LOGINIsabella POVDownstairs was crowded as Iris and I came from the kitchen."Oof, I smell gossip," she said as we headed upstairs. People stood in clusters, leaning over the rail and watching the road below.When I reached our floor, I looked toward the entrance and understood why.Oh, Goddess.Luna Lisa's car sat at the curb.I nearly dropped the covered bowl I carried for Maverick. I handed it to a laughing Iris and rushed downstairs."I told you you're already a big shot here, didn't I?" she teased behind me. "Luna herself has come to grace you with her presence."I ignored her and almost bumped into a startled Harrison.Downstairs, people tried to hide their curiosity. Some pretended to pass by. Others stopped to greet Luna Lisa.She saw my face and tipped her head toward her car."Get in."I slid into the passenger seat. She pulled away from the building and stopped where Wesley always parked to wait for me. She left the engine running and the air conditioning on."You don't like at
The Jeep's backseat creaked under us as Wesley drove deeper, and I felt an orgasm building deep inside me, making my thighs lock around his hips.Waves crashed through me, pulling a broken cry from my throat as I clung to him, nails dragging down the sweat-slick muscles of his back. He groaned against my neck, then ground harder. I brought my lips to his, and he kissed me. He didn't stop, and he stayed buried inside me while the last tremors left us both shaking.He rested on top of me, and I kept my arms around him."I never realized your eyes are always open when we have sex," he said, startling me out of my thoughts."What?"He took his weight off me, giving me more room."You've been looking at me.""Can I not look at you?""You can." He smiled, his thumb brushing lazily over my nipple. "It was just a bit strange, as though you are seeing me for the first time."My heart skipped. I must have overdone it because ever since I left the lodge about thirty minutes ago and walked to wh
The car ride back stayed silent. Too many thoughts pushed against each other in my head.Luna Lisa's reaction to the bond kept coming back. I thought she wouldn't believe me, might even laugh at the absurdity of my confession. But the desperation for her son's healing made her believe me.Then there was the bond itself. I could either stay and take whatever torture came with it or walk away.Neither choice had a clean edge.I wanted Wesley. The pull I felt toward him was precious. Being with him felt like a step out of the shithole life I had been living into something I could love. I wanted a better life for Maverick. But with Wesley, it came at a cost.What answers would come with being his mate? And what events would follow that could leave me worse off than before?I stared out the window. The unfamiliar roads faded behind us. Spending the night with the daughters had been smart. If I had come back last night, Harrison and Iris would have drilled me with questions before I had tim
Luna Lisa's mouth fell open when she saw me beside Grandma Cassidy. She whispered to the woman next to her, excused herself, and came toward us with quick steps. I stepped back before I could stop myself."Stay calm," Grandma Cassidy whispered near my ear. "She doesn't bite."My heart hammered against my ribs anyway."What is going on?" she asked Grandma Cassidy, but her eyes stayed on me. "Why is she here? What are you up to?""Is she a recruit?""Far from it," Grandma Cassidy said.Luna Lisa's brows pulled together. "Is she in trouble?""It depends on how you see it," Grandma Cassidy said.Luna Lisa pressed her fingers to her temple. She wasn't angry. She looked like someone trying to follow a moving trail, like the girl who kept showing up in her family's problems had followed her again."I can't talk until I confirm you won't blow up the place with overreactions."Luna Lisa blinked. "Can we step aside and talk, then?""There's nothing to hide, Lisa," Grandma Cassidy said. "If you w
The word sat wrong in my mouth.Fragmentation. I’d heard it for crayons and cheap pens, for things that snapped under Maverick’s hands and never fit back together. It didn’t belong on a person. It didn’t belong on Wesley, who stood like a wall and was going to be Alpha.Grandma Cassidy watched me over the rim of her cup. Her smile softened the lines around her eyes.“You have questions,” she said. “Ask me anything.”“What does it mean? His wolf isn’t aligning with him?”She nodded once.“Since his first shift. He’s carried it for years. Longer than anyone should have to carry anything and keep standing.”Heat shot up behind my eyes. My chest tightened. My wolf pushed under my skin, restless and sharp, as if she couldn’t stand hearing what our mate had lived through without us knowing.He’d been hurting that long and I never saw it.“Where do I come in?”“A bond doesn’t make two people safe from each other,” she said. “Wesley’s wolf has been unstable for years. That instability can mov
Isabella POV “Keep your phone handy and text me every step,” Iris said, following me downstairs. “Anything weird, tell me right away.”“Of course.” I wrapped a scarf around my head before stepping out and slid into the backseat of the waiting car without looking at anyone in the lobby.The driver was pleasant, but unease stayed with me the entire ride. About twenty minutes in, I considered texting Wesley to tell him what was happening. But this was about the bond. I couldn't give him something he could turn into a dozen questions.We drove for nearly an hour, past where the city thinned into open road, until I wasn't sure I'd be home that night.We stopped at a gate so high and heavily fenced that I could see nothing beyond it except a red roof. Grandma Cassidy appeared and knocked on the tinted window, signaling the driver to let me out.“Glad you made it,” she said, taking my arm.“Where is this place?” I whispered as she led me through the gate.A bulky, bald-headed man searched m
LISA POVThe digital numbers on my alarm clock glowed a steady red. I watched them tick by from 5:59 to 6:00. My skin felt cold, and a dull ache rested at the back of my eyes after spending the night awake. I could hear the muffled sound of the television.I headed for the door. The living room was
CAMERON POVRage tightened in my ribs, making breathing feel like an effort. I turned away from my sister and mate and leaned against the wall. "I won't do it. I have no interest in this absurd contract, and nothing you say will change my mind."Nadia stepped closer and placed her hand between my sh
The wooden floor of the community center felt cold beneath my sandals.“I’ll volunteer.”A girl in the back row let out a loud snort. Beside me, Sasha’s hand clamped onto my wrist, her fingers digging into my skin to pull me back down. I did not look at her. I knew that if I met her eyes, the logic
My father was screwing his secretary when I pushed his office door open. Wet slaps and grunts filled the room as he drove into her against the desk.My mother had spent three hours over the stove, squinting at a recipe she had memorized years ago. She packed my father's lunch and made me promise to







