Chapter 4

Inside the private booth at the upscale café, I sat with a detached expression, sipping my coffee, cup after cup. Nova Harper, my publicly acknowledged mate, was talking excitedly beside me, her voice blending with the soft hum of the pack’s elite around us. I neither responded nor interrupted her, my focus distant. Eventually, she sensed my mood and quieted down, though her hand remained possessively on my arm, the matching mate bracelets glinting under the dim light.

Keegan Hernandez, my Delta and closest confidant, rubbed his neck awkwardly as he drank. His tone was cautious, but the words carried…