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I roll onto my back so I can see him. “That’s… very vague for a man with spreadsheets and an emotional kill switch.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Do you want a spreadsheet for your post-heat existential crisis?”

“…Maybe.”

He just stares, unamused. I sigh and rub my face.

“I just - seven years I kept my head down. I ran from heat, from registration, from… everything. And now I’m here, with you guys, and I’m...” I swallow hard. “I’m happy. But I don’t know how to live outside this house anymore. The world isn’t just going to let me come waltzing back like ‘Oops, my bad, just out here committing omega felonies but it’s cool now, I’ve got a boyfriend harem.’”

Lucian’s expression doesn’t change. But his hand shifts, coming up to brush a thumb along my jaw.

“You’re not alone,” he says. “We’ll handle it. One thing at a time.”

“Lucian,” I whisper. “Your father works for the OMB. I spentseven yearsbreaking their rules. Do you think he’s just going to shake my hand and offer me a seat at the family dinner table?”

“No,” he says calmly. “But he’ll understand what it means when I stand beside you.”

My stomach flips. “So youaregoing to tell him?”

“I have to. Soon. And he’ll want to meet you. Assess you.” His voice hardens. “He’ll see what I see. And if he doesn’t - then he’ll learn.”

Cool. No pressure. Just a meeting with the guy who oversees the organization that could’ve locked me in a scent-suppression cell for most of my adult life. Love that for me.

“I can’t pretend that part’s not terrifying,” I admit.

“You don’t have to pretend,” he says. “Just stand with us. You’re not the one who should be afraid.”

I nod, but it’s the slow kind. The kind that saysI hear you, notI believe you.

Because deep down, I don’t know what happens when I walk out that door. Not really.

My phone buzzes from the nightstand, and I lurch upright with a groan and grab it.

One message. From Lexi.

If these assholes have locked you in a knot dungeon, blink twice.

My throat tightens. Then I laugh. Sharp, breathy, too full of everything.

Lucian watches me read the text. “Lexi?”

“Yeah,” I say softly. “She’s going to kill me. And then maybe cry. And then kill me again.”

“She knows?”

“She knows now. Kai and Theo made sure she got the message. But still.” I rub a hand over my face. “I disappeared on her. My best friend. And now I have to explain that I've been hiding the truth from her for seven years, bonded four alphas in less than two weeks, ran out of suppressants, and basically set fire to the rulebook.”

Lucian just nods like that’s fine. “You’ll talk to her. She’ll see how strong you are. And what this means.”

“You say that like she’s not going to show up here with a bat.”

“She’s welcome to try.”

I roll my eyes. “Great. That’ll go over well.”

He grins, and for a second, I actually believe it’ll all be okay.

A groan comes from the couch.

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