Chapter 37
1552 Words
Gwen
The sky was just beginning to shift to amber when Jordan and Derrick finally arrived at the Capital City Pack. I spotted them through the hallway window as their SUV pulled through the gates, their scent reaching me even before the guards opened the front doors.
Jordan flung her arms around me as soon as she stepped inside. “You look stronger already,” she said into my shoulder.
“Still catching up,” I murmured. “Come on—walk with me?”
We stole away into one of the castle’s quiet garden paths. The air smelled like snow. A storm was coming. I felt her presence beside me like a balm.
“They disappeared,” Jordan said softly. “Karl and Justin vanished almost the day after Cain took you. And your dad…” She trailed off.
My jaw tightened. “I don’t care where Terrance is. Dead, alive—I never want to see him again.”
Jordan nodded. “He betrayed you. But that doesn’t mean it won’t come back around.”
I stopped walking and looked out over the rose hedges. “He’s a shadow I’ve decided not to carry.”
She was silent for a moment. Then, “Derrick and I have been talking about the future of Middle Moon. The temporary Alpha’s decent, but he has no bite. If the Capital City Pack absorbed Middle Moon… you’d still have a say in what happens to your people.”
I turned toward her. “You think the Council would allow that?”
“With you mated to three royal heirs? They’ll fall in line.”
I nodded slowly, feeling the weight of another world pressing in.
Jordan bumped her shoulder into mine playfully. “Okay. Now the important question.”
I groaned. “Don’t.”
“I have to ask! You’re living in a castle with three fated mates. Gorgeous, powerful fated mates. So? How’s the s*x?”
Heat flared in my cheeks. “There hasn’t been any.”
Jordan’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”
“I can’t seem to get past what Justin did to me,” I admitted, arms folded. “The idea of someone touching me that way again—it feels too big. Too dangerous.”
“Then don’t start with all of them,” she said gently. “Just one. Someone you trust. Let them help you find your way back.”
Derrick
The triplets had pulled me into one of the castle’s smaller strategy rooms. Cain looked agitated. Cole was pacing. Cash sat on the edge of the table, arms folded, expression unreadable.
“Middle Moon’s hanging by a thread,” I told them. “The brothel rings are fractured, but not destroyed. The message boards went dark for forty-eight hours after the raid, then started back up under a new code name: ‘Ashwood Grove.’ We think they’re trying to rebrand.”
Cain growled low in his throat. “They think this ends with one raid?”
“No,” I said. “They know you’re coming. That’s why they’re hiding.”
Cash finally spoke. “We’ve been trying to focus on Gwen, but she’s pulling back. She doesn’t flinch, but she doesn't lean in either.”
“She needs time,” I told them. “Justin hurt her in ways you can’t just kiss away.”
Cole exhaled hard. “Then how do we help?”
“You let her lead,” I said simply. “Make space. Be consistent. Make it clear that she can stop or start anything, and you won’t love her any less.”
The three brothers exchanged a look—unspoken, but certain. They were ready to wait.
Gwen
The dining hall glowed with warm light and laughter. For once, things felt… almost normal.
Cain sat on my right, his thigh brushing mine. Cole poured wine with a soft smile. Cash stole bits of fruit from my plate when he thought I wasn’t looking.
Jordan cleared her throat and stood, one hand on her stomach.
“I have an announcement,” she said, eyes sweeping over the table. “We’re having a baby.”
There was a beat of stunned silence—and then the whole table erupted into cheers.
Derrick beamed. Cain clapped him on the back. Cole and Cash whooped. Even Queen Alice stood to embrace Jordan, eyes misty with joy.
I caught Jordan’s eye from across the table. Her smile was proud and quiet.
One step at a time, her expression seemed to say.
The dining hall glowed softly with golden sconces as I sat beside Jordan, trying to process everything. My mind still reeled from their conversation, but Jordan's announcement brought a burst of joy that temporarily swept away the shadows.
I looked around at the faces surrounding the table—Derrick, beaming with pride; the triplets, each wearing a different brand of shock and excitement; and Jordan, glowing in a way I hadn’t noticed before. I wondered briefly what it would be like to carry a child sired by my fated mates, but the thought vanished as Cash leaned in close.
His lips brushed the shell of my ear. “After dinner,” he murmured, his voice all smooth confidence and heat, “I have a surprise for you, sweetheart.”
A shiver rippled through me. My eyes flicked to his, those bright green irises sparking with mischief and hunger. I nodded, wordless and breathless, her pulse skipping.
Gwen
After dinner, the triplets walked me back to my room. Cain kissed my temple goodnight, Cole squeezed my hand, and then Cash lingered, that familiar glint in his eyes.
“I still owe you a surprise,” he said, voice low and velvet-smooth.
Cain and Cole exchanged a look—something brotherly and unreadable—and left us alone in the corridor.
“Come on,” Cash said, nudging me gently. “It’s just down the hall.”
He took my hand and led me to the castle’s western wing. I’d never been to this part before—it was quieter, lined with old stone and moonlit tapestries. Cash opened a carved wooden door and ushered me inside.
The room was glowing with candlelight. Soft instrumental music played from an old record player in the corner. In the center of the room was a low table surrounded by plush cushions. A tray of chocolate-dipped fruit, a pot of tea, and two crystal glasses of wine waited for us.
I blinked, stunned. “You… set all this up?”
He shrugged with false casualness, but I could see the nerves behind his cocky smile. “Figured you deserved a little peace. A little sweetness. Just us. No thrones. No obligations.”
My heart melted.
I sat down beside him on the cushions. For a while, we just talked—about music, books, how he and Cole used to prank Cain when they were pups. Cash leaned in, brushing chocolate from the corner of my mouth with his thumb, and then… he kissed me.
Soft, slow, at first. Testing.
But when I didn’t pull away, he deepened the kiss, his hand cradling the back of my neck. I let him guide me gently down onto the cushions, his body aligning with mine.
He kissed a trail along my jaw, down my throat, his hands moving with reverence.
I froze.
“Cash,” I whispered, placing my palms on his chest. “I—I can’t.”
He lifted his head, breathing hard. “I thought… maybe it would be easier if it was just one of us.”
“It is easier,” I said quietly. “But I’m still not ready.”
His eyes searched mine, and something cracked open in him. “You wish it was Cain. You’re closer with him. You trust him more. I see it. I feel it. Sometimes it feels like you forget that Cole and I are your mates too.”
I sat up, cupping his face in my hands. “That’s not true.”
His jaw tensed, but he didn’t pull away.
“I feel so much for you,” I said. “You and Cole. Just as much as I do for Cain. It’s not about trust—it’s about time. I’ve known him longer. I leaned on him first. But that doesn’t mean I care less about you.”
“You didn’t pull away from him the way you pull away from me,” he said, voice hoarse.
“Because I’ve already faced those shadows with Cain. I haven’t done that with you. Yet.”
He closed his eyes.
I kissed his forehead. “We’re fated, Cash. All of us. The Moon Goddess didn’t give me three mates by accident.”
He let out a slow breath and pulled me into a tight hug, burying his face in my neck. “Sorry. I just… want you. All of you.”
“I’ll get there,” I promised. “With you. On my own time.”
He nodded against my skin. “Okay. No pressure.”
We stayed like that for a long time—wrapped around each other, the candles burning low.
And for the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel guilt. I just felt… safe.
- Writer
