice dropping so only she could hear. "I haven't been with them for years, Nicole. For their upcoming birthday, the
Tate's POVThe gravel crunched under my boots as I stopped three paces from the stone bottom step of building four. Damp fog clung to the coat hooks near the entryway.The door latch clicked as Nicole stepped out onto the porch, her green wool scarf wrapped twice around her neck. She held Maple by his left hand. Rosy carried a faded blue cloth dog under her arm, her yellow boots stomping onto the top step.Nicole stopped. Her fingers tightened slightly on Maple’s coat sleeve."You're here," Nicole said. Her voice was flat, holding no shock."I am." I crouched down on the gravel, the damp cold soaking through the knee of my trousers. Rosy immediately broke away from Nicole’s side, her short legs moving fast as she trotted straight over to me. She pushed two small, cool fingers into my open palm. "I thought I'd walk with you. If that's alright."Maple pulled his hand out of Nicole's grip and stepped closer to the edge of the stone step. He narrowed his brown eyes, tilting his head to on
Nicole pov He nods slowly. He doesn’t try to fix it for me. He just stands there, holding the weight of both versions of himself without flinching. The man I left wouldn’t have known how to do that."The rejection papers," I say."Nicole""I’m not asking you to sign them tonight. I just need you t
Nicole's POV I am halfway down the east corridor when I hear him behind me. "Lea." I stop as my breath hitches, then I turn around.Tate is coming from the direction of Tracy's wing. He stops a few feet away and looks at me."I need an hour of your time," he says. "This afternoon, you and Marlon,
TATE'S POV Nicole had been unusually quiet for days. I noticed. I notice everything — Caesar made sure of that from the time I was old enough to stand. That morning she handed me the wrong tie. Her fingers moved too fast and her eyes didn't meet mine. Storm flagged her scent immediately, somethin
Nicole's POVThe next morning, I was cleaning Tate office study, gathering papers from the edge of the desk into a neat stack without reading them, because reading Tate's documents was one of the few transgressions he had made explicitly clear he would not forgive. But the highlighted text caught







