When I stepped into our new apartment, the air inside felt different,
heavier. My brothers were sprawled across the living room, but the
moment they saw me, they sat up, their eyes narrowing in suspicion.
They could sense something was off before I even opened my mouth.
Nathan leaned back against the couch, crossing his arms. “You look like
you’ve been through hell. What happened?”
Rolex stood by the window, his eyes fixed on me. “You’ve got that look.
Spill it.”
I let out a sharp breath and dropped into the nearest chair, running a
hand through my hair. “I ran into her,” I finally said.
Sean straightened, his face tight with curiosity. “Mia?”
“Yeah,” I confirmed, leaning forward, resting my elbows on my knees.
“She was in the woods, alone. Rogues came after her.”
Nathan scoffed, but there was a flicker of concern in his eyes. “What the
hell was she doing out there by herself?”
“She said she was clearing her head,” I answered, shaking my head. “But
it’s not safe. I tried to tell her, but she didn’t want to hear it. She doesn’t
trust us, and she sure as hell doesn’t want our help.”
Sean rubbed his jaw, his expression thoughtful. “Did she figure it out?”
I frowned. “Figure out what?”
“That we’ve been taking turns keeping an eye on her,” Sean clarified, his
tone cautious.
“I don’t think so,” I said, though I couldn’t be sure. “She’s stubborn, but
she’s not stupid. She knows something’s off, but she didn’t press it.”
Rolex turned from the window, his arms crossed. “This rogue problem is
getting worse. If they’re targeting her now, it’s only a matter of time
before it escalates.”
“We knew this would happen,” Nathan muttered. “She’s a target
because of who she is-and because of us.”
I clenched my fists, the weight of his words settling heavily on my
shoulders. He was right. Mia was caught in the middle of a storm we had
created, and now, even the rogues were drawn to her.
“She doesn’t want us near her,” I admitted, my voice quieter now. “She
told me to stay away.”
Sean raised an eyebrow. “And what did you do?”
“I left,” I replied, though the admission left a sour taste in my mouth.
“But I can’t ignore the fact that she was almost hurt because of us.”
Nathan leaned forward, his tone sharper now. “If she finds out we’re
protecting her without her knowing, she’s going to lose it.”
“Then we don’t let her find out,” Rolex interjected, his voice steady. “We
keep doing what we’re doing. She might hate us, but at least she’ll be
safe.”
I glanced at him, my chest tightening. “And how long do you think we
can keep this up? She’s not the same Mia we knew. She’s stronger,
smarter, and she’s not going to let us control her.”
Nathan leaned back, his gaze darkening. “Then we adapt. We can’t let
her slip through our fingers again. Not this time.”
The room fell silent, the weight of our shared guilt hanging heavy in the
air. I couldn’t shake the image of Mia in the woods, fighting off rogues
with everything she had, refusing to let me help her.
“She’s angry,” I said quietly. “And she has every right to be. But we can’t
stop protecting her, even if it means staying in the shadows.”
Sean nodded, his expression grim. “We owe her that much.”
Rolex gave me a long look. “If you saw her out there, you know she’s still
in danger. We stick to the plan. No matter what.”
I didn’t respond right away, my mind replaying Mia’s defiant glare and
the fire in her eyes. Like she was hiding something at the moment. She
didn’t need us-or so she thought. But whether she wanted it or not, we
weren’t going anywhere. Not until we made things right.
leaned back in my chair, trying to sort through my thoughts. I could still
see her, standing in the woods, fierce but vulnerable.
“She doesn’t know,” I began, glancing at Nathan, whose brow furrowed
in confusion. “She doesn’t know we’ve been watching her or keeping her
safe.”
Nathan crossed his arms, leaning forward slightly. “If she doesn’t know,
why the hell were rogues targeting her specifically? She doesn’t even
have a wolf. Why her?”
That was the question that kept me up at night. “I don’t know,” I
admitted, frustration bubbling beneath the surface. “But this wasn’t
random. They weren’t just wandering rogues. They wanted her, not
anyone else. That means there’s more going on than we realize.”
Sean, who had been quiet until now, stood and started pacing. “Rogues
don’t just target anyone without a reason. Either someone’s sent them,
or there’s something about Mia we don’t know.”
“She doesn’t have a wolf,” Nathan pointed out again, though his tone
held a note of doubt. “At least, that’s what we always thought.”
The idea that there might be more to Mia than any of us realized gnawed
at me. I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something bigger
happening, something none of us had seen before.
“We need to find out what’s going on,” I said firmly as I looked at each
of them. “This isn’t just about protecting her from rogues. There’s a
reason they’re after her, and we need to figure out what it is.”
Rolex raised an eyebrow. “And what about Tristan? You saw him with
her. Are you sure it’s her?”
My jaw tightened at the mention of Tristan. “It’s her,” I confirmed. “He
was with her, and there’s no mistaking it. She’s alive, and she’s here.”
Nathan frowned, his eyes narrowing. “If she’s alive, then why does she
pretend not to know us? And why the hell is she with Tristan?”
“She’s pretending to have amnesia,” I said, the words bitter on my
tongue. “But I don’t believe it. She knows more than she’s letting on.”
Sean stopped pacing and leaned against the table, his expression
thoughtful. “So, what do we do? If she’s pretending not to know us, she
has her reasons. Are we just going to ignore that and force our way in?”
“No,” I replied, sighing heavily. We made her suffer so much; if she
don’t want to remember those moments, then she was right. Who wants
to remember their haunted past.
“We don’t force anything. But we don’t back off either. We stay close,
figure out what she’s hiding, and make sure she’s safe. If there’s even
the smallest chance of winning her back, we would take it.”
I would make sure that my little kitten forgives me and falls for us.
Rolex smirked slightly, though there was no humor in his eyes. “You
mean, we fight for her?”
“Yes,” I said without hesitation. “We fight for her. This time, we don’t
let her slip through our fingers.”
Nathan’s gaze was hard as he met mine. “And Tristan? Because he’s
clearly a problem.”
Yes, that was absolutely right; he was the main thorn who would come
between Mia and us. I don’t want Mia to go closer to him again.
“We’ll deal with him,” I answered them, “But right now, our focus is
Mia. We owe her everything, and this time, we do it right.”