Ava''s POV


    ''Move into ckwood Manor? I repeated, my brain struggling to catch up with ke''s bombshell.


    ke shook his head slightly, dropping his voice. ''Not the main building. I''ve got a ce in the northern forest, about an hour from here but still inside Silverpeak''s borders. Private butpletely secure."


    "Northern ce?" My gut tightened with instinctive caution. I looked him straight in the eye. ''So you''re asking me and Sarah to move to some... hidden location?"


    "Not hidden-private, ke corrected, his face dead serious. ''It''s tucked away but totally legit. My personal territory as Alpha King."


    The fragile peace we''d just patched together suddenly felt strained again, reced by a tension that hung between us like smoke. I dropped onto a stone bench, needing a second to wrap my head around this curve ball. Even though we''d just cleared the air, this suggestion still made rm bells ring.


    "So your brilliant solution is to stash me and Sarah away in your secret hideout?" I asked, my voiceing out more defensive than intended. "That sounds suspiciously like..."


    "Protection, not hiding," he cut in, sitting beside me but keeping enough space that we weren''t touching. "Martha''s ying you like a fiddle, Ava. She wants to drag you back to Hayes territory where she can use your dad as leverage."


    My eyes drifted to Lucas across the training field, his small figure working throughbat stances with total concentration. "Thises with risks though. If word got out... your reputation, my dad''s case, even the pack alliance could blow up in our faces." I looked back at him. "I don''t want to be the reason everything falls apart."


    ke''s face softened, the hard lines around his mouth easing. "Last night knocked some sense into me. I''ve been hiding behind ''pack stability'' while throwing the people who actually matter under the bus." He let out a quiet sigh that seemed to carry the weight of his position. "Including that whole mess with Sophia and Jackson-you hit the nail on the head. I''ve been using different measuring sticks."


    His honesty caught me t-footed. Alpha Kings don''t admit they screwed up, especially not to someone like me.


    "The ce is rock-solid secure," he continued. "Nobody would bug you there. You and Sarah would have the main house, and I''d give you all the space you need."


    I shook my head, my thoughts spinning like leaves in a storm. "Sarah would ask a million questions. She''d want to know why Mr. Big Ba suddenly gives a damn about us."


    1 King


    "Tell her it''s a bonus for whipping Lucas into shape, plus mymitment to clearing William''s name,” he suggested, uncertainty creeping into his voice in a way I rarely heard. “It''s all above-board, packw-wise."


    I touched the mark on my neck, feeling it warm slightly as I weighed his offer. The solution solved one problem but opened a whole new can of worms. Things between us wereplicated enough without living on his private turf, which would make everything even more... messy.


    ''I need to sleep on it," I finally said, working to keep my voice steady. "This isn''t just my call. I''ve got Sarah to think about, plus what this might mean for Dad''s case."


    "Fair enough, he nodded, not pushing his luck. "Take all the time you need. His eyes suddenly unfocused slightly, that telltale sign of an iing mindlink. "Tyler''s buzzing me about some pack emergency I need to handle."


    I nodded, watching him walk away, my head buzzing with mixed feelings. We''d taken baby steps toward fixing things, but the road ahead still felt like walking through a minefield.


    I turned back to Lucas, who was still nailing the basic werewolf footwork patterns I''d taught him.


    ''Let''s switch gears to hand-to-hand," I suggested. "Then I''ll fix us some lunch.


    He nodded eagerly, eyes lighting up with that warrior spark. "Can I learn knife defense? Sophia says I''m still wet behind the ears, but I already kicked butt against three training dummies in wolf form!"


    "Baby steps, tiger," Iughed, messing up his carefullybed hair. ''Gotta crawl before you can run."


    We trained for another solid hour, Lucas picking things up at a speed that blew me away. That Morgan bloodline was something else entirely.


    Third Person POV


    Sophia sat by her bedroom window, the stolen photograph from Jackson''s drawer burning a hole in her hands. In the picture, Jackson and Ava stood wrapped around each other at Moonlight Lake, looking every bit the perfect couple. The back bore his handwriting: "Celebrating our discovery ceremony with my fated mate, bound by the Moon Goddess herself. Forever, J&A." Though cropped, what remained felt like a knife twisting in her gut.


    "Fated mate,” she whispered, nail digging into the paper. Not just dating, not just a crush-a soul bond blessed by the Moon Goddess herself. Jackson had dismissed it as teenage nonsense, but fated mates were sacred in their world. Through the window, she spotted her father talking with Ava on the training grounds. Though they maintained a respectful distance, the sight still twisted her stomach. Last night Jackson had sworn Ava meant nothing, but the flicker in his eyes told a different story.


    Watching Ava walk toward Lucas, a cold determination settled over Sophia. As long as Ava remained at ckwood, she was a threat-constantly in Jackson''s orbit, a living reminder of their connection.


    Her eyes narrowed as a n took shape. Her father had one unbreakable rule: Lucas''s safety came first. If Ava endangered him during training...


    Sophia''s gaze drifted to her father''s private training room, where she knew he kept various potent forms-including shift catalysts designed only for mature Alphas. What would happen if Lucas suddenly lost control during training?


    Rising to her feet, Sophia''s resolve hardened. This wasn''t about jealousy anymore; this was about protecting her future with Jackson. She needed Ava gone, far from ckwood, far from her fiancé.


    "Ava Rivers, she muttered as she slipped toward her father''s training room, ''you''ve already taken enough.


    The adult Alpha shift catalyst wasn''t hard to find-dark red liquid swirling ominously in its crystal vial, clearlybeled "For Adult Alpha Use Only." Five times stronger than the kid-safe version, it would cause Lucas to lose control temporarily, but shouldn''t cause permanent harm.


    "Just enough to make Ava look ipetent," she whispered, pocketing the vial. "Then she''ll be sent back to Hayes territory... far away from Jackson."


    Knowing Ava prepared Lucas''s training supplies in the kitchen, Sophia headed there with purposeful steps. One simple switch, one small "ident, and her father would see Ava didn''t belong at ckwood.


    "For our future," she reassured herself, fingers closing around the catalyst in her pocket. "Jackson chose me, not her. I''m just making sure it stays that way." Chapter Comments


    Mike


    jesus girl, you''re risking lives h