His Heirs and the Werewolf Queen

Chapter 14: The First Crack

I woke up at 4AM with Adrian's scent still on my skin from the hotel.

Rule #1 was broken. Rule #2 was broken.

But Rule #3 was the one that scared me the most.

No mate bond.

Except... I could feel him. Down the hall. Awake too.

There was a knock on my door at 5AM.

"Adrian?" I opened it. He was in sweatpants and a white t-shirt. Hair messy. Eyes tired.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

My heart hammered. "Why?"

"Because I can't sleep either," he admitted. "And I don't want to pretend anymore."

I stepped aside. He came in. Closed the door.

We stood there in my room. 10 feet apart.

The same room he used to carry me into 4 years ago.

"The investor liked us," Adrian said. "Said we looked like a real couple."

"We're not," I said quickly.

"Are we not?" He took a step closer. "Because last night you fell asleep in my arms."

"That was the storm."

"And this morning you didn't move when I touched you."

Another step. Now 5 feet.

"Adrian, we have rules."

"Screw the rules," he snapped. "Screw the contract. Screw the one year."

"Don't-"

"I've watched you for 3 days," he cut me off. "Cooking. Driving. Arguing with me over pancakes. You're still the most stubborn woman I've ever met."

"And you're still the most arrogant man-"

He was on me before I could finish.

Not a kiss. Not yet.

His forehead pressed to mine. His hands on my shoulders.

"I missed you," he whispered. "God, Cloe. I missed you so much."

My hands came up to his chest to push him away.

But I didn't push.

I gripped his shirt instead.

"Vanessa called again," he said. "She wants visitation."

"She can't," I breathed. "They're ours."

"Ours," he repeated. Like he was testing the word. "Say it again."

"They're ours."

That was it. The crack.

His mouth crashed into mine.

It wasn't soft. It wasn't sweet.

It was 4 years of anger and grief and longing all at once.

His hands were in my hair. Mine were fisted in his shirt.

We were kissing like we were drowning and the other person was air.

Rule #1. Shattered.

Rule #3. Obliterated.

I could feel the mate bond snapping into place.

That golden thread between us that I had cut 4 years ago.

It was stitching itself back together, hot and painful and perfect.

"Adrian," I gasped against his mouth. "The kids-"

"Are asleep," he growled. "And I need you."

He lifted me. I wrapped my legs around him.

He carried me to the bed like he had every right to.

Because he did.

We didn't talk after. We couldn't.

We just laid there. His arm around me. My head on his chest.

Listening to his heart. The same heart that broke me.

"One year," I whispered.

"To hell with one year," he said. "I'm not letting you go again."

At 6AM, there was banging on the door.

"Mommy! Daddy! Wake up! Pancakes!" Adrien's voice.

We shot apart like we'd been electrocuted.

Adrian pulled on his shirt. I yanked a blanket around myself.

"Coming!" I called, voice shaky.

When we opened the door, both kids were there in pajamas.

Adrienne looked between us. At my messy hair. At Adrian's kiss-swollen lips.

She smiled. "Are you guys friends now?"

Adrian looked at me. "Yeah baby," he said. "We're friends."

Friends.

Sure.

The kind of friends who kiss like the world is ending.

At breakfast, Adrian's hand found mine under the table.

I didn't pull away.

The kids didn't notice. They were too busy fighting over syrup.

But I noticed.

The way he kept looking at me.

The way the bond pulsed between us.

The way pretending was officially over.

After drop-off, Adrian turned to me in the car. "We need to talk."

"About last night?"

"About everything," he said. "The contract. Vanessa. Us."

"Okay," I nodded. "Tonight."

But when we got home, there was a letter on the door.

Legal envelope. From Vanessa's lawyer.

Adrian picked it up. His face went white.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Custody," he said. "She's filing for custody of the twins."

The world tilted.

The crack in our rules was nothing compared to the crack that just formed in our family.