3. Returning The Shadow Pack

Cassia's POV

Six years later.

Yorkmere, Wolfsbane Research Group.

I had just stepped out of the lab when my assistant, Linda, caught up to me. "Dr. Durant, Mr. Nolan needs to see you. He asked you to stop by his office."

I'd worked through the night, analyzing Wolfsbane's toxicity. Exhaustion weighed heavily ce. But at her words, I jolted awake, alert. "Did he say what it's about? Don't tell me... the twins wrecked another project?"

"I'm afraid they did." Linda gave me a look of sympathy.

When I'd given birth to my boys, the delivery had been difficult and dangerous. I'd been hanging on by a thread when my wolf finally awakened -saving both me and my sons.

Ever since then, my wolf had been deeply bonded to the twins. Even across the entire facility, I could sense Lucian and Killian's nervous anticipation after getting into trouble.

After leaving Shadow Pack, I had thrown myself into the Wolfsbane project overseas.

I came from a long line of wolf healers. I'd grown up surrounded by the scent of herbs and ancient wolf medicine. That background helped me earn the top spot in Mr. Nolan's pregnant. I struggled with the decision -whether to keep them or not.

But once my wolf connected with the life growing inside me, I could feel their heartbeats through our bond.

I couldn't let them go.

I chose to keep them.

There had been triplets—two boys and a girl. The girl hadn't survived the birth—she'd suffered oxygen deprivation.

But my two boys had pulled through—Lucian and Killian.

Just thinking about those two brilliant little troublemakers brought a smile to my face.

Of course, now I was about to take the heat for them... again.

I hurried toward Nolan's office.

4G

The moment I opened the door, there they were-Lucian and Killian, swinging their legs on the sofa.

When they saw me, their eyes lit up.

They jumped down and ran straight to me.

One on each side, they tugged me onto the couch and started massaging my shoulders, trying to ease my exhaustion.

Looking at their sweet faces, I sighed.

Guess taking the blame is worth it after all.

"Oh, now you're acting innocent? You sure weren't this sweet when you hacked my computer."

Behind his desk, Nolan Pierce was fuming. "And here I thought these two were angels."

Lucian puffed up his chest. "It's your fault, Mr. Nolan! You keep making Mommy work late. Look at her-she's exhausted!"

"Yeah!" Killian chimed in, his little hands still massaging my shoulders.

"You can't keep making Mommy work day and night!"

Nolan let out a frustrated laugh. "You two are the only ones always looking out for your mom. And for the record-everyone here works just as hard." He shook his head and turned to me.

"Anyway, how's the project coming along?"

"Very well. I'll send the latest data to your computer later today." I paused.

"Speaking of which-has your computer recovered?"

Nolan ran a hand through his hair. "It's been an hour. Still nothing."

I chuckled and patted Killian's head. "Go fix it-and no more games. No more messing around. What if you accidentally deleted something important?"

Killian grinned. "I wouldn't! I always make backups. Plus, I set up three layers of wolf-code encryption. There's no way anything would get lost!"

A few minutes later, the screen flickered and returned to normal.

I turned to Nolan. "I'm so sorry. The boys caused you trouble again. Please don't hold it against them."

Nolan couldn't help but smile. "Relax. I didn't call you here to scold you. I have a new assignment for you. I'm planning to open a research institute back home-focused on blending ancient werewolf healing practices with modern wolf medicine. But the setup is going to be complicated, so I want you to lead the team."

I hadn't expected that.

It had been six full years since I left home.

And I'd built a life here. I'd grown attached to this place.

Should I really go back?