Page 66

And then it happened—the thing I’d been fighting all day. My emotions spiked, and I felt the telltale tingle that meant my fox features were emerging. Underwater. Where they immediately threw off my balance and coordination.

A fox tail is not conducive to efficient swimming.

I flailed, trying to compensate for the sudden change in my body’s hydrodynamics. My lungs screamed for air. Darkness began to creep in at the edges of my vision. And with it came flashes—fragments of memory I didn’t know I had.

Water closing over my head. Someone screaming my name. The burn of water in my lungs. A hand reaching for me, then disappearing.

As I struggled, a moment of clarity cut through my panic. The way they’d cornered me. The calculated questions targeting my deepest insecurities. The satisfaction in Sophia’s eyes as I fell.

This wasn’t an accident.

Drew had been completely fooled by their act—their carefully constructed facade of being “different” from the rest of their family. But in that moment, underwater and fighting for breath, I saw the truth. They were Blackwoods through and through, eliminating what they saw as competition with cold efficiency.

I was sinking, disoriented and terrified, when strong arms suddenly wrapped around my waist, pulling me upward with powerful strokes. My head broke the surface, and I gasped, coughing and sputtering as air rushed back into my lungs.

Through water-blurred vision, I made out Cade’s face, his expression a mix of concern and fury. Logan and Keir were there too, forming a protective triangle around me in the water.

“I’ve got you,” Cade said, his voice steady despite the rage I could feel vibrating through him. “You’re safe.”

But I wasn’t safe. Not really. Not with the Blackwood cousins watching from the boat with perfectly practiced expressions of concern that didn’t reach their calculating eyes.

“Finn!” Drew’s panicked voice called from the boat. “Is he okay?”

“He will be,” Logan replied, his tone clipped and controlled in a way that I recognized as dangerous. His eyes never left my face, but I could tell from the tightness in his jaw that he knew exactly what had happened.

The three brothers moved as one, supporting me between them as they swam toward the boat. My fox features were fully visible now, ears and tail exposed for everyone to see. I could hear the shocked murmurs from the boat but was too exhausted and shaken to care.

“Let’s get him up,” Keir said, positioning himself beneath me.

With careful coordination, the brothers lifted me back onto the deck, where I immediately collapsed into a coughing fit, expelling lake water from my lungs.

“Oh my God, Finn!” Sophia exclaimed, rushing forward with a towel. “That was terrifying! You just lost your balance and?—”

“Don’t,” Cade cut her off, his voice quiet but carrying an alpha command that made everyone on the boat freeze. He took the towel from her hands and wrapped it around my shoulders. He pulled me against his chest, shielding me from view as my fox ears twitched uncontrollably.

“We need to get him home,” Logan said, his eyes scanning the boat with predatory assessment. Jake and Tyler stood back, clearly uncomfortable with the tension crackling in the air.Drew looked confused, his gaze bouncing between me and the Blackwood cousins with growing suspicion.

“But the day’s just starting,” Mia protested, her voice a perfect blend of disappointment and concern. “And Finn seems okay now?—”

“We’re leaving,” Keir stated, the finality in his tone brooking no argument. “Drew, you can stay with our guests if you’d like.”

Drew hesitated, clearly torn between his loyalty to me and his role as host. “I should come with you guys?—”

“Stay,” I managed to rasp, not wanting to ruin his weekend completely. “I’m fine. Just need to rest.”

Drew didn’t look convinced but nodded slowly. “I’ll check on you later.”

“I’m so sorry about your fall,” Sophia said, reaching toward me with perfectly manicured concern. “If there’s anything we can do?—”

Logan moved between us, his back to her as he faced me. “Can you walk?”

I nodded, though my legs felt like jelly. I tried to stand, but swayed dangerously, my equilibrium still off.

Cade swept me into his arms, cradling me against his chest. Any other time I would have protested being carried like a child, but at that moment, I was too exhausted to care.

“We’ll take the spare boat,” Keir said, already gathering my things. “Drew, bring the yacht back when you’re ready.”

I noticed Logan was already lowering the yacht’s tender—a sleek motorized dinghy kept for shore excursions or emergencies. The smaller craft bobbed alongside the anchored yacht, ready for our escape.