LOGINLoganThe old council chamber sat beneath the east wing of the house, hidden behind a stone wall most people probably assumed was part of the foundation. I hadn’t been down there in years. Dad used it mostly for meetings involving things he didn’t want overheard, which meant the second he told all four of us to meet him there after Olivia and Lily were asleep, I knew whatever conversation we were about to have wasn’t going to be pleasant.Ethan walked beside me in silence while Jeremy and Thomas followed a few steps behind. For once, Jeremy wasn’t making jokes. That alone told me he was as unsettled as the rest of us. Dad had said the truth about our births, and those words had been sitting in my head ever since.What truth?As far as I knew, there wasn’t anything mysterious about our births. Ethan and I were identical twins. Jeremy and Thomas were identical twins born a little over a year later. It was unusual, sure, especially for wolves, but unusual didn’t mean secret.Apparently,
OliviaBy lunchtime, I had reached an uncomfortable conclusion about the Hawthorn family.They were all completely insane.There really wasn’t another explanation for what had been happening since breakfast. Every time I turned around, one of the four brothers was standing nearby, pretending he had a perfectly reasonable excuse for being there. Logan had followed Lily and me into the playroom because he apparently needed to inspect the windows. Ethan wandered in ten minutes later claiming he had misplaced his phone, even though I could see the outline of it in his back pocket. Jeremy arrived carrying two mugs of coffee and announced that he had accidentally made an extra one, while Thomas sat in the corner repairing the loose hinge on Lily’s toy chest before I had even noticed anything was wrong with it.At first, I wondered whether Mrs. Hawthorn had secretly assigned them to supervise me. Then I remembered her rule about staying away from her sons and decided that probably wasn’t it.
LoganThe door to Dad’s office had barely clicked shut behind us before Jeremy broke the silence.“So…” he drawled, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets. “Are we finally going to talk about it?”I didn’t even bother looking at him.“Talk about what?”Jeremy stopped walking in the hallway.“The fact that Olivia is my mate.”I stopped too.Very slowly, I turned around.“No.”Jeremy blinked.“…No?”“No,” I repeated. “She’s not your mate.”Thomas looked between us, completely calm compared to his twin.“Our wolves disagree.”I folded my arms across my chest.“That’s impossible.”Jeremy let out a laugh.“You keep saying that.”“Because it is.”Ethan rubbed both hands over his face.“Logan…”“No.”I pointed between myself and Ethan.“We’re twins.”Jeremy looked down at himself before pointing at Thomas.“So are we.”“Not the same thing.”Thomas raised one eyebrow.“How?”“You two were born a year later.”Jeremy shrugged.“So?”“So,” I said slowly, trying to keep my patience, “Ethan and
RichardThe moment the boys left my office, I remained seated behind my desk, staring out the window toward the woods.For the first time in years, I couldn’t see the forest as simply the land that surrounded our home. Every tree suddenly looked like it could be hiding answers I’d spent decades believing had died with the last Alpha King. If that silver wolf truly was who Victoria and I feared he might be, then nothing about Olivia arriving here had been a coincidence.The Moon Goddess hadn’t simply brought my sons their mate.She had dropped a storm into the middle of my family.The quiet knock on my office door pulled me from my thoughts.“Come in.”Marcus stepped inside, closing the door behind him before bowing his head respectfully.“You wanted to see me, Alpha?”“I did.”I motioned toward the chair across from my desk.“Sit down.”Marcus looked surprised. Normally, conversations like this were held standing. Whatever curiosity he had, he wisely kept it to himself as he lowered i
RichardThe office was silent after the door closed.No one moved.No one spoke.For several long seconds, the only sound was the grandfather clock ticking steadily in the corner.I looked at my four sons.Logan stood nearest the door, his jaw tight enough to crack teeth. Ethan paced in front of my desk, running both hands through his hair every few steps. Jeremy had abandoned his usual easy smile, while Thomas remained unnervingly calm, though I knew him well enough to recognize the tension in the way he clasped his hands behind his back.Victoria sat beside the window, staring toward the woods where the silver wolf had disappeared.She hadn’t spoken since we’d come inside.Finally, I broke the silence.“So…”My gaze swept across all four boys.“One of you wants to explain why every one of you looked ready to tear each other’s heads off the second Olivia touched Jeremy and Thomas?”Logan answered first.“Because their wolves reacted.”Jeremy folded his arms.“They didn’t just react.”
OliviaThe first thing I did when I woke up was sit straight up in bed.For a few seconds, I just stared at the ceiling while trying to remember if last night had actually happened.Maximus.Brutus.The ride through the woods.The silver wolf.“Elara’s daughter.”A shiver ran down my spine.There was no way I had imagined hearing those words. I could still hear the deep voice as clearly as if someone had whispered it into my ear.I rubbed my face with both hands.“Okay, Olivia,” I muttered. “Either you’re losing your mind… or this family really does have the weirdest wildlife sanctuary on Earth.”The thought almost made me laugh.Almost.After getting dressed in a pair of jeans and a soft sage-green T-shirt, I brushed my hair into a loose ponytail before opening my bedroom door.I froze.Four pairs of eyes looked back at me.Logan.Ethan.Jeremy.Thomas.Every single Hawthorn brother stood in the hallway.Nobody spoke.Nobody moved.They all just… stared.I blinked.“…Good morning?”“
Olivia“I’m sorry about showing up like this,” I said, wringing rainwater from the edge of the towel in my lap. “My car broke down, and I really didn’t want to miss this interview. Unfortunately, the weather decided not to cooperate either.”Mrs. Hawthorne studied me carefully before giving a small
OliviaI tightened my grip on the steering wheel and turned the ignition again. The engine sputtered violently before dying with a pathetic cough.“No. Absolutely not today,” I groaned, smacking the dashboard. “You cannot do this to me right now.”The ancient Honda had been barely surviving for mon
Olivia“I still don’t understand why you have to live in that house,” my father said quietly.We sat in our tiny living room, the old television humming softly in the background. Dad was in his recliner while I sat curled up on the couch across from him, explaining everything about my new job.For
OliviaI couldn’t decide whether I wanted to hug Mrs. Hawthorne for giving me the opportunity I desperately needed… or slap her for making me sound like some girl who would throw herself at her sons the second I moved in.In the end, I swallowed my irritation.This job mattered more than my pride r







