DeLuca Estate – Luca's Bedroom, Dawn
The room was still bathed in the scent of them — salt, skin, wolf, and something older. Moonlight still lingered in the corners.
Adunni lay on her side, staring at Luca's back.
His breathing was steady, almost too calm for someone who had just upended every wall they'd so carefully built.
She ran her fingers along the faint scars on his shoulder — old battle marks, half-shifted wounds — and he stirred beneath her touch.
"You watching me again?" he murmured, voice gravel and silk.
"Maybe."
He rolled to face her. His eyes were soft. Bare. No Alpha mask.
Just Luca.
They stared at each other, inches apart. Something heavy sat between them — not regret. Not exactly fear.
But weight.
"This doesn't change things," she said, voice quiet.
"It already has."
She looked away. "You're used to being in control."
"And you're used to running."
"I don't run."
He tilted his head. "Then what do you call last night?"
Adunni didn't answer right away. Instead, she sat up, pulling the sheet with her. The heat of his gaze followed the curve of her spine.
"Last night… I didn't feel alone."
That admission sat in the space between them like a truth neither had wanted to say first.
Luca reached for her hand. Held it.
"I don't want this to be just a moment," he said. "Even if you do."
She closed her eyes. "I'm not yours to keep, Luca."
"But you're mine to fight for."
Her heart did something painful. And beautiful.
For a moment, just one, she let herself believe it.
Then Sabine's voice crackled through the intercom, sharp and tense:
"We have a problem. Matteo's injured. We're bringing him in hot."
The spell broke.
Adunni was already on her feet, pulling clothes on. But Luca didn't let go of her hand right away.
"Be careful out there," he said.
Adunni paused, then whispered back:
"I'm not the one who breaks easy."
Outer Woods, Two Hours from the DeLuca Estate
The tires of the tactical SUV skidded across the wet gravel, the scent of blood thick in the air. Sabine's knuckles were white on the steering wheel, her jaw clenched so tight it ached. Matteo lay half-conscious in the back seat, his shirt soaked in blood, eyes fluttering between lucidity and darkness.
She'd stabilized him—just barely—using field gauze and a silver-resistant injection. But he had taken a blow that would've killed a human instantly. A rogue's claw, poisoned and curved with dark runes, had slashed from his ribs to his hip.
"Stay with me, idiot," she muttered, her voice cracking. "Don't you dare check out. You still owe me three arguments and a coffee."
He didn't respond, just groaned faintly, his hand twitching toward hers.
Sabine grabbed it and squeezed, her control beginning to fracture.
DeLuca Estate - Medical Wing
Adunni and Luca were waiting at the gates when Sabine roared in. Blood stained her jeans and neck, and her eyes were wild, rimmed with red. Matteo was unconscious by then, barely breathing.
"He needs surgery now!" she snapped at the waiting medical staff. "Get your hands off him gently—he's still semi-shifted. Any more trauma and you'll trigger cardiac convulsions."
Her tone was lethal, commanding.
But when they rolled him away and she was left standing in the bay, something in her crumpled.
Adunni stepped forward carefully. "Sabine—"
Sabine turned, eyes blazing. "Don't. Don't try to comfort me. I'm fine."
But her lip trembled.
And Adunni, ignoring the warning, reached out.
Sabine sank to her knees.
A warrior undone.
"I told him to watch the south ridge. I told him not to split up. But he—he always wants to prove he's not just a pretty face with good aim."
"You're not responsible for what the rogues do."
Sabine looked up, tears finally breaking free. "You didn't see the way he looked at me when he went down. Like... like he thought it was the last time. Like he regretted nothing. That's not fair. I didn't get a chance to—"
She broke off, biting her fist to keep from sobbing aloud.
Adunni knelt beside her. "You're allowed to feel this. You're not made of steel, Sabine. None of us are."
For a long moment, Sabine just wept. Quiet, raw tears. Then, slowly, she stood, wiping her face with the heel of her hand.
"I'm going to stay with him until he wakes up. And if he doesn't—"
She didn't finish. She didn't need to.
Medical Wing – Matteo's Room, Hours Later
The room was dark except for the monitor's rhythmic beeping. Matteo lay on a recovery bed, shirtless, bandages wrapped around his torso.
Sabine hadn't moved from the chair.
She'd changed into clean clothes, but her hair was still damp from the rain. Her boots were on the floor beside her, and her feet were curled into the chair, knees up against her chest.
"I don't know why you do this to me," she whispered. "Why you have to make me feel things I've spent years burying."
Matteo groaned softly. She stiffened.
He blinked slowly. "Your... nose gets red when you cry. Cute."
Sabine barked a broken laugh. "You're lucky you're drugged or I'd hit you."
He gave a slow, pained smile. "You already did. Last week. Training mat. Still bruised."
Sabine reached for his hand again.
This time, she didn't let go.
"I thought I lost you."
He closed his eyes. "Not a chance. You still haven't kissed me yet."
She exhaled shakily.
"Don't push your luck."
But she leaned over.
And kissed his forehead.
Soft.
And everything she'd been afraid to say, came rushing out.
"I don't want to lose you" she said.
"Am sorry I scared you" he said.
She finally gives in, tears blinding her eyes as she kissed his bruised lips.
DeLuca Estate – Observation Wing, Late Night
Adunni's instincts hadn't stopped buzzing since Matteo had been brought in. The attack had been too clean, too perfectly timed. Someone had leaked their mission coordinates.
She walked silently through the shadowed corridors, her fingers brushing the hidden blade tucked under her robe. She wasn't taking chances.
She found Anya in the surveillance room. The woman turned, startled. Her face smoothed into a mask too quickly.
"Adunni," she said lightly. "Can't sleep?"
Adunni shut the door behind her.
"No. And neither should you."
Anya raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"
Adunni walked closer, voice low. "You were on shift when Matteo and Sabine left. And somehow, the exact ridge they were stationed on was ambushed by a rogue pack with black runes—Darius's signature."
"I checked the perimeter logs myself. Everything was clean."
"You're good, Anya. Almost too good. But you forgot one thing."
Adunni placed a tiny object on the table: a listening device.
Anya's eyes flickered. Just for a second.
"You planted that?"
"No. You did. You planted it in Luca's council chamber. We found it this morning, embedded in the wood paneling near the east wall."
Silence stretched. Thick and lethal.
"You don't know what Darius is capable of," Anya said finally, softly.
"I know enough. I know he turned you."
Anya flinched.
"I didn't want this. But he has my sister. I'm not like them. I didn't hurt anyone."
Adunni's voice was flat. "You nearly got Matteo killed."
Anya stepped forward, desperate. "Please. I can still help you. I know his next move. He's going after the ritual site your grandmother protected. The one in the obsidian cave."
Adunni's breath caught.
Her grandmother had hidden the entrance. Only the hybrid bloodline could access it. And only when the moon burned red.
"You'll tell Luca yourself. And then you'll be confined. If you're lying—"
Anya nodded quickly. "I understand."
But Adunni didn't miss the flicker of relief in her eyes.
As she turned to leave, Adunni murmured, "If you had come to me sooner... maybe this would've ended differently."
Anya whispered back, "I didn't think you'd believe me."
Adunni looked over her shoulder. "I still don't."