"You never told Jeremiah about this?" I ask, my voice tinged with disbelief.


    Hazel shakes her head slowly. "No, I didn''t. At least you heard the whole story, even though I know you wanted to brush me off and go confront him yourself. Jer would never have stayed that calm-he still loses it if I skip a call, even though we both live separate lives now. Besides, there''s nothing left to handle. The men who crossed the line with me? They''re not around anymore."


    I raise an eyebrow, smirking slightly. "You can swear like a sailor with me, but when


    ites to them, you won''t even say ''d*ck''?"


    Before I can stop myself, the question slips out.


    Hazel''s eyes sh with quiet intensity. "I like sex. Always have. But that wasn''t sex. That was something else—wrong, disrespectful, and degrading. I don''t want to revisit it again, but I thought you needed to know."


    Gently, I wrap my hands around her hips, careful to choose my words with tenderness. “Was that the first time? Did they... did they take something from you?" "No. Nothing like that,” she replies firmly. "I was already in control of the situation." Curiosity gnaws at me. "Do I really want to know how?"


    Her gaze meets mine, yful yet serious beneath her loweredshes. "You already do."


    My heart skips a beat, and I can''t help but ask the question that''s been burning inside me. "I wish I could say the guy''s a dead man, but honestly, I''m not even mad. You chose him."


    Her eyes soften, and I press on, desperate for the truth. “If I hadn''t been around, if we''d never met, would you have chosen him?"


    "No," she answers without hesitation, her voice steady and sure.


    "Why not?" I ask, leaning closer.


    She sighs, a wistful smile ying on her lips. "Because he wasn''t meant to be mine forever. That''s what people forget sometimes. I''m not a shifter, but I''ve lived among them my whole life. I understand what the mate bond means. He wasn''t mine. Someone else out there was meant for him—just like you were meant for me."


    The weight of her words settles over me, and I can''t hold back any longer. I lean in and kiss her—slowly, deeply-pouring every emotion I''ve felt through this story she''s trusted me with. This moment, this gift she''s given me, is something even Jeremiah and Ben don''t have a piece of her that she''s chosen to share with me alone.