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“Elena’s special hot chocolate,” he said, placing it on the coffee table within my reach. “Drink it.”

“Has anyone ever told you your bedside manner needs work?” I asked, though I reached for the mug. The scent of cinnamon and chocolate was too tempting to resist out of pure stubbornness.

“I’m not aiming for bedside manner,” Logan replied, his green eyes tracking the movement as I took a sip. “I’m aiming for you not getting sick after being half-drowned by those Blackwood?—”

“Logan,” Cade’s voice cut in from the doorway, a clear warning.

Logan’s jaw tightened, but he stepped back, giving me space that felt both considerate and reluctant.

I focused on my hot chocolate, pretending not to notice the silent communication happening between the brothers.

Keir was next, appearing with Boba tucked under one arm like a furry football. The puppy wiggled excitedly at the sight of me, his little potato body practically vibrating with joy.

“Someone missed you,” Keir said, depositing Boba beside me. The puppy immediately flopped against my leg with a dramatic sigh that perfectly expressed my own feelings about this day.

“At least someone in this house respects my personal space,” I muttered, scratching Boba’s round belly.

Keir’s laugh was warm and genuine. “Boba? The dog who sleeps on your face and follows you into the bathroom? That’s your example of respecting boundaries?”

I tried to maintain my glare, but it was difficult when Keir looked at me like that—all fond amusement and genuine affection. Of the three alphas, Keir had always been the easiest to be around, his charm a more gentle force than Cade’s authority or Logan’s intensity.

“Shouldn’t you be entertaining your guests?” I asked, suddenly remembering Drew and the others were still out on the boat. “Or did you banish the Blackwoods to the bottom of the lake?”

Something flashed in Keir’s eyes—something cold and calculating that didn’t match his usual playful demeanor. “Drew’s handling the guests.”

Before I could press for details, Keir was gone again, leaving me surrounded by pets and questions. The brothers were up to something; that much was obvious. They kept moving through the house with purpose, checking on me at regular intervals while clearly focused on something else.

Despite my determination to stay alert, the events of the day were catching up with me. The warm cocoon of blankets, the comforting weight of animals around me, and Elena’s hot chocolate combined into a potent sedative. My eyelids grew heavy, my phone slipping from my fingers as I drifted toward sleep.

The sound of cars on the gravel driveway jolted me back to awareness. Drew and his friends were back, which meant the Blackwood cousins were about to bring their fake smiles and calculating eyes into my home again.

My first instinct was to retreat to my room—to hide until they left. But as I started to gather Mochi and extract myself from the blanket nest, a surge of anger stopped me cold.

Why should I be the one to run? This was my home. They were the interlopers. They were the ones who had pushed me into the lake.

Fuck that.

Instead of fleeing upstairs, I moved to the deck off the living room, drawn by raised voices from the front drive. From this vantage point, I could see the driveway where Drew stood facing Sophia and Mia, his normally easygoing posture replaced by something rigid and confrontational. Jake and Tyler flanked him, their beta energy subdued but supportive.

“—don’t care what your excuse is,” Drew was saying, his voice carrying clearly in the still air. “Get your things and get out. Now.”

Sophia’s laugh was brittle. “Don’t be ridiculous. We’re guests for the weekend, and it was just a little accident?—”

“Bullshit,” Drew cut her off, and I nearly fell over in shock. Drew, who never swore, who was always the peacemaker.

“As if you could prove anything,” Mia scoffed, though her confidence seemed forced. “It’s our word against yours, and the Blackwoods have a lot more influence than some adopted beta?—”

“You’re on Sinclair territory,” Drew interrupted, his voice dropping to a register I’d never heard from him before. “Pack law applies here. And pack law says you get the fuck out and never set foot on our land again, or I will personally rip your throat out.”

I gripped the deck railing, stunned by this version of my usually gentle brother.

Sophia’s expression twisted into something ugly. “As if a beta could do anything against Blackwood alphas?—”

The front door opened, and the air itself seemed to change, becoming heavy with alpha energy so potent I could taste it. Cade, Logan, and Keir emerged like avenging angels in designer clothes, their synchronized movements reminding me of predators coordinating a kill.

“He won’t have to,” Cade said, his voice deceptively soft. “Because if you’re still on our property in five minutes, you’ll be dealing with us instead.”

The color drained from Sophia’s face. Beside her, Mia took an instinctive step backward.