All Chapters of AFTER THE DIVORCE, THE ALPHAS MADE THEIR CLAIMS ON ME. : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

STILL WATERSNina’s POV The calm didn’t vanish the moment I stepped outside the healer’s quarters. That was new. Usually, the second I crossed the threshold back into pack territory, the weight returned. The expectations pressing in, whispers brushing my skin, tension buzzing beneath every interaction. Today, though, the noise stayed… distant, like thunder rolling somewhere far beyond the mountains. I breathed in slowly and let it settle. The pack grounds stretched before me, busy in that carefully managed way, unrest created. Wolves trained harder than necessary. Conversations cut short when I passed, then resumed in low murmurs once I was out of earshot. I noticed it all. I just didn’t absorb it. Lina shifted contentedly. You feel steadier. “I am steadier,” I murmured. I walked without a destina

WHAT THE BODY REMEMBERSNina’s POVI didn’t go back to my room right away.After Axel left me at the edge of the grounds, I stayed there a little longer, staring at the trees like they might give me answers if I waited long enough. The argument still rang in my ears, not his anger, but the concern beneath it.My wrist still felt warm where his hand had been.That unsettled me more than the shouting would have.Lina shifted quietly inside me, no longer restless but not fully at ease either.He’s right, she said.“I know,” I whispered.That was the worst part. I had known for a while.I'd known the moment my recovery stopped feeling like progress and started feeling like maintenance barely holding the line. I'd known when getting out of bed took intention instead of instinct, when my wolf rose more slowly to perceived threats, like she had to gather herself before answering the call.I’d known, and I’d ignored it.Because knowing didn’t change the reality waiting for me outside my door.

AFTER THE SMILE FADESNina’s POVI didn’t realize how tightly I’d been holding myself together until the pack gates came into view.The moment the familiar stone walls rose ahead of us, something inside me loosened, and everything else rushed in to take its place.The threat. Nate’s voice, calm and poisonous, replaying itself with cruel clarity.Malia hummed softly beside me, her head resting against my arm, half-asleep from the long afternoon. One small hand clutched the strap of her bag, the other curled loosely in my sleeve as it belonged there.I kept my smile in place.“Did you have fun today?” I asked lightly, as if my heart wasn’t still racing.She nodded, eyes fluttering open. “Mm-hmm. Can we do it again?”“Of course,” I said without hesitation. “Whenever you want.”She beamed, then yawned, pressing closer to me as the car slowed to a stop. The gates opened, guards bowing as we passed through.I didn’t miss the way their eyes lingered.They felt it too. The tension.As soon as

WHAT HE CARRIES IN SILENCENina’s POVI wasn’t looking for Axel.I told myself I was just walking.Letting my body unwind. Letting Lina stretch and breathe without the constant pressure of being watched.He’s nearby, she murmured.“I know,” I whispered back.I felt him before I saw him. That pull, familiar now, unmistakable. Axel’s presence was different when he thought no one was around. Less sharp. Less guarded. Like a blade set down instead of held.I followed the sound of his voice before I realized what I was doing.He was in the old equipment shed at the far edge of the grounds, the one no one used anymore because it smelled like dust and oil and memories. The door was ajar. Light spilled out in a narrow line, cutting across the darkening path.Axel stood inside, back to the door, hands braced on the worktable like he was holding himself upright by force alone.He wasn’t talking to anyone.At least, no one I could see.“I told myself I’d never do this again,” he said quietly.I

BLOOD AND WHAT IT OWESNina’s POVRyan drove like he always did, with one hand tight on the steering wheel, jaw clenched, music turned low enough to serve as background noise. The city lights streaked past the windows, blurred by the thin drizzle that had started halfway through our drive.I’d asked him to take me out. I wanted to be away from the pack grounds, away from the walls that felt like they were closing in on me.He didn’t ask questions at first, which I appreciated.We’d stopped at a late-night diner on the edge of town, the kind that smelled like grease and burnt coffee and comfort you didn’t have to think too hard about. We slid into a booth near the window. Ryan ordered pie without asking me what I wanted, because he knew. Chocolate cream. Always.It wasn’t until the waitress walked away that he finally looked at me properly.“Okay,” he said, leaning back against the cracked vinyl seat. “You didn’t drag me out here at this hour just because you missed my charming company