Oscar:


    The moment the words left my mouth... about waking up because of the loud sound her book made when it closed... I saw it happen.


    That instant shift on her face.


    Guilt bloomed in her amber eyes so fast it almost hurt to look at. Her brows drew together slightly, lips parting as if she was about to apologize, and stars... if I hadn''t known her better, I would have thought I had justmitted some unforgivable crime.


    I didn''t give her the chance.


    I leaned in and kissed her again, slow and soft this time, letting it linger just enough for her body to rx under mine. When I pulled back, her eyes were still searching my face, still unsure.


    "Hey," I murmured, brushing my thumb gently along her cheek. "Don''t look like that."


    "I woke you up," she said quietly.


    I smiled.


    "No," I corrected, pressing another quick kiss to her lips. "You gave me an excuse to wake up."


    That earned me a blink.


    Then another.


    And then her expression shifted. The guilt melted away, reced by something far more dangerous.


    usation.


    She narrowed her eyes at me, pursing her lips just a little, and pointed a finger at my chest. "You pretended to be asleep."


    I raised a brow, feigning innocence. "I fail to see the crime."


    Her lips twitched. "You were watching me."


    I shrugged slightly,pletely unapologetic. "Again. Not illegal."


    She scoffed, but there was no real heat in it. "And here I was worried I disturbed you."


    "You didn''t," I said easily. "In fact, I quite enjoyed it."


    Her eyes sharpened. "Enjoyed what, exactly?"


    I grinned, unable to stop myself. "The part where you spent several uninterrupted minutes admiring me."


    Her jaw dropped just a fraction.


    "I was not-"


    "You absolutely were."


    She stared at me for a heartbeat, then leaned back slightly, crossing her arms. "And even if I was," she said coolly, "it''s no crime to admire my mate. Especially when he looks as good as you do."


    That shut me up.


    Completely.


    For a second, my mind nked... and my wolf?


    My wolf lost his damn mind.


    She praised us. She wants us. Mark her. Now. Immediately.


    I mentally mmed the door shut on him before he could spiral further, though his pleased rumbling echoed through my chest. He preened like I had just won some great honor, reminding me... again and again... that she was ours and that the world should know it.


    Later, I told him.


    Right now, all my focus was on her.


    "How," I said slowly, my eyes darkening as I looked down at her, "am I supposed to argue with that?"


    Her lips curved into a satisfied smile.


    I kissed her again because there was simply no other option. It wasn''t urgent or heated like before... just deep, grounding, familiar. The kind of kiss that reminded me exactly where I belonged.


    When I pulled back, I shifted properly onto the bed andy down beside her, drawing her with me. She came easily, curling against my side as if she''d always been meant to fit there. I wrapped my arm around her and guided her head to my shoulder, tucking her close until her breathing evened out.


    This... this was peace.


    I was just about to tell her she should sleep when she spoke.


    "Oscar," she said softly.


    "Hm?"


    "You know what I found in the book today?"


    That caught my attention. I tilted my head slightly, fingers absently threading through her hair. "What?"


    "The third healer," she continued. "She was the first woman divine healer of the Silver Wolf Pack."


    I smiled faintly. "Sounds about right."


    "But," she added, pausing just long enough to make me curious, "she was also mated to two men."


    Now that made my fingers still.


    I looked down at her, lifting my brows slightly. "Two?"


    She nodded against my shoulder. "Her fated mates were the beta of the pack and his younger brother."


    Huh.


    I leaned back into the pillows, thinking. I wasn''t exactly shocked... but I was intrigued.


    Cases like that were rare. Extremely rare.


    In today''s world, finding even one fated mate was bing harder with each passing generation. Bonds weakened, bloodlines diluted, fate itself seeming to fray at the edges. So when Eva walked into my life... and my brothers''... and turned out to be all four of our fated mate, it had shaken us to our cores.


    We had searched the records, and found thest recorded instance of someone having more than one fated mate dated back about four decades... an Alpha woman in the north, mated to three men. Before that, only scattered mentions, always vague, always buried deep in history.


    But there was one pattern that never changed.


    It was always a woman.


    Never a man.


    So Lyssara''s story didn''t surprise me... but it did confirm something old and powerful.


    Eva shifted slightly, then let out a soft breath. "I didn''t realize how much it would… ease me."


    "Ease you?"


    She nodded. "Knowing I''m not the only one. Knowing there were others before me who had more than one mate. It makes me feel less… strange."


    I tightened my arm around her instinctively.


    "You were never strange," I said firmly.


    She tilted her head up to look at me, her eyes shining in the dim light. "And it''s not like I mind," she added quickly, almost teasing. "Having four mates, I mean. I definitely got the best end of the deal."


    Iughed quietly, unable to stop the warmth spreading through my chest. "You really did."


    She smiled, satisfied, and settled back against me, her head returning to my shoulder.


    Wey like that for a while,fortable silence stretching between us, broken only by the soft rhythm of our breathing. My fingers traced idle patterns through her long, silky silver hair, memorizing its texture, its scent, the way it caught the light even in near darkness.


    Then she spoke again.


    "I think I''m going to leave the record book here."


    I frowned slightly. "Here? At the mansion?"


    "Yes."


    I shifted just enough to look at her. "Why? I thought you wanted to read more."


    "I do," she admitted. "But… I won''t rx if it''s with me at the dorm."


    I waited.


    She sighed softly. "I know it''s safe. I know no onees into my room, and Rowan knows about it too. But the book... it''s too important. Every time I leave it behind in the room, I keep worrying. About someone finding it. About something happening to it."


    "That makes sense," I said quietly.


    "So I thought I would leave it here. In the study. Somewhere secure. Somewhere I don''t have to keep thinking about it."


    I nodded slowly. "That''s probably the safest ce for it."


    She rxed at my agreement, her shoulders easing. "I''ll read it here on weekends."


    "Good," I said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Then you can actually focus on your sses instead of stressing."


    She smiled faintly, her eyes already growing heavy.


    I held her close, content, my wolf finally settling into a pleased, possessive calm.


    Whatever secrets that book held, whatever truths waited in its pages... we''d face them together.


    For now, though, all that mattered was this moment.


    Her in my arms.


    Safe.