**Paige’s POV **


    After hours of tossing and turning, I gave up trying to sleep. I’m not sure how I knew, but some strange instinct told me I’d find Callen and Ryder downstairs.


    At the bottom of the steps, I turn to my left. The doorway to the living room is open, and I move to stand <b>in </b>the doorway, hesitating when I see them both there.


    What am I doing?


    This is such a bad idea, but if I can’t sleep, then I may as well spend the time getting more answers.


    I


    “Couldn’t sleep?” Ryder asks, and I shake my head.


    “Too many thoughts. Too much change,” I say, cutting myself off before Iunch into a full ramble,


    exining why I can’t sleep even though I’m exhausted.


    I move further into the room and sit on the floor, leaning against the couch. I’m so close to both brothers,


    just the slightest movement either way and we’d touch. It’s tempting, too tempting. I guess this is the part


    of the mate bond that Callen warned me I’d struggle to resit.


    Callen sits up,ing to sit by me. He doesn’t crowd me, though. He leaves enough space to be


    respectful, even if it’s not what I want right now.


    “We’re not the easiest bedtime story, huh?” He smirks.


    “Not when it’s real, no,” Iugh quietly. “This feels more like a psychological thriller with too many plot


    twists, not the wolf–shifter romances I’ve read.”


    They both chuckle softly, sounding so alike.


    “I still don’t know what I’m doing,” I admit. “With any of this. With the two of you. This bond. It’s all so… big-


    “You don’t have to know,” Callen says gently. “You just have to feel.”


    “Feel what?”


    “Whatever’s real,” Ryder answers. “Whatever you feel when you look at me. At us. That’s what matters.”


    “And what if it’s only fear that I feel?” I ask.


    “If it’s the right kind of fear, then that’s a good start,” Callen says.


    I frown at him. “How is that a good ce to start?”


    “Because,” he says, inching closer. “You have to care to fear. You are not scared we will physically hurt you, you are scared we <b>might </b>break your heart, which means you care enough for it to be broken.”


    “We are just as scared, Paige,” Ryder adds.


    I close my eyes for a moment, processing their words. They are right. I am not scared of them, not really They may be dangerous, but I know deep down, they would never hurt me. I’m scared that I’ll fall for them, that I’ll end up heartbroken and alone. Having two of them feels like double the risk. Double the pain if this


    doesn’t work out


    “How does this work?” I ask, motioning between the three of us.


    “How ever you want it to work, Ryder says. “There are no real rules to how a polyamorous rtionship works except the ones we make. If you want two separate rtionships, splitting time with each of us,


    then that’s fine.”


    “Or.” Callen hums, his voice low. “If you want us both at the same time, that’s fine, too.<b>” </b>


    “At the same time as in…” I trail off, trying to think of how to word this.


    “Imagine me bending you over and filling your p*ssy while my brother fills your mouth,” Callen whispers,


    inching closer.


    The breath is knocked from my lungs and I squeeze my thighs together as my mind conjures up the image


    he created.


    What is wrong with me? This should send me running. To even contemte such a scenario is just…


    “Cal,” Ryder warns, as I struggle to breathe.


    The air feels too thick, and my heart races. Is it hot in here?


    You like that idea, don’t you?” Callen asks, ignoring Ryder. “There’s so many possibilities, Paige. You riding my brothers c*ck, and then Ie up behind you and take your ass. Do you think you could handle that?”


    I can’t speak. My mouth is dry, my brain short–circuited by the images Callen’s words just painted across the inside of my skull. I should be furious with him. Embarrassed and offended. But I’m not. I’m burning<b>. </b>


    Heat runs down my spine, blooming between my legs, pulsing with every erratic beat of my heart. I squeeze my legs tighter together, but it doesn’t help.


    Callen’s smile darkens with satisfaction, like he can scent the shift in me, and god, maybe he can.


    “You’re picturing it now, aren’t you?” he whispers. “You’re imagining what it would feel like to be taken by both of us at once. To bepletely filled. Owned.”


    is aves o


    Ryder shifts behind me, and I can feel me without needing to look at him. There’s a tension rolling off him now too. Sitting between the two of them feels like sitting between two live wires, each of them daring me to touch.


    “Callen,” Ryder warns again, but this time it’s more of a growl. Like he’s jealous. Like the idea of his brother nting those thoughts in my head is driving him just as wild.


    Why do I like that, though?


    I finally manage to swallow, my voice croaky when ites out. “That’s a lot to take in.”


    Callen grins wickedly. “That’s the point, sweetheart.”


    “You’re going to scare her off,” Ryder groans, dragging a hand over his face.


    “No,” I whisper before I can stop myself and both of them freeze.


    My heart pounds in my ears. I feel like I’m standing on the edge of a cliff, and the worst part is… I want to fall. I want to see how deep this thing goes.


    I


    “I’m not scared,” I say quietly. “Not of you. Not of what I want.“”


    “Then tell us want you want, Paige.” Callen says in a low, gravely voice.


    I nce between them, still struggling to breathe. “I don’t know how to want you both without feeling like


    I’m betraying someone.”


    “You’re not,” Ryder says, his voice low and gentle, but his eyes are hungry and wild. “There’s no betrayal


    here. We chose this. We want it. We want you.”


    “Every time you hesitate, every time you doubt, we’ll still be here. Still choosing you.” Callen adds, moving so close his thigh brushes against mine.


    My body leans towards his like it doesn’t belong to me anymore, pulled to him like two mas.


    “Tell us to stop,” Ryder says suddenly. “If this is too much, if you want space, then we will give it to you. Just say the word.”


    I don’t say anything. I can’t. Because even now, with my whole body trembling. I’m not thinking about running. I’m thinking about what it would feel like to stay. To let go of the fear. The expectations and the what–ifs, and to just feel what it could be like. Maybe just one time.


    “I don’t think I want space,” I whisper.


    Callen leans in, his lips brushing my ear. “Then tell us what you want, Paige. Right here, right now.”


    My pulse quickens, growing wilder with every word from these two. “I want… I want to stop thinking. Just


    for one night.”


    Ryder moves to sit beside <b>me</b><b>, </b>his arm brushing my shoulder as he moves my hair to expose my


    neck.


    “We can give you that,” he murmurs, his breath fanning over my neck. “Just say yes.”


    I look between them. My fated mates. Twin brothers. Predators. Mine.


    I let out a shaky breath. Wondering if I’m about to make the biggest mistake, or the best decision of my


    life.


    “Yes,”