Twilson stood alone in the center of the chamber, his perfect composure in ruins. When his eyes found mine, the mask was completely gone.
He hated me.
Not feared. Hated. With a depth that told me this wasn't just about council politics or institutional safety. This was personal. Whatever Emory had taught him about Omegas, whatever ideology he'd absorbed in his years as her protégé—it ran deep.
He wouldn't stop. This setback would only make him more dangerous.
Cole appeared at my side. "We should go."
"Yeah." I let him guide me toward the exit. "We should."
But at the door, I paused. Looked back.
Twilson was still standing there, watching me leave.
"I almost feel sorry for you," I said. "You spent thirty years making sure no one like me would ever exist again." I let my eyes travel to my mates flanking me—five wolves with rings aroundtheir pupils, bonds that couldn't be severed. "And now you have to watch me undo everything you worked for."
His face contorted. I let him see exactly how little it affected me.
"You spent thirty years hunting ghosts. Congratulations—you finally found one." I smiled. It wasn't kind. "And she's not afraid of you."
I turned to leave.
Then stopped.
"And Twilson?" I looked at him over my shoulder. "You fucking lost."
Chapter nineteen
Rae's house smelled like garlic and rosemary.
It was strange, after everything that had happened, to be doing something as normal as attending a dinner. But Rae had insisted. Family dinner, she'd called it. A chance to regroup. To breathe.
Alexandra had claimed my lap the moment I walked through the door, chattering about her day at preschool and the picture she'd drawn of a purple wolf. She was convinced the wolf was me now. I didn't have the heart to tell her I wasn't purple.
"Lulu, your neck has owies," she announced, pointing at the bite marks still visible above my collar.
"I know, sweetheart. But they don't hurt."
"Did someone bite you?"
"Yes."
"Were they being mean?"
I glanced across the room at Stone, who was watching the exchange with something soft in his eyes. "No. They were being very, very nice."
Alexandra considered this. "Okay. Can I have juice?"
Ash swept her off my lap with a laugh, carrying her toward the kitchen where Luca was finishing dinner. The house was full—Rae's mates moving around each other with the ease of long practice, my own pack scattered through the living room, the twins arguing about something in the corner.
It felt like family.
I hadn't realized how much I needed that until I was sitting in the middle of it.
Professor Tomlinson and Cole arrived late.
I heard the door open, heard voices in the hallway exchanging greetings with Silas. When they both appeared in the living room doorway, their faces were carefully blank.
