Hunter’s POV

Okay,” Zach said, breaking the silence, “are you going to tell me why you’ve been looking like you just watched someone skin your wolf alive, or should I start guessing?”

I didn’t move. Didn’t look at him. I just watched the clouds blur by outside as we ascended.

Zach let out a low whistle. “Wow. So, it’s like that. What happened at the airport?”

I exhaled slowly. “Nothing.”

“You almost missed the flight. You disappeared for twenty minutes. I thought maybe you got ambushed by rogues or kidnapped by a hot werewolf MILF, but… no scent. So, try again.”

My jaw flexed. I wasn’t in the mood for Zach’s usual sarcasm, but that was the problem with Betas—they didn’t care if you were a king. They cared about the man beneath it.

“I said it’s nothing,” I muttered, rubbing my forehead. “And I meant it.”

“Bullshit,” Zach replied, folding his arms. “You smelled like… like trouble. And something else. Something sweet. Not werewolf. Not vampire. Human.”

I winced. That damn scent was still burned into my senses—sunshine and strawberries and innocence. It was dangerous. She was dangerous.

“She was just…” I sighed, then turned to him. “She was in trouble. A creep was bothering her. I stepped in. That’s all.”

Zach raised an eyebrow. “You stepped in? You don’t step in, Hunter. You obliterate. Was she pretty?”

That was the understatement of the century.

Her long black hair, bouncing around her shoulders as she twirled like a child celebrating a victory. Those wide brown eyes that sparkled even as she kicked an unconscious man. Her laugh. That laugh—

“Yeah,” I said softly, “she was.”

Zach’s smirk faded. “Shit.”

“Yeah.”

There was a pause. I leaned back against the leather seat, loosening my tie. My wolf, Kayden, stirred in my mind, still unusually silent. That alone unsettled me.

Luca, however, wasn’t staying quiet.

“She’s ours,” Luca snarled. “You let her walk away. Why?”

Because she’s human, I snapped back. Because she doesn’t deserve the hell that follows us everywhere. You’d eat her alive.

“I’d worship her,” Luca growled. “The way she deserves. Soft skin… delicate pulse… She’s perfect.”

“Hunter,” Zach said, drawing my attention again. “You’re not saying what I think you’re saying, right? I mean… she’s not—”

“My mate,” I finished for him.

The word tasted foreign on my tongue.

Zach stared at me, eyes wide. “You’re joking.”

“I wish I was.”

He dragged a hand over his face. “The moon goddess gave you a human mate? The King of Lycans? That’s… that’s—”

“I know.”

We both fell into silence.

Zach leaned forward after a moment. “Are you okay?”

“No.”

That was the truth. I wasn’t okay. I hadn’t been okay from the moment I caught her scent and saw her eyes. The way she looked up at me. The way she said my name like she actually liked it. I’d saved dozens of humans before—never gave any of them a second thought. But Rein Mendes? She wasn’t just anyone.

She felt like a part of me I didn’t know I was missing.

She felt like home.

And that terrified the hell out of me.

Zach didn’t speak. He didn’t need to. The truth was there in the silence.

Her name was still fresh in my mind. Rein.

It echoed like a promise and a curse.

Rein’s POV

There’s something surreal about walking into a house that holds pieces of your heart, but none of the people who built it with you. As I stepped into our old family home—the one Mom used to light up with her laughter and Dad with his cheesy dad jokes—I felt a chill crawl up my spine.

Nothing had changed. The soft beige walls still wore the crayon art I drew when I was five, and the wooden banister still had that chip Dad swore he’d fix “tomorrow.” Spoiler alert: tomorrow never came.

My fingers skimmed across the dusty frame of a photo on the wall. It was the four of us—Mom, Dad, my little sister… and me. I looked so happy in that photo. My chest tightened as my throat closed up. I wasn’t going to cry. Nope. Not today, Satan.

Okay, maybe just one tear. A small one. A respectable tear.

I blinked rapidly and moved into the living room, hoping a good memory would replace the ache in my chest.

I didn’t even have time to breathe before—

“RAAAAAIN!”

Something—or someone—crashed into me like a derailed freight train. I shrieked as I was tackled to the floor, arms flailing like an inflatable car dealership guy.

“Rachel, you savage! Get off me before you break my spine!”

She only tightened her grip, her frizzy curls bouncing as she laughed like a maniac. “You left without saying goodbye, you traitor!”

“I had a plane to catch! And I did say goodbye… in the group chat!” I gasped, trying to squirm out from under her.

“Oh please, an emoji and a ‘bye babes’ doesn’t count!” she pouted, now sitting comfortably on top of me like I was her personal throne.

Before I could respond, more bodies joined the chaos.

“Oh no—SOPHIA NO!” I yelled just as she flopped on top of Rachel.

“Cuddle pile!” Sophia giggled.

“ADAM NO—” Too late. He was already laying across my legs like I was some kind of couch.

I looked up in horror to see Keith standing with a mischievous grin and Lisa filming everything on her phone while Julius and Alejandro howled with laughter from the doorway.

“I swear to the moon, Keith,” I warned, “if you even think about jumping—”

He put his hands up innocently. “I wasn’t going to! I was gonna save you!” He marched over and started pulling Sophia and Rachel off me while I gasped for air.

Rachel just clung tighter. “Never letting go. You’re my blanket now.”

“Then get ready for sweaty armpits and emotional baggage, babe,” I wheezed.

Eventually, after much wrestling, shoving, and one accidental kick to Adam’s face (sorry, bro), I was free. I stood up, dramatic and victorious like a queen rising from battle, and immediately launched myself into a proper hug with each of them.

“You guys are the worst. I missed you all so much.” I couldn’t stop smiling, even as my cheeks ached.

“We missed you more,” Lisa said, brushing my hair from my face like a proud older sister.

We spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on everything and nothing at once. Julius had a new girlfriend (gasp), Alejandro had dyed his hair electric blue (“It’s a personality statement!”), and Rachel… well, she’d apparently joined a pottery class and was “weirdly good” at making clay butts. Don’t ask. Just… don’t.

By the time evening rolled around, the sky had turned a soft lilac. The laughter had quieted into peaceful conversations and warm glances, the kind you exchange with people who’ve been your forever people.

Lisa sat beside me on the porch steps, Keith leaning against the railing.

“So…” she began, nudging me gently. “You sure you want to stay here? In your parents’ house?”

Keith added, “The pack house always has space for you. You’re family. We’d love to have you close.”