All Chapters of Once Lost, Twice Found: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Reginald’s POVDoubt was a foreign thing to me.I had built my life on certainty, on the knowledge that the people closest to me would act as I expected, that loyalty would hold when it mattered, and that the rules we lived by would protect what we had. That is why the thought that had been following me since yesterday felt like a blade: it was sharp, unwelcome, and impossible to ignore.I stood at the window of my office with a glass of whiskey cooling in my hand and watched the eastern courtyard below. I had not slept well. The estate moved in its usual rhythms below me, guards checking lists, servants carrying crates. And yet something was missing from it. Her scent had faded from the corridors days ago, that particular trace of omega and herbs and something that had never quite belonged here, and the absence of it irritated me in a w

Jack’s POVFor the first time since Ann arrived at Blackwood, I let myself admit something I had been avoiding: I knew almost nothing about my mate.I knew her name, Ann. I knew she was an omega carrying triplets, two of them with scents already strong and dominant enough to make my wolf take notice, while the third remained small enough that Doctor Anderson had quietly flagged the need for closer monitoring.I knew she had fled from somewhere inside Silverstone territory. I knew she flinched at Alphas, mistrusted medicine, and apologized for things that required no apology. I knew someone had hurt her so badly that kindness itself confused her.Beyond that, the map on my desk felt like a wall. I did not know her full name. I did not know which pack she belonged to. I did not know who had fathered the pups. Most dangerous of all, I had no idea who might come looking for her.Tristan stood across from me, both hands braced on the desk, watching the same stretch of territory I had been

Reginald’s POVCeleste arrived just after sunset, the corridor lamps throwing long shadows across the floor. I had expected her earlier; the delay irritated me more than it should have.Lately everything irritated me, every pause, every half-answer, every expression that lasted a fraction too long. I watched her close the door and stand a few feet from my desk, the papers and maps spread out between us like a battlefield.“Well?” I asked. “I expect you to brief me of your findings, like I asked.”She reported exactly what I had ordered.She had followed Beta Fisher all day. He had moved between the eastern training grounds, the records room, and the lower courtyard. He had spoken to two merchants who supplied grain an

Ann’s POVA few weeks had changed more than I expected.Not everything. I still woke at the smallest sound, checked the lock before I slept, and flinched when a man raised his voice nearby.The scent of an unfamiliar Alpha could still make my wolf retreat so sharply I had to remind myself where I was: Blackwood, not Silverstone, not the place where every corridor had felt like a trap, not the place where I had learned to brace for footsteps outside my door. Here, I could close my eyes without calculating what I would do if someone entered my room or yelled at me for doing something wrong. But still I could not shake the nightmares of Logan pinning me down while Reginald pushed himself inside me. I was still very much afraid, but I was also, slowly, becoming something else, something close to… happy.

Ann’s POVThe first time one of my babies moved, I thought something was wrong.We were sitting in one of the quieter gardens behind the Alpha residence. Jack had been talking about some council member and his endless grievances, and I was trying to follow but my attention kept slipping away from the words.“You aren’t listening,” he said.“I am,” I lied.He gave me that look. “What did I just say?”I opened my mouth. Nothing came out. My hand moved to my stomach before I realized I’d done it. I thought it was nothing, just my body adjusting. Then it happened again, a faint flutter, so soft I wasn’t sure I hadn’t imagined it.Jack stopped mid-sentence. “Ann?”I pressed my palm harder against the curve of my belly. There it was again: a tiny, unmistakable push from the inside.“Are you all right?” he asked, his voice different now, careful.“I’m not sure.” My fingers trembled. Another flutter, then something firmer. My eyes widened. “Oh.”“What?”“They moved,” I whispered. “I felt one