Jamie's POV
The air tightened the moment Caroline was in view. Her stoic expression didn't reveal a thing, but the flames in her eyes told all.
Ann was right beside her, arms folded across her chest, her energy coiled and intent. She was measuring us, no, not us—me. Andrew moved, stepping in front of me, his protective nature still riding close to the surface. I hated and loved him for that.
"Care to explain?" Caroline asked, her voice pitched low but commanding.
"We were just—
"Escaping?" Ann interrupted, her eyes flicking to Andrew. "Running away? After what happened at the lake? With a Council patrol looking on at what seemed a flagrant disregard of the Elder's decree?"
Andrew didn't flinch, but I could feel his tension winding up beside me. He was wound tight, like he was only seconds away from shifting.
"We didn't do anything wrong," I whispered.
Caroline's eyebrow lifted, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Didn't you?"
Ann moved forward, disappointment rather than anger in her voice. "Do you know the sort of trouble you're in? The sort of questions that are already being asked back home?"
Andrew half-turned, his face directly towards her. "Let them ask. I'll answer."
Caroline exhaled, her poise finally cracking. "Andrew, this isn't just about you anymore. You've been born to lead, and now… now you've kissed him in front of a patrol member? What were you thinking?"
He hesitated for half a breath. "That I couldn't keep lying to myself."
Even Ann blinked at that.
Caroline's face softened just a little. "And the boy?"
I stepped forward, placing a hand on Andrew's shoulder. "The boy is here. The boy knows what it means to be a mate—even if I don't fully know this world yet. But I will not abandon it or him."
The silence that ensued was oppressive.
Ann was the one who finally spoke up. "You do realise the Elder Council will interrogate both of you. The patrol guard—Marcus—he's already made his report."
"Let them," Andrew said again, more quietly this time.
Caroline looked back and forth between us, her jaw still tight. "They won't be nice."
"They don't have to be," I said, lifting my chin. "They just have to listen."
A long, tense silence. Then, Ann sighed.
"You should both come back," she said, her voice a little more in control now. "Before this gets out of hand. We'll figure it out together."
Andrew looked at me, questioning silently.
I nodded. "Let's go. But I want to walk back as your mate… not your secret."
His hand claimed mine before I could blink, firm and sure.
"You're not my secret, Jamie."
—
Ann's POV
As we led the boys back through the woods, I walked beside Caroline in silence. Our minds weren't quiet, though—trading thoughts only warriors trained from childhood could hear.
He's changing, I projected.
Caroline nodded. And not just him. The boy… he's changing. Slowly.
I could sense it, too. Something feral in him was unfurling—like a limb long dormant, finally waking. The wolf was near.
And if the Council knew what was truly happening… the bond, the change, the breaking of an ancient law…
This wasn't going to be a scandal.
It was going to be a reckoning.