Chapter 131
Cole
I leaned against the marble mantelpiece in the main hall, watching Blake pace like a caged animal while Asher flipped through the investigation report for the third time. The familiar pull of our triplet bond hummed with shared tension—Asher's cold calculation, Blake's barely leashed fury, my own knot of guilt and fear.
She's still upstairs getting ready. We have time.
"Read it again," Blake growled, raking fingers through his hair. "The part about the tattoo."
Asher's jaw tightened. "Full moon encircled by a double-headed serpent. Inked on the neck, just below the hairline." His voice dropped to that deadly calm tone that meant his wolf was closer than he'd admit. "It's Konstantin's mark. His personal enforcers."
Through the bond, I felt Blake's rage spike—white-hot and violent. Easy, brother. We can't lose it before we even get her to the party.
"They sent a fucking enforcer into our home." Blake's fists clenched. "While we were downstairs arguing with Mother."
"Which is why we're doing this tonight," Asher said, closing the folder with deliberate precision. "Normal social activity. Let Kara think we're moving forward while Griffin's team tracks the warehouse lead in Anchorage."
I finally spoke up, my voice quieter than I intended. "She hasn't fully recovered from the attack. The nightmares—"
"Are exactly why we need to get her out of this house." Asher cut me off, but not unkindly. "Surround her with the pack. Remind her she's safe. That she's ours."
Blake stopped pacing to stare at the staircase. "I still think this is a mistake. Too many variables. Too many people."
"I've stationed twelve warriors in civilian clothes throughout the venue," Asher countered. "Devon Cross will have eyes on her the entire time. And we—" he gestured to the three of us, "—won't let her out of our sight for more than five minutes."
Five minutes. The thought made my wolf bristle. Five minutes was long enough for everything to go wrong.
"There's something else." Asher's hesitation bled through the bond before he spoke. "The enforcer's fingerprints were acid-burned. Professional-level covering of tracks. But Griffin found traces of the same chemical compound at the warehouse where Scarlett Reeves was last seen."
My stomach dropped. Oh God.
Blake's eyes flashed gold. "You think they're connected. Scarlett, Celeste, and now Kara."
"I think," Asher said carefully, "that we don't tell her any of this until we have concrete proof. She's already carrying enough fear."
The lie of omission sat like lead in my chest, but I nodded. We'd promised no more secrets—but this wasn't a secret. It was protection. Right?
Keep telling yourself that, Cole.
---
Kara
I stared at my reflection and wanted to scream.
The black sequined mini-dress barely covered the tops of my thighs. The plunging neckline made Asher's bite mark impossible to miss—three neat puncture scars that caught the light like tiny moons. My deep gold curls had been wrestled into soft waves that cascaded over one bare shoulder, and the blood-red lipstick made my mouth look like an open wound.
This isn't me. This is what they want Luna Kara to look like.
The strappy silver heels added four inches I didn't know how to walk in. I wobbled, grabbing the dresser for balance, and the girl in the mirror wobbled too—a stranger playing dress-up in someone else's life.
You won the state math championship. You rebuilt Blake's motorcycle engine from memory. You survived ten years of hell in this house.
And now you're a dressed-up trophy.
The door opened without knocking.
Asher stood in the threshold, still in his charcoal suit from the "security meeting" he wouldn't let me attend. His pale blue eyes went pure black the second they landed on me—pupils swallowing iris in that telltale sign of his wolf surging forward.
"Kara." My name came out strangled. Reverent. Hungry.
Through the bond, I felt the shockwave hit Blake and Cole downstairs—Asher's reaction triggering theirs like dominoes. Blake's fire-and-leather scent spiked with aggression. Cole's mint-and-ozone turned electric with want.
Great. Now all three of them are going feral before we even leave.
Asher crossed to me in three measured steps, his control so tight I could feel it vibrating through our connection. His fingers traced my bare shoulder, following the curve of my collarbone to where his mark sat like a brand.
"You look..." He swallowed hard. "Like everything I don't deserve."
"Asher—"
His mouth cut off my protest, claiming my lips in a kiss that tasted like black coffee and desperation. His tongue swept past my teeth as one hand fisted in my hair, angling my head for better access. The other hand gripped my hip hard enough to bruise.
Mine, his wolf pulsed through the bond. Ours. Perfect. OURS.
When he finally pulled back, we were both panting. His "black ebony and tobacco" scent wrapped around me like smoke, deliberately covering my "white musk and first snow" with his own territorial claim.
"Sorry." His voice was gravel. "I just needed—" He stopped, resting his forehead against mine. "You have no idea what you do to us."
Oh, I think I'm getting a pretty clear picture.
I caught sight of us in the mirror—Asher's tall frame curved over me possessively, his hand still tangled in my curls, my lipstick smeared across both our mouths.
And for just a second, I remembered him seven years ago in this same hallway. Remembered his cold indifference when I'd asked him to help me with my math homework. Remembered him turning away like I was invisible.
This can't be real. This has to be the mate bond lying to both of us.
"You're shaking." Asher's thumb traced my jawline. "Talk to me, little Luna."
"I'm just..." I forced the words out. "What if I'm not ready for this? All those people staring, judging—"
"Then we leave." Simple. Absolute. "The second you want out, we go. But Kara—" He tipped my chin up, forcing me to meet those depthless eyes. "You are the future Luna of Silver Frost Pack. Tonight, everyone will see that you belong to us. That no one—no one—gets to make you feel small ever again."
He took my hand like we were dancing, gently swaying me side to side. The gesture was so unexpectedly tender that my throat tightened.
Through the bond, I felt him wrestling his wolf back under control. Felt how much it cost him to step back instead of throwing me on the bed and—
Nope. Not going there.
"Shall we?" He offered his arm.
I took it because I didn't know what else to do.