登入Mate.The word rolls heavily through me from my wolf.Mine.Beside me, Leo adjusts slightly in his seat, closer to me. It’s small enough that he probably doesn’t realise he’s done it, but I notice. His body language remains tense, but he’s no longer actively rejecting our proximity.Callen and Ryder
** Bastian’s POV **The silence inside the car should feel uncomfortable, but it doesn’t. Which is odd. I sit in the back with my arm pressed against the door, one boot stretched beneath the seat in front of me whilst Leo sits in the space beside me like a trapped storm. He’s irritated enough that I
No. Absolutely not.“We’re heading to the same place,” he continues before anyone answers. “And apparently it’s easier to get between here and your territory by vehicle, which we didn’t bring.”I stare at him blankly. “Then hire one.”Callen snorts loudly. Traitor.Alaric just grins wider, as if he
** Leo’s POV **The meeting drags on for hours. By the time the sun starts dipping lower outside the lodge windows, every Alpha in the room smells like stress, exhaustion, and brewing aggression. Arguments spark at least every twenty minutes before Alpha Josh, or Ryder manage to drag things back und
The discussion around the table shifts toward territorial alliances and emergency response plans, but my attention keeps dragging back toward them despite myself. Catching Alaric’s amused stare and Bastian’s unsettling calm.“Alpha Ryder, Alpha Callen, I have spoken to everyone here, and we each agr
** Leo’s POV **Alpha Josh finally calls for the meeting to start officially, but I can barely focus on what’s being said because the twins keep watching me. They’re not doing it openly enough for anyone else in the room to notice, but I feel it every damn time I look up.Bastian lounges against the
Remy sits beside me, close enough that his arm presses against mine. “If anything feels off, anything at all, you tell us. No hiding anything, no being brave.”I roll my eyes. “You guys are seriously overreacting.”They stare at me. Silent, united and completely unconvinced. God… I love them. My che
“Everyone stay where you are,” the woman calls. “We need statements from all of you.”Her gaze flicks briefly to the Twiceborn, and something in her expression tightens. I don’t think it’s suspicion or fear. Just a quiet, uneasy sense that she’s looking at something she can’t quite name.I’d been wo
I clear my throat. “I don’t want Poppy anywhere near Greg. Jaxon can stay with her today with the Twiceborn guarding them both.”Ryder considers this, then nods once. “Leo and Jake stay with them then.”Callen stretches his neck. “Great. So what are the rest of us doing? Because watching Greg eat av
Greg scoffs. “What are you talking about? You should be in prison for what you’ve done to her and for kidnapping my son. This is clear abuse. She even has the scars to prove it. You are all insane.”A deadly kind of anger flows through the bond from Ryder, and I place a hand on his arm to calm him.







