All Chapters of AFTER THE DIVORCE, THE ALPHAS MADE THEIR CLAIMS ON ME. : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

MALIA’S TRUTH Nina’s POV I didn’t plan to see her again so soon. In truth, I hadn’t planned to see any of them. Not Axel, not his brothers, and certainly not the little girl who had somehow wrapped her tiny fingers around a part of my heart I didn’t know was still alive. But plans, I was learning, meant nothing these days. I was just stepping out of the pack healer’s quarters when Lina stirred sharply inside me, her awareness snapping to attention like a hound catching a scent. I lifted my gaze, and that was when I saw her. Malia sat on a fallen log at the edge of the clearing, her legs swinging freely, boots not quite touching the ground. She was humming softly to herself, braiding a little wildflower crown with clumsy but determined fingers. Her dark curls bounced as she tilted her head, tongue poking out in concentrat

GINA PUSHES Nina’s POV The pack hall had never felt so hostile. I stood at the front, spine straight, chin lifted, every instinct screaming at me to bare my teeth and snarl. The air was thick with tension, layered with distrust, curiosity, and something far uglier, anticipation. They were waiting for blood. Whispers rippled through the crowd like insects crawling under skin. Wolves I’d once shared meals with avoided my gaze. Others stared openly, their eyes sharp and assessing, as if weighing my worth. At the center of the hall, Gina stood with her arms crossed, posture immaculate, expression carefully arranged into something that might pass for concern if you didn’t know how to look closer. She smiled when she saw me. It didn’t reach her eyes. “Thank you all for coming,” Gina said, her voice car

PRIVATE TREATYNina’s POVThe doors to the council hall closed behind us with a final, echoing thud.The silence that followed was thick, charged, alive.I stood there for a moment, my back to the carved wood, heart hammering so hard I could feel it in my throat. The hall outside still buzzed with raised voices and outrage, but in here, it was just us.Four people. Four intentions. Not all of them aligned, but we were somehow trying to make it work.Axel was the first to move. He paced the room, like a predator too full of contained energy to stay still. Kaiden leaned against the far wall, arms crossed, expression unreadable. Kieran shut the inner door with deliberate care, then turned the lock.The click sounded louder than it should have.I swallowed. “You didn’t have to lock it.”“Given the mood out there?” Kieran said mildly. “I absolutely did.”I dragged a hand through my hair. My head was still spinning, from the declaration, from the pack’s reaction, from the weight of what the

STANDING GROUNDNina’s POV Ryan waited until the engines were gone. Only then did he come knocking on my door. Even though I thought he was going to leave with his entourage, I knew it was him before I opened it. Lina did too. I pulled the door open and found Ryan standing there with his helmet tucked under his arm, leather jacket half-zipped, expression carefully neutral. The moonlight carved sharp lines across his face, familiar and foreign all at once. He looked like he always did, grounded, unflinching, but there was something tired behind his eyes. “Hey,” I said softly. “Hey,” he replied. “You got a minute?” I stepped aside. “Come in.” He didn’t hesitate. Ryan never did. The guest house was quiet, warm with lamplight. I gestured toward the small table by the window. “Tea?”

SOFT PLACESNina’s POV The pack was restless that morning. I could feel it the moment I stepped outside, the hum beneath the ground, the way voices dipped when I passed, the way eyes lingered just a fraction too long. Lina stirred uneasily inside me. They’re restless. “I know,” I murmured. “Not today.” Today, I needed something else. I changed direction before anyone could intercept me, cutting past the main paths and toward the quieter wing of the estate. The air shifted as I walked. The stones here had heard laughter more often than arguments. Malia’s laughter. I heard it before I saw her. High and unguarded, the kind of sound that didn’t check who might be listening first. My steps slowed without my permission. She was in the small courtyard near the old oak, sitting on the ground with a collec