The mansion was quiet in the deep hours of the night. Most of the pack had gone to bed, and the only sound was the distant hum of the fountain in the garden. Claire stood on the balcony of the guest suite she had been given, wrapped in a soft robe, staring at the moonlit grounds. Sleep had been elusive since their return. The weight of the pack’s judgment, Xander’s cold distance, and the guilt over hiding Alex Jr. pressed on her like stones.
She didn’t hear him approach until he was already there.
Xander stepped onto the balcony from the connecting door, his presence filling the space instantly. He was barefoot, wearing only dark sweatpants, his powerful torso bare under the moonlight. The mate bond flared between them the moment their eyes met — warm, golden, and insistent. For a long m
