Page 111 of False Catch

My body aches in places I didn't know could ache.

Every step toward the team house reminds me of last night. The bite mark on my shoulder throbs beneath my hoodie. There are fingerprint bruises on my hips, scratches down my back, and between my legs, a soreness that makes walking normally a conscious effort.

Cameron didn't claim me. But he marked me in every other way possible.

The team house looks deceptively normal for a Sunday morning. Bo's truck sits in the driveway next to Tyler's sensible Honda. Through the front window, I can see movement in the living room. My phone says 9:47 AM. Thirteen minutes early for whatever this meeting is about.

I pause at the door, running through my mental checklist. Hair down to cover the marks on my neck. Hoodie zipped high. Casual expression that says I definitely didn't spend last night coming apart on Cameron's motorcycle.

The door opens before I can knock.

"Thought I heard you," Bo says, studying my face with those too-perceptive eyes. "You okay?"

"Fine." The word comes out higher than intended. "Just tired."

His nostrils flare slightly, and I know he's scenting me. Can smell Cameron on my skin despite the shower I took this morning. But he just steps aside.

"Everyone's here."

The living room feels smaller with all eight of them scattered across furniture. Tyler stands by the window with his tablet, looking uncharacteristically nervous. Zane sprawls on the floor with a box of donuts, stress-eating his way through what looks like his third maple bar. Beckett occupies one corner of the couch, tossing a tennis ball between his hands in that restless way he gets when he's anxious.

Gray sits rigid in the armchair, jaw working. Jackson leans against the arm of the couch, arms crossed. Eli stands near the window with Tyler, both of them studying something on Tyler's tablet. And Cameron...

Cameron leans against the far wall, arms crossed, expression unreadable. He's watching me, dark eyes knowing. A muscle jumps in his jaw, the only sign that last night affected him as much as it did me.

"So," Zane breaks the silence, powdered sugar dusting his shirt. "Anyone gonna tell us why we're having a team meeting without our cox?"

"She's here now," Tyler says. "We can start."

"Start what?" I move toward the only empty spot, a chair near the fireplace that puts me equal distance from everyone. Strategic positioning, my cox brain supplies automatically.

Tyler clears his throat. "I've been researching our options. Given recent... developments."

"You mean Jackson marking Reese without permission and fucking up team dynamics?" Beckett's fake-casual tone doesn't hide the edge underneath.

"I mean," Tyler continues steadily, "the fact that we're operating outside university regulations and it's only a matter of time before we're discovered."

I tense. "Tyler, we talked about keeping things quiet until after—"

"After nationals. I know." He pulls up something on his tablet. "But that was before I found this."

He turns the screen toward us. Legal documents, from what I can see. Official-looking headers and dense text.

"Paragraph 47-B of the university's designation policies," Tyler reads. "In cases where multiple individuals of compatible designations wish to form a legally recognized pack bond, they may petition for exemption from standard mixed-designation team restrictions."

Silence.

"Wait," Zane sits up, donut forgotten. "Are you saying—"

"I'm saying there's legal precedent for what we've already started becoming." Tyler's voice gains confidence, sliding into his academic comfort zone. "A formal pack bond, recognized by the university and the state, would protect us from administrative action."

"So you're bringing it to everyone," Gray says, his first words since I arrived. His tone is flat, controlled, but I catch the tension underneath. "The pack bond option."

Tyler meets his gaze steadily. "You agreed it needed to be discussed with the full team."

"I agreed to think about it." Gray's voice hardens. "This feels premature."

"It's not about what either of us wants anymore." Tyler's voice stays level. "It's about protecting ourselves. And Reese."