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“You know it doesn’t work that way,” Ash growls.

“It does for me.”

I stare at him. He stares back.

Then Kai breaks the silence with a slow clap.

“And here I thoughtIwas the asshole in this littlepack.”

“You still are,” Ash mutters.

“Don’t fuckingsay that word,” Lucian growls.

Kai ignores him entirely, responding directly to Ash. “Okay, but like - less of one.”

“This isn’tfunny,” I say, rounding on him now.

“I know it’s not funny,” Kai says. “But we’re talking about fully marking and claiming a girl who didn’t even know she was rare until a few days ago. You’re ready to swear a bond that doesn’t even havetermsyet.”

Ash’s voice cuts through, low and sure. “I am.”

“So am I,” I say.

Kai hesitates. “Look - I like her. Ireallylike her. But I don’t know what this is yet. And I’m not exactly the bonding type. I’m here for the chaos. The claw marks. Not the picket fence.”

Ash eyes him. “But?”

Kai sighs. “But I’m not leaving her. Not unless she tells me to.”

Lucian scoffs, stepping away. “You’re all going to ruin her.”

“No,” I say. “You will, if you make this about power instead of her.”

He doesn’t respond to that. He just stands there, a silent wall in a tailored suit, cold and rigid and unbending.

Ash turns to me. “So it’s not just her we have to convince.”

I nod once. “No. It’shim,too.”

Kai rubs a hand over his face. “Awesome. So now it’s an omega rescue and a trust fall exercise.”

Lucian sneers. “She makes her choice, and so do I.”

Ash exhales slowly. “This is going to break something.”

“No,” I say, watching Lucian’s back disappear into the shadows. “It’s going tochangeeverything.”

Kai shakes his head. “Still voting for group therapy and a bottle of bourbon.”

“Yeah, well, I’m voting for her,” I say. “No matter how long it takes.”

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Rhea

The heat is still there. Like a nosy neighbor watching from behind the blinds. Not loud enough to ruin my life, but present enough to make sure I don’t forget she knows everything I did this week.

The ache between my thighs is dull now - less wildfire, more glowing coal. Still there. Still obnoxious. Still making me second-guess standing up too fast.

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