**ATTICUS**
The farmhouse comes into view just as the sky begins to lighten at the edges, that thin grey hour where the world feels suspended between night and morning, and the moment I see movement near the drive my stomach drops hard. A car is parked crookedly near the front, trunk open, and Devin is there, moving fast and deliberate, loading bags with the efficiency of someone who planned this exit long before now.
“He’s here,” I say through the link, the words tight and controlled even as my pulse spikes, “and he’s packing.”
Axel is already out of the vehicle before it fully stops, warriors fanning out behind us in silent formation, every body coiled and ready, and the bond between us hums sharp and hot with Bella’s presence so close it feels like static under my skin. She is inside
