LOGINOliviaI was beginning to suspect the Hawthorn brothers had a secret competition going on.Not about who was strongest, fastest, or most terrifying in wolf form.No, apparently, the competition was about who could plan the best date.Jeremy had taken me for pancakes and a wonderfully ridiculous afternoon at the lake. Logan had practically swept me off my feet with a romantic dinner, and now Thomas was standing in my doorway holding a picnic basket.A picnic basket.I stared at it.“Please tell me there aren’t any live animals in there.”Thomas blinked. “Why would there be?”“Because your family has completely destroyed my understanding of what’s normal.”He laughed.“No animals. Just lunch.”“Good. Because I’m still recovering from discovering that the enormous wolf I rode through the woods was actually Ethan.”Maximus good horse.I closed my eyes.“Maximus, for the last time, you are not a horse.”Thomas started laughing.“He’s listening?”“Unfortunately. Your wolves apparently have
ThomasThere were three of us sitting in the living room, pretending we weren’t waiting for Logan and Olivia to come home.It was pathetic.I’d been reading the same page of my book for twenty minutes. Ethan was cleaning a knife that had been spotless when he’d started, and Jeremy had eaten enough potato chips to qualify as a medical emergency.“They’ve been gone four hours,” Jeremy announced.Ethan didn’t look up. “Congratulations. You can tell time.”“Four hours and seventeen minutes.”“Even more impressive.”Jeremy threw a chip at him.I turned a page.I hadn’t read the previous one, but appearances mattered.Titan stirred inside my head.Mate happy.I smiled before I could stop myself.That was the strange thing about our bond. I couldn’t hear everything Olivia was thinking, and I certainly didn’t want to intrude on her private moments with Logan. But emotions sometimes slipped through, especially when they were strong.Right now, she was happy.And apparently very interested in k
Logan I’d negotiated territorial disputes, dealt with rogue wolves, and once talked Ethan out of breaking a man’s jaw because he’d insulted our mother.None of those situations had prepared me for planning a date.Especially when the woman involved was Olivia.“You’re overthinking it,” Thomas said from my bedroom doorway.I glanced up from my phone. “Don’t you have something better to do?”“Probably. But watching you panic is more entertaining.”“I’m not panicking.”“You’ve been staring at restaurant menus for twenty minutes.”“I want to take her somewhere nice.”“Then take her somewhere nice.”I gave him a look.He shrugged. “See? Problem solved.”I considered throwing my phone at him.Brutus growled approvingly.Thomas annoying.For once, we agreed.Thomas wandered farther into my room, looking entirely too comfortable for someone who hadn’t been invited inside.“Can I give you some advice?”“No.”“Don’t treat her like you’re negotiating a business merger.”I stopped scrolling.He
OliviaI woke up warm.Too warm.There was an arm around my waist, another across my legs, somebody’s hand loosely wrapped around mine, and something heavy pressed against my back.For several sleepy seconds, I couldn’t remember why.Then Jeremy snored.My eyes opened.Oh, right.Four boyfriends.One bed.What the hell was my life?I carefully turned my head. Logan was asleep beside me, his face softer without the constant future-Alpha seriousness. Ethan was behind me, and judging by the arm around my waist, he was responsible for most of the furnace situation. Thomas had somehow migrated from the foot of the bed and was sleeping diagonally with one hand resting near my ankle.Jeremy had taken over everything else.One leg was hanging off the mattress. His head was where Thomas’s feet had originally been, and his arm was thrown across my shins.I smiled.This should’ve felt strange.It did feel strange.But it also felt ridiculously nice.Ethan shifted behind me.His arm tightened.Ma
EthanOlivia’s father looked nothing like the man I’d imagined.That bothered me.For weeks, I’d heard pieces of what her childhood had been like after her mother died. The drinking. The jobs he couldn’t keep. Olivia giving up college because somebody had to pay bills and keep food in the house. I’d built a picture of him in my head, and I hadn’t been particularly charitable about it.The man sitting inside the police station didn’t look like a monster.He looked tired.Old before his time.And terrified for his daughter.The second Olivia walked through the doors, he stood.“Liv.”She stopped.I felt everything through the bond.Anger.Love.Resentment.Relief.All tangled together.Then her father opened his arms.Olivia hesitated.Only for a second.She crossed the room and hugged him.Maximus went quiet.So did I.Her father buried his face against her hair. “I’m sorry.”“I know.”“I should’ve told you.”“Yes.”That almost made me smile.Olivia wasn’t giving him an easy forgivenes
OliviaMy father was crying.Not drunk crying.I knew drunk crying. I knew the slurred apologies, the rambling promises that tomorrow would be different, the way he’d sometimes start talking about Mom and end up angry at the entire world because she wasn’t in it anymore.This was different.He sounded terrified.“Dad, slow down. What happened?”Jeremy moved closer until our shoulders touched, but he didn’t interrupt.“I didn’t know where else to call,” Dad said. “He just showed up, Liv. He knew things. Things about your mother.”My stomach tightened.“Adrian?”“Yes.”“When?”“Last night.”“Last night?” My voice rose. “Why are you just calling me now?”Silence.I closed my eyes.“Dad. Have you been drinking?”“No.”That answer came quickly.Clearly.I looked at Jeremy.He’d heard it too.“When was your last drink?”Another silence.“Yesterday morning.”I almost didn’t believe him.Then Dad whispered, “I was afraid if I drank, I wouldn’t remember what he said.”Something inside me crack
OliviaEarly the next morning, I loaded the last of my things into my car.Thank God Uncle Mike replaced the battery yesterday. There was no way I could drag a suitcase and a storage box across town on a bus while moving into the Hawthorne estate.After packing the trunk, I walked back inside the h
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
LoganI woke up to something wet on my chest.Immediately, I grimaced.A blonde was sprawled across me, dead asleep and apparently drooling.Fantastic.What the hell was her name again?Tiffany?Tracy?Something with a T.I stared down at her with growing irritation. Honestly, she wasn’t nearly as
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







