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may not grasp the full scope of his influence over the media, but I understand the outcome. He’s shielding Frankie, protecting her from public scrutiny. It’s an uncomfortable reminder of the power he wields. Montgomery Strakh. My uncle.
Kody’s half-brother. Wolf’s father. Frankie’s husband. The part that I’m really struggling to wrap my head around is that Kody, the guy who’s been my little brother my entire life, is actually my uncle. And we share the same woman. Shit doesn’t get more tangled than that. I don’t trust Monty, and he shouldn’t trust me.
His expression slowly empties, donning a mask of composure, but the frost in his blue eyes shows his true feelings—cold, cagey, dangerously aggressive.
His expression fractures, the image of a composed, controlled man cracking under the agony of what he lost. His wife, the woman he loves, aligns her comfort and safety with two other men. This isn’t a battle he can win. Nor is it one he can afford to fight right now. He wants us on that plane.
us.” I can’t imagine losing this woman’s love and watching her move on with other men. I can survive anything. But not that. It would hollow me out, cleave me apart, and turn me into dust. No coming back from that.
Leo’s voice fills the cabin. “Ladies and feral men, welcome to cruising altitude. If anyone’s thinking of joining the Mile High Club—I’m looking at you, Frankie—give me the signal.” He laughs. “The pilot doesn’t like that. You should see his face right now.”
“We’ll make it clear we’re there on our terms.” “If he steps out of line or tries to control us, we walk. We’re survivors. We’ll find a way, like we always do.” “We’re not captives anymore. No one will trap us, imprison us, or chain us down. Never again.”
I don’t want him to think I’ve forgiven him, because I haven’t. But I can’t deny the empathy and old feelings that well up at the sight of him bruised and underweight.
We stand there in awkward silence, the air oppressive. It’s confusing, frustrating, the lines between love and hate blurring beyond recognition.
When Leo and Kody start venturing out in public, they’ll turn heads and attract female attention just like Monty. It will only worsen after they take advantage of the gym and return to their beefed-up, chiseled physiques. Once the world sees how potent and irresistibly sexy they are, they’ll be propositioned, chased, objectified, and idolized. How will they handle that? Adultery runs in the family. My face burns, and my ears pressurize. Oh, the irrational fears of a scorned woman.
I’m not the sweet, healthy, fresh-faced girl I was nine months ago. That girl died in the hills, and a battle-hardened, half-starved, bloodthirsty woman rose in her place. A woman with a lot of baggage. Which makes Monty’s obsession with me suspicious and worrisome. He kept all my things in his bedroom like some love-sick widower, only to set up a room for me to share with my lovers.
The feral essence of his mouth seeps into my tastebuds, his sharp teeth catching tender skin, engulfing me in familiarity. I would recognize him in the dark by taste alone. And his scent. His earthy, wildfire scent is the elixir that transports me to a little hunting cabin in the Arctic, surrounded by snow, hearth smoke, and masculine skin.
Oh, fuck. All at once, they lunge for the bed. For me. In a blur of muscled limbs and snapping jaws, they move too fast to follow. I roll onto my stomach and scramble across the mattress, giving them the chase they crave. A hand captures my ankle, halting me. Another fists my hair, wrenching my head back. Kody’s earthy scent penetrates my senses, his grip shooting pain along my scalp as Leo wrenches my legs apart and presses his hardness against my center.
Feral like wolves, they nip and snarl and bite at the air as if they could tear each other apart with the sheer force of their dominance. I don’t sense hatred or resentment. The love between them runs deep, but it’s not sexual. Leo has boundaries and jealousy issues, and Kody wants to crash through them. Leo just wants to fuck me to the edge of my life. With impressive
My surroundings reflect my state of mind—dark, cold, filled with malicious shadows—trying to suck me in.
I’m a monster on the cusp of insanity. A stalker in the night. Her silent ache, haunting her from the darkness. But beneath the horror of my actions, there’s a man who’s
just lonely, broken, and desperately in love. A man who wishes more than anything that things were different, that she still wanted him the way he wants her.
Every time I look at her, I want to bend her over my knee and spank the resentment out of her. I want to choke her, bruise her, tie her to our bed, and fuck every hole in her body until her heart finds its way back to me.
The loneliness crushes me. I can’t breathe. I miss her with every fiber of my being, the longing a physical pain that rips through me. The night closes in, the darkness hovering like a reaper. I collapse, my strength gone, my spirit shattered, and reach for the only thing that can numb the pain. I drink until I pass out.
“Family isn’t about control or cruelty.” She softens her tone. “It’s not about tearing each other down or causing pain. Family is about love and support. It’s about being there for each other, no matter what. It’s about caring for one another, lifting each other up, and creating a safe space where everyone can grow and thrive.”
Her nails dig into my shirt, fisting the starched fabric. “Don’t fucking hurt me again.” “I won’t. I promise.” “I don’t believe you.” “I’ll prove you wrong.” “I hope you do.” She untangles our hands and leans back, regarding me. Gratitude. Relief. Hope. It’s all there in her striking eyes, the change of her breath, the drop of her shoulders, and the chambers of her heart inviting me in. Fucking finally. Let this be a lesson to you, little girl. Never invite a monster into your heart.
Her naturally red hair glows in the sunset light from the window, cascading to her waist like a fiery waterfall. She shifts her weight from foot to foot, swaying those slender hips. I know every curve and dip by memory. I could draw her shape with my eyes closed. She’s so soft. So feminine and dainty. But her petite frame belies the strength she possesses.
hours every night. Her pure, compassionate heart is almost as addictive as her filthy, sexual mind.
The man is a beast. A beast who kisses like he’s staring down death. Who understands the value of each breath. Who earns every precious inhale and exhale. Who conquers demons and arctic blizzards with his woman at his side as we fight and fuck and reach for the future with forever in the palms of our entwined hands.
This yacht, this life, it’s a world away from everything we’ve known. But we’re not in the hills anymore. We must adapt, evolve, and transcend from the feral, snarling animals raised in the wild into smarter, more refined, successful men.
She was my only source of light in the hills of shivers and shadows. In the halo of sunlight, she shines even brighter, glistening with warmth and luminescence, her expression serene, a rare and precious kind of peace.
She’s mine. My wife, my soul, my reason for existing. The thought of her with anyone else, of her being harmed, ignites an inferno in my veins. Leo and Kody are a whole other complication. They have their driver’s licenses now and are free to use my boats and cars. A freedom that both pleases and infuriates me. It means they can take her places and give her experiences outside
Except he’s not the husband I knew before my abduction. I can’t put my finger on exactly what it is. It’s so many things. He’s more humble and less guarded. More self-reliant and less pampered. He’s still a controlling, overbearing, hot-tempered alphahole, but he no longer storms off during an argument. He concedes and compromises.
“Bruising, claiming, ramming, burning, breaking, insides spilling, guts melting, spread open, ass up, crying out in the dark while you come on me, and I come in you. That’s where we’re headed.” By the time he finishes, he has my feet off the floor, my thighs around his hips, and my back against the bulkhead. He grips my hair, yanking my head back and forcing me to look at him.
But when she finally gave in? It was ebon nirvana. I took her to bed, and she showed me where the shadows of forgotten stars whisper secrets of eternity, where light and dark coalesce, and the divine
It’s their fight, their snarling, brawling, driven natures to get back on their feet every time they’re knocked to their knees. That warrior spirit is something I can get behind. I want to see them succeed and will do everything in my power to help them.
The offer is a distraction but also a promise of a future that doesn’t revolve around the hills of shivers and shadows.
She can glare all she wants. I’m her predator. Her warrior. I hunt for her. Not for food, not anymore. I hunt for danger. I fight for dominance. Every rep, every set is a battle, and my body is a knife, honed and sharpened.
“I will never choose him over you. I love you. Not because you’re gorgeous and built and sexy as fuck. I mean, you’re all those things, but the real reason is because of the kind of men you are. Caring. Protective. Reliable. You don’t seek power by trying to control me but by supporting and uplifting me. Before I met you, I didn’t believe in soul mates. But I always hoped that if they were real, mine would be someone like you.
What kind of person would I be if I gave in and fucked them with Monty in the other room? Cruel. That’s what I would be. Fucking cruel. Like it or not, I’m in a complicated love square, and until I figure it out, no one is getting laid. It’s torture.
my calling. If anyone is controlling me, it’s the stalker. This unknown entity hovers over me like a dark cloud, keeping me trapped on this island. My mental health, my happiness, are worth fighting for. If I need security guards to achieve that, so be it. I won’t be a prisoner in my own life anymore.
Monty Novak was a billionaire playboy with a lot of secrets and even more pride. Montgomery Strakh is a tortured soul in love, who admits his faults and fights for what he believes in. He believes in me.
I love you emotionally, romantically, physically, eternally, in every way. They’re everything I’ve ever wanted, everything I’ve ever needed. And tonight, for just a few hours, all three of them are mine. Monty offers his elbow, and I take it. Leo falls into step beside us, looping his arm around my back. Then the three of us, bound by pain, blood, and marriage, make our way to the waiting yacht.
She evades his hand and pivots toward Leo. “I love you, and I want the best for you. Your anger is too great, and your trauma is too deep. It worries me. That goes for all of you.” She glances around at us and returns to Leo. “It affects you and your relationships. Seek help. If you won’t do it for me, do it for each other.” “You’re turning this around on me?” Leo narrows his eyes angrily. “Like this is my fault?” “No. I take full responsibility for what happened tonight.” Her gaze shifts to me.
If I stayed with Monty, it would’ve meant choosing him. If I went with Leo and Kody, it would’ve meant choosing them. Either option would’ve destroyed the fragile bond among the men I love. My betrayal may have already done that.
I’m so fucking lonely, scared, and sick with guilt. My eyes leak constantly, my remorse so strong they can scent it across the Sound. I ache everywhere—my teeth, my throat, my chest. God, the constricting pain in my chest makes it so hard to breathe.
But who would I run to? Which one would I choose? I can’t. I won’t do it. I must train my heart to be the door, not the mat. Change the locks on it. Don’t let them in unless they show up together, united.
It feels like I’m standing at the edge of a vast cliff, the unknown stretching before me, promising incredible possibilities and daunting challenges. The unsteadiness, excitement, hunger—all of it melds together, forming a sharper, more
well-rounded version of myself. As Leo carries Frankie off the yacht, Kody and I follow them. To our shared bedroom. To the consummation of our union. To our future. Together.
