Page 176 of Knotting the Cowboys

"Escalation toward what?" Austin asks, though we all know the answer.

"Violence." The word drops like a stone into still water. "In my experience, when an abuser starts surveillance at this level, they're planning something."

Cole's fist hits the coffee table with enough force to crack the wood. The sound makes everyone jump—Luna starts crying, Wendolyn gasps, and the chief's hand moves instinctively toward her weapon before she catches herself.

"Cole—" I start, but he's already pulling his hand back, staring at the damage like it surprised him.

"I'm fine," he grits out, though blood wells from his knuckles. "Table's not. Sorry."

"Don't apologize," Chief Reyes says quietly. "I'd have broken more than furniture if someone was stalking my family."

Family. The word hits different coming from an outsider, official acknowledgment of what we are to each other. Mavi continues showing footage while Austin soothes Luna and River quietly retrieves the first aid kit for Cole's hand.

"We're implementing additional security tomorrow," Mavi explains, outlining his plans with military precision. "Motion sensors, infrared cameras, randomized schedules?—"

"Good start," the chief interrupts. "But you'll need more. Official documentation of every incident. Regular check-ins with my department. And—" She pauses, something shifting in her expression. "There's precedent you need to know about."

The room goes still again, even Luna's fussing quieting as if she senses the weight of what's coming.

"Chief," Wendolyn says softly, a warning or encouragement, I can't tell which.

"They need to know." Chief Reyes straightens, authority settling around her like armor. "For their safety and for legal preparation." She turns to address all of us, but her eyes find mine. "We're implementing official protective protocols around this property. Increased patrols, direct emergency line, the works."

"That seems—" River starts.

"Necessary," she cuts him off. "Because we're not having a repeat of what happened to Celeste."

The name hits the room like a lightning strike. All four men go rigid—Cole's bandaged hand clenches, River's breath catches audibly, Mavi's typing stops mid-keystroke, and Austin pulls Luna tighter against his chest. The reaction is so visceral, so immediate, that my skin prickles with awareness.

"Who's Celeste?" My voice comes out smaller than intended.

Heavy silence fills the space, the kind that speaks of old wounds and carefully guarded secrets. Chief Reyes looks between my men, reading something in their faces that makes her expression soften with understanding. She glances at someone I hadn't noticed before—a deputy who'd entered silently behind her, positioning himself by the door. He's older, grizzled in the way of career cops, with kind eyes that have seen too much.

The deputy steps forward at some invisible signal from his chief.

"Celeste Torres was Luna's mother," he says gently, each word measured. "An omega who was killed in a fire set by her abusive pack."

The world tilts sideways. I stare at Luna—sweet, perfect Luna with her mismatched eyes and happy babble—then at her fathers who suddenly won't meet my gaze. My mind races, connecting dots I didn't know existed. Another omega. Another fire. Another death that brought them together.

"Set by," I repeat numbly. "You mean?—"

"Murdered," Chief Reyes confirms. "The official report ruled it accidental, but we know better. Just like we know what your ex-husband intended when he locked you in that burning house."

My legs give out. I sink onto the couch, hands shaking as the parallels crash over me. No wonder they were so ready to takeme in. No wonder they understood without explanation. They'd walked this path before—found another omega fleeing abuse, given her shelter, tried to protect her.

And failed.

"You never said." The words come out accusing, though I don't mean them to. "All this time, and you never?—"

"It wasn't our story to tell," River says quietly. "Celeste was... private. Guarded. She'd been running for so long, trust came hard."

"Sound familiar?" Austin adds, bouncing Luna when she starts to fuss again. "Scared omega shows up out of nowhere, wrapped in secrets and old wounds?"

The comparison stings because it's accurate. How many times have I deflected questions about my past, changed subjects when they got too close to painful truths? But this—this feels like a betrayal of a different magnitude. They let me walk blind into a situation they'd lived before.

"We were going to tell you," Cole says roughly. "When things were calmer. When you felt safer. But then Blake?—"

"Blake knows, doesn't he?" The realization hits like ice water. "His comment at the market about Luna taking after her mother. He knows what happened to Celeste."

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