LOGINLisa POVI sat at the dining table, picking at a knot in the wood, but my hearing was tuned to the next room. My mother had insisted I stay put until Alpha Kieran and Dr. Harry finished their talk. She didn't want the stress of their conversation to weigh on me, but the silence was doing a better job of that.Nadia paced the length of the kitchen floor, her boots thudding against the tile. She didn't even look at the empty chairs. She raked her nails through her hair and spun on her heel, walking as if she were trying to outrun a ghost.My mother hovered near her, reaching out but not quite touching her shoulder.“Nothing is going to happen to your brother,” she said. “Alpha Kieran and the doctor are going to figure this out.”“That’s the script everyone is reading from,” Nadia snapped. She stopped and looked at the wall. “‘Nothing will happen’ while he sits in that house, refusing to believe he's drowning. Look where that lie has gotten us.”I pressed my palm against the curve of my
Cameron POVThe dream didn't feel like a hallucination. It had a realness to it, so sharp I could taste the fear on my tongue as my eyes snapped open.Lisa was on the ground. A pool of dark red spread out from her. Her lips moved, trying to form words I couldn't catch. I tried to lunge toward her, but my legs felt encased in lead. Something pinned me to the mattress, dragging me back.I fumbled for my phone on the nightstand. With a shaky thumb, I tapped out a message to Franklin.Check on Lisa. Make sure she’s safe. Call me.The phone glowed in my hand, but my focus began to slip almost immediately. A strange sensation moved through my skull. It wasn't exactly dizziness; it was a sudden break in the chain of my thoughts.I stared at the screen, dull confusion rising. Why had I even sent that?I blinked several times, trying to clear the mental cobwebs, but the world stayed soft at the edges. I stood up too fast, my knees nearly buckling. I stumbled to the bathroom sink and cranked th
Evangeline POVMy eyes locked onto Cameron’s. He wore a dark frown.“That sounds like your voice,” the counsel said, his lips curling into a smug line.“It is. But I never confided in Desmond,” I replied, keeping my back straight against the wood of the witness stand. “I warned him to keep Cameron’s name out of his mouth.”“About what, exactly?”“Desmond was already ruining his relationship. I told him not to drag us into the mess.”Desmond sank into his chair and watched me. A scoff escaped him.Bastard.“So you deny sharing any sensitive details?” the counsel asked.“I deny it,” I said. I tightened my grip on the edge of the railing. “I was dealing with my own crisis at the time.”“And what crisis was that?”“A private health issue.”A heavy silence followed.“You expect this court to believe that recording is unrelated to these charges? You used the specific words ‘Cameron’s infidelity.’”“I expect the court to understand how words are twisted,” I said. My voice didn’t waver. “Desm
Evangeline POVNadia marched past the hallway with a ceramic bowl gripped in both hands. I shrunk behind the marble pillar, my heart hammering against my ribs as I watched her retreat. Within seconds, a sharp, biting scent of salts filled the air, cutting through the heavy smell of floor wax.She stood in the center of the living room and tilted the bowl. She began scattering white grains across the hardwood while her lips moved in a fast, rhythmic prayer. The salt lined the edges of the walls, gathered in the corners, and trailed a path toward the stairs.“What are you doing?” I asked. I stepped into the entrance, my voice echoing in the large room.“What does it look like?” She didn't look up. She let a handful of grains slip through her fingers before moving to the next corner.“Nadia, sweetie, you’re making a mess of the house,” I said. I forced my lips into a wide smile. “Since when did you believe in this superstitious stuff? You look ridiculous.”She stopped mid-motion. She tur
Lisa POV“Should we even trust him?” my mom asked. Her eyes never left the window, tracking the car as it rolled toward the porch.“Mom, now you're being paranoid.”“I should be. For all we know, he could be part of it. He presents himself as honest, but that is exactly how they get close.”Her words left an oily feeling in my stomach.“We can't just throw accusations at everyone. We need to be sure. I have to believe he’s trying to help.”“I didn’t say he was one of them.”“You’re thinking it.”She didn’t answer. She pulled the curtain back a little further.“He wouldn’t be able to fool Cameron,” I said, “and definitely not Franklin.” The words sat between us. I heard the tremor of doubt in my own voice and hated how weak it sounded.Mom’s face fell into a mask of quiet sadness. “Cameron didn’t see through Evangeline either.”A knock at the door made her give me a pointed look to behave, then she headed for the foyer.The baby shifted low in my belly. It was like he was reading the s
Lisa POVThe surrogacy contract lay sprawled across the duvet. I hadn't left this bed since last night. My eyes burned, dry from a total lack of sleep. Alpha Kieran’s words from yesterday played on a loop in my head.I flipped through the pages, searching the fine print as if a secret exit would appear if I stared long enough. My mind raced through every disaster scenario. Every clause and bold line shouted what I owed them. It told me what I couldn't do. It listed the punishments if I failed.There wasn't a single word about what they owed me. Not a sentence explaining what happened if they failed me.I had signed this four months ago. Desperation for money had blinded me; I hadn't even called a lawyer because the need to save my family was a fire at my heels.I forced myself to read the same paragraph for the third time. My eyes tracked the black ink across the white paper, but the meaning slid right off my brain. I slammed the file shut. Alpha Kieran’s voice echoed in the quiet.H
Lisa POVMy body felt tight with nerves about seeing the baby inside me for the first time.I still refused to attach any maternal thoughts to it. The child was not mine. Saying my baby would be stupid.Even so, the words kept forming in my head.For someone who had never imagined becoming a mother
Lisa POV“You look like someone handed you a bag full of problems,” I said.Franklin sat on the couch with the remote and flipped through channels, as if the television might suddenly solve his life.He had been doing it for a while.Nothing stayed on the screen long enough to matter.“Just tired,”
Nadia “Open your eyes.”Desmond covered my face and whispered near my ear. “Don’t peek.”“I’m not peeking.”“You always peek.”“That was one time.”He laughed and stepped away.“Alright. Look.”I opened my eyes. A car waited in the driveway, polished to a mirror shine. A red ribbon stretched acros
LisaA heat sat under my skin and refused to die. No matter what I did, Cameron stayed in my head.Franklin buried himself in logistics. He came in late and left before sunrise. The house stayed quiet all day. I moved from room to room and ended up back where I started. There was nothing to distrac







