Hi everyone,
I’m so sorry for disappearing and leaving you all hanging without an update. I was involved in a severe accident and have been undergoing treatnt and recovery, which forced to step away from writing for a while.
It’s been a difficult ti, but I’m doing much better now and slowly getting back on my feet. Thank you so much for your patience and for sticking around.
If you’re still here, still reading, thank you. Truly.
Let’s continue this journey together.
— — — — — — — —
Rhea and Tavian moved down the wide hallway of the main house, their sneakers rhythmic squeaking softly on the polished wood.
Rhea exhaled a long, tired breath and shook her head. "I still cannot believe Jason never ca back after running off like that. I honestly thought he would show up again after whatever dramatic thing he went to do with Ellie."
Tavian let out a low chuckle. He walked with a relaxed sway, his hands tucked deep into his pockets as he navigated the turns of the corridor. "What did you expect? He just found out the guy he has been crushing on all his life is his mate. Of course he is going to spend the whole day glued to him. I would too if I were him."
Rhea clicked her tongue, "tck tck tck." Her brows knitted together. "To think I even planned a lot of things to do with him, and he just ditched us." She huffed.
Tavian glanced at her sideways, his lips curling into a knowing smirk. "Weren’t you the one earlier all happy and gushing about how the Beta and Jason were about to make babies?"
"Well duh." Rhea rolled her eyes dramatically, her head tossing back. "I still want them to make babies. I just do not want him ditching us for it."
Tavian burst out laughing, the sound bright and unrestrained. "Oh my goddess, do you want to make the babies with them?" He squeezed the words out between breathless fits of laughter, doubling over slightly.
"E" Rhea dragged the word out, her face twisting into a mask of mock horror. She let out a small, jagged chuckle of her own. "I am definitely not a fan of a threeso."
Tavian laughed even harder, his shoulders shaking.
Rhea shot him a sharp glare, though her eyes danced with amusent. "I never knew you had such a dirty mind."
He winked at her, entirely unapologetic. "Every Oga does. We just choose who to show it to and who not to."
"Yuck." Rhea scrunched her nose, a look of genuine distaste flickering across her features. "Then I officially denounce myself as an Oga."
"Stop it," Tavian said, nudging her playfully with his shoulder so she stumbled a half step. "You can’t escape it."
"I can," Rhea countered, lifting her chin. "After all I have no wolf yet. I might be a sub alpha or sub beta for all we know."
Tavian slowed his pace, his laughter dying instantly. He looked at her with a sudden, heavy weight in his eyes. Every shifter knew the biological clock: the wolf awakened between fourteen and eighteen. To pass that window ant the soul was empty of a beast, a wolfless existence that most found pitying. He stared at the side of her face, his chest tightening. He could not fathom the quiet grief she must be burying, yet here she was, speaking of it with a hope that felt like a fragile glass thread.
Rhea noticed the sudden shift in his energy and turned her head, her brow arching. "What is wrong? You don’t want to leave the Oga rank? Don’t worry, even if I awaken as a sub alpha we all will still remain friends."
Tavian felt a lump form in his throat. He did not know how to burst her bubble, to tell her the math of their reality. He forced his lips into a soft, steady smile, choosing to keep the truth locked away. "I will never let you unfriend even if you turn into a goddess. I will just cling to you."
Rhea laughed, the sound light and oblivious.
"At least we might see Jason at dinner," Tavian said after a mont, trying to steer the air back to sothing stable.
Rhea humd, her expression suggesting she remained entirely unconvinced. "That is a very big might."
They rounded the next corner, and the air suddenly felt displaced. Rhea nearly slamd into a wall of solid muscle as Ares stepped out from a side passage.
Tavian gasped, his face draining of color as he scrambled backward. "Alpha! I am so sorry. Forgive us, Alpha," he stamred, bowing his head quickly in a frantic greeting.
Rhea, however, did not move back. She stood her ground, glaring up at Ares. She rubbed her shoulder where it had hit him, her eyes snapping with fire. "Are you blind? You nearly ran us over with that broad chest of yours."
Tavian’s eyes went wide with terror. He reached out, grabbing Rhea’s sleeve and trying to pull her behind him, his hands trembling as he hissed at her to be quiet.
Ares stood frozen for a heartbeat, his muscles locking under the weight of her sudden verbal assault. He looked down at the top of her head, then into the searing heat of her eyes. No one spoke to him with such raw, unfiltered vitriol. Her comnt about his broad chest hit him with a strange, jarring impact. It was a physical observation that felt uncomfortably intimate coming from her, making a sudden warmth prickle at the back of his neck. He wondered why she looked so beautiful with those glares, the sharpness in her eyes cutting through the heavy authority he usually wore like armor.
"Are you deaf?" Rhea snapped, her voice echoing in the quiet hallway.
Ares felt his brow furrow, his expression darkening as he regained his footing. "You should watch where you are going," he said, his voice dropping into a low, warning rumble.
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