"Gabriel's parents saved me." Nate's voice carried the weight of old gratitude. "After my parents died in the border clash with Silver Ridge, they took me in. Not as charity—as a son. And Gabriel… he did the same. From day one he called me brother, and he still does."
The words landed like shrapnel and my fingers clenched in my lap. The same Alpha who'd destroyed my family for challenging injustice had wrapped protective arms around an orphaned boy.
Nate's hand moved toward mine—comfort offered across the console. I jerked away, fixing my gaze on the passing cityscape. "Don't."
"Kat—"
"I'm glad your fate was different from mine." The truth tasted like copper. "I mean that. You deserved that kindness."
His hand retreated, fingers drumming against the gear shift.
"Colin was different. We met at school—he just decided we were friends. No tragedy required. When I became Beta, when older wolves challenged my authority, Colin broke three jaws in one night. His version of support."
"And now he doesn't know how else to help, so he arranges blind dates?" I forced lightness into my voice. "Because you've conquered everything else? And Gabriel—has he tried playing matchmaker too?”
Nate huffed a short laugh. "No. Colin pushes. Gabriel doesn’t. He respects my privacy, always has."
Nate’s gaze swung to me—intent, measuring, dangerous—and for a heartbeat I was sure he’d ask why I cared about his love life. The car drifted toward the center line.
"The road," I warned, praying he wouldn’t ask.
"I control everything better than you think."
The words hung between us, loaded with implication.
Did he mean the car? Or me? This new restraint he'd shown—was it control or performance? The Nate who'd demanded truth had vanished behind this careful Beta mask.
Silence swallowed the remaining miles. We traded playlists—his dark and driving, mine deceptively soft—neither commenting on the other's choices.
The highway bled into city streets, our uneasy truce riding shotgun while the skyline gathered ahead. A few turns later, the hotel rose before us, all glass and understated elegance.
The suite Gabriel had insisted on sprawled across the top floor—two bedrooms connected by a living space that rivaled pack territory.
"One suite," Nate noted, setting my bag by the door. "So I can protect you properly."
"Gabriel's orders?"
"Gabriel's paranoia." But his eyes swept the space, cataloging exits, checking sightlines. "The windows don't open. Good."
I photographed the view, the elegant furniture, then held the phone at arm's length for a selfie to send a picture.
Me: Arrived safely. Missing you.
Gabriel's response blazed across my screen within seconds—his face half in shadow, eyes burning with promise. The accompanying text made heat flood my cheeks:
Gabriel: Three days until I can show you exactly how much I've missed you already. Going to worship every inch of that perfect body.
‘Mate wants us,’ Elsie purred. ‘Needs us.’
‘Focus,’ I commanded her, but warmth pooled low in my stomach.
A knock interrupted. "Come in."
Nate leaned against the doorframe, jacket already on. "I'm heading out. Final arrangements for tomorrow."
"You're leaving?"
"Two hours. Maybe three." He crossed his arms, that familiar smirk playing at his lips. "Think you can survive without supervision? You did have excellent training."
The memory slammed through me—his body pressing mine, wrists pinned above my head, his breath hot against my neck as he whispered corrections. My voice cracked.
"Y-yes. I'll manage."
"Good. Visit your friend. Do something normal." He pushed off the doorframe. "But stay in touch. I'll collect you later."
The door clicked shut and I pressed my face into the pillow and screamed—muffled, desperate, confused.
‘He gives us freedom,’ Elsie observed. ‘Gabriel would cage us in protection. Nate believes we can protect ourselves.’
‘We're not doing this.’
‘Doing what, Katherine?’
‘Comparing them. Weighing them. We already have a mate.’
‘Yes. Gabriel owns us.’ She paused, deliberate. ‘But Nate sees us.’
‘Stop, Elsie.’
‘Gabriel wraps us in silk. Nate hands us daggers.’
‘I said stop.’
‘Tomorrow we meet the woman whose life we destroyed. For Gabriel. Always for Gabriel.’ Her tone turned bitter. ‘While the one who truly knows us arranges our battle.’
I grabbed my phone, texting Lily before Elsie could continue her treacherous observations. Tomorrow would determine everything—war or peace, acceptance or exile, Gabriel's love or his resentment.
But tonight, I'd pretend to be normal. I'd laugh with my friend, complain about men, eat too much chocolate.
I'd be Katherine without the Winters legacy, without the mate bond, without the impossible choice between two wolves who owned different pieces of my fractured heart.
My phone buzzed.
Lily: Get your ass to the bookstore. I’m here.
I left the suite's luxury behind, but couldn't escape the truth my wolf had voiced.
Gabriel protected me like a possession. Nate armed me like a warrior.
And tomorrow, facing Evelyn Barrett, I'd need to be both.