Amara’s POVThe lake shimmered beneath the moon, a black mirror strewn with silver, every gentle ripple catching the light and throwing it softly across the midnight hush. A chill breeze stirred the branches overhead, leaves whispering secrets to the water. The air, crisp and damp, tasted like promise and melancholy. I knelt at the edge, dipping my fingers into the glassy surface, feeling the cold bite clear through me—a shock to cut through the restlessness clawing at my soul.I’d tried to busy myself all evening: wandered the gardens, idled in rooms I never used, listened to clocks tick in distant halls. But it was useless. With the triplets gone to the pack's emergency council, this place—the grand mansion, the forest, even the moon itself—felt empty, too quiet, too vast. The bond, our bond, pulled tight and hot, coiling inside me like a live wire. It hurt, this waiting. It hollowed me, made me ache in places I hadn’t known existed until I met them.I sighed and hugged my knees to
Ryder 's PoV Amara squeaked, half mortified, and shoved weakly at my shoulder. I groaned, settling my face into the curve of her neck, breathing her in one last time as the spell broke. “Do you two have any shame?” Caden asked, an arch smirk dancing across his mouth as he strolled casually inside. I reached out, bracing myself on the mattress, and shot him a wicked smile. “Not when it comes to her. You’d know if you ever let yourself have a little fun before noon, brother.” Amara’s cheeks flamed, and she hid her face in the pillow, mumbling, “You are both impossible.” “Correction,” Caden intoned smoothly as he perched on the edge of the bed, one hand coming to rest atop her ankle, “all three of us, I think. And I’d count Jaxon, if he wasn’t still dead to the world somewhere.” Despite her best efforts to look scandalized, Amara’s eyes gleamed with laughter, her mouth curling at the edges. “If you two keep ganging up on me every morning, I might start locking the door,” she
Ryder’s POV The first thing my senses registered wasn’t the streaming sunlight sneaking through the sheer curtains, or the gentle chorus of birds trilling outside. It wasn’t the aroma of forest earth, or even the ever-present hush that settled over the lake at dawn. It was Amara. She was a tangle of limbs draped across my chest, a delicate weight that I clung to like something precious I could never dare to lose. The soft warmth of her skin bled through the thin sheet tangled around us. One of her thighs was thrown over mine, her bare foot pressed against my calf beneath the sheets—a proprietary touch that made my wolf preen inside me. Her hair—wild from last night’s impulsive swim—spread across the pillow and my shoulder, its dark strands still carrying the faintest scent of lake water mixed with her own uniquely intoxicating sweetness. Traces of laughter still echoed beneath my skin from hours past, but now she was tranquility itself, her eyelids fluttering in the blue dawn whi
Ryder’s POV The moon hung low—a spectral lantern, its silver light strung like silk across the dark water. The lake, warmed by the afternoon sun but cooled by midnight’s brush, held us afloat in its gentle embrace. Water tickled at bare skin, turning goosebumps into shivers, but the heat blooming between the four of us was more than enough fuel. Amara nestled against my chest, her skin slick and cool, heartbeat thudding against my ribs like a secret meant only for me. The others—my brothers—moved closer, ripples curling away, folding us all inward. Caden’s hand found my shoulder, his grip both reassurance and a simple assertion of his place. I glanced over; his eyes glittered gold, sharp in the moonlight, with a smile simmering just beneath. “She’s glowing,” he said, quietly proud. “Ryder made sure of that, didn’t he?” Amara’s blush painted her cheeks like sunrise. She ducked her head, nuzzling into the shelter of my arm but couldn’t help the soft smile spreading across her lips.
Amara's POV The moon hung low in the sky, a perfect, luminous orb casting its silver light across the surface of the lake. It shimmered, a living, breathing tapestry of liquid starlight, its surface disturbed only by the soft, lapping rhythm against the shore. The cool night air, thick with the scent of pine and damp earth, was a stark contrast to the heat that had been building inside me all day. I stood at the edge, bare-chested and rooted to the spot, my gaze a fixed point on the water. This wasn't just any lake. It was our lake. The one on our territory where we had all learned to swim, where we had shared countless moments of our youth. But tonight, it felt different. It felt like a sacred space, waiting for her. My eyes, and the possessive gaze of my inner wolf, watched as Amara laughed, a bright, melodic sound that seemed to shatter the silence of the night. She kicked off her sandals, her movements fluid and uninhibited, and ran into the shallows. The water, a dark, vel
Caden's POV The scent of sizzling bacon and fresh coffee mingled with the undeniable, potent musk of Alpha and Luna, thick in the kitchen air. Amara was still in my arms, her laughter a bright, melodious sound that chased away any lingering awkwardness from Ryder and Jaxon’s untimely entrance. She was a vision of radiant warmth, perched on the counter in my oversized shirt, her bare legs swinging, her face flushed from our intimacy. “You still want those pancakes, Luna?” I murmured against her hair, my voice rough with affection. The primal need to mark her, claim her, still hummed beneath my skin. “More than anything,” she whispered, her arms tightening around my neck, her eyes sparkling. “And you promised to make them.” “A promise I intend to keep,” I replied, gently setting her down on the floor, my hands lingering on her hips. I turned to the pantry, a faint smile playing on my lips, already pulling out the flour and mixing bowls. The sheer joy of making her breakfast, of nur