Liam’s POV
“Hold your breath, Angel! You’re going under!” I warned.
Lia’s squeal rang out just before I pulled her beneath the surface with me. We broke through the water at the same time-me laughing, her sputtering. She threw her long hair back, wiping at her eyes, then immediately launched her counterattack.
“You absolute dickhead!” she shouted, though her giggles ruined any chance of sounding serious.
She splashed at me with all her might, but it was like a butterfly trying to knock over a boulder. It only made me laugh harder. Behind her, Logan stood waist-deep in the lake, roaring with laughter as well.
“She’s like an angry little pixie!” he howled, nearly doubling over.
Lia whirled around at his words, her eyes narrowing. Slowly, she sauntered toward him, her expression unreadable. Logan’s laughter faded as she stopped right in front of him, looking up at him with an air of pure mischief. He tried to hold back a grin, warily watching her.
Then, without warning, she placed both hands on his chest, running them down slowly, teasingly, until they reached his stomach. That wiped the humor from his face in an instant, his entire body locking up like he’d just been caught in a trap.
Before he could react, he was already falling backward, Lia’s hidden maneuver sending him crashing into the water.
Unfortunately for her, he wasn’t going down alone. At the last second, Logan grabbed her wrist and yanked her under with him.
That was all it took for the others to jump in. Bastian, Nikolai, Amara, and Thalassa charged into the water, intent on backing up Lia in her battle against us.
“You looked like you could use reinforcements!” Thalassa called over the chaos, grinning as she high-fived Lia before diving into the fray.
“Five against two! That’s cheating!” Logan protested-right before a tidal wave of water, courtesy of Bastian and Nikolai, slammed into his face.
Meanwhile, I was dealing with three pint-sized warriors trying to take me down. Under different circumstances, having three women grabbing at me might have been welcome. Just… not when the goal was to drown me.
Luckily, they were easy to fend off.
Or so I thought.
The moment they stepped back, I let my guard down-just in time to feel a forceful shove to my face that sent me under. I surfaced, coughing, and immediately spotted the culprit. Bastian. His laughter echoed across the water, proud and unrepentant.
“That’s got to be a violation of bro code,” I muttered.
“Alright, I think our fearless Alphas have learned their lesson!” Nikolai declared, grinning. “Now, who’s up for a game of Chicken?”
The girls all cheered, eager for the next challenge. Partners were quickly chosen-Lia climbed onto my shoulders, while Thalassa picked Logan. Amara paired up with Nikolai, leaving Bastian to act as referee. Not that we ever actually played by the rules.
Logan was already sulking over the fact that Lia had chosen me. I couldn’t help rubbing it in.
“Looks like my Angel knows who the real fighter is,” I taunted through our link. “Your reputation as the tougher twin must be slipping.”
“Keep talking, bro. Just remember, when she’s sitting on your shoulders, she’ll be facing the other way. No little bikini bottoms in sight.”
Asshole.
Lia might have been small, but she was scrappy. The guys were evenly matched, but her warrior training gave her an edge over the other girls. She took them down with ease, twisting and toppling them off their partners’ shoulders as if it was nothing.
Amara and Thalassa immediately blamed their losses on Logan and Nikolai, insisting on switching teams. But even with Logan as her partner, Lia still won.
“Okay, that’s it. No more switching,” I declared before the girls could convince us to try again. There was no way in hell my brother or I were letting Lia sit on another guy’s shoulders-with her legs wrapped around his neck and his hands on her thighs.
“Just admit defeat, ladies!” Logan teased. “You know she’ll just kick your ass again. Besides, I’m starving!”
The rest of the guys agreed, so we all made our way back to shore. Lia walked ahead with the others, while I trailed behind, watching as the water slowly revealed more of her body.
Logan must have noticed me lagging because he turned around and came back, following my gaze. The moment he saw what I was looking at, he let out a low whistle.
“Fucking perfection,” he muttered. A simple statement of fact.
We spent the rest of the afternoon eating and joking around, enjoying the food Naia had packed for us. Lia fit into our group effortlessly. It was obvious Amara and Thalassa already adored her, and watching her bond with everyone made my chest swell with pride. Logan felt the same-I could tell. If Lia could form real connections here, if she could feel like she belonged, maybe accepting our bond wouldn’t be so hard for her.
As the sun dipped lower, the lake grew quieter, the once-bustling crowds beginning to thin. It was time to head back.
On the way to the truck, Lia made another bid to convince us to go full throttle over the rougher roads.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, baby girl,” Logan said immediately, frowning.
“Sure, Angel,” I answered at the same time.
Lia laughed at our instant good cop, bad cop routine. I had to admit, it was strange how quickly my twin and I had switched roles when it came to her. Normally, I was the one holding Logan back-not the other way around.
“You can’t just give in to her every time, not when it comes to her safety,” he snapped in my head.
“Relax. I’ll sit with her in the back, and she can wear the harness. You’ll be driving, so you’ll still control the speed,” I reasoned.
“Fine.” He huffed. “But if she gets hurt, that’s on you.”
I rolled my eyes. You’d think she was asking to skydive without a parachute. If Logan didn’t loosen up soon, he was going to suffocate her.