I wasn’t going to lie,Conall said calmly.I was going to tell you it’s none of your business.
Personal matters can be discussed later,Anders said firmly.Right now we need to—
Personal matters?Quinton’s attention snapped to the lead guardian.My brother is compromised by an enemy asset, and you think that’s a personal matter?
She’s not an enemy asset,Conall said, his own anger finally sparking.
Isn’t she?Quinton stepped closer to his twin, the space between them practically crackling with his anger.
Conall’s back straightened, his eyes narrowing to slits as he stared into his twin’s identically furious gaze.No matter what Gregory might have planned, Nadine is not his tool.
A woman shows up hunting us for murder, conveniently gets captured alongside you, saves your life just enough times to build trust, and now you’re sleeping with her?That doesn’t strike you as professionally orchestrated?
You’re being paranoid—
I’m being realistic!Quinton’s composure finally cracked completely.Mate bonds can be faked, Con.Neural interfaces can manufacture attraction, emotional connection, even sexual response.Everything you think you feel for her could be artificial.
The accusation hit Nadine so hard she nearly bent over.Not because she believed it, but because Conall’s doubt about it was bleeding through their connection.The possibility that everything between them—the electric attraction, the growing trust, the desperate need that had driven them into each other’s arms—might be nothing more than sophisticated manipulation.
Just as her doubt had panicked her when she woke.
But Anders was right—this was neither the time nor the place to deal with it.
That’s enough,she said, her voice cutting through the brothers’ argument.You want to know if I’m an asset?Fine.Dr.Chen can scan me once we’re done here.But right now, we have bigger problems than your jealousy.
Jealousy?Quinton’s eyes flashed with hurt and anger.You think this is about jealousy?
I think this is about you being terrified of losing your brother to someone else,Nadine replied, meeting his gaze directly.And instead of dealing with that fear, you’re looking for excuses to eliminate the threat.
The threat being you.
The threat being change.She gestured around the storage unit, at the evidence of decades of manipulation surrounding them.Your pack has been infiltrated for years.People you trusted have been compromised.Everything you thought you knew about your history has been a lie.And instead of facing that reality, you’re focused on whether your brother’s mate bond is genuine.
Because his mate bond is the only thing keeping you alive,Quinton shot back.Without it, you’re just another suspect who needs to be neutralized.
Enough.Conall’s voice carried an almost alpha-level authority despite his position as enforcer.Both of you.
He turned to his twin, their identical features reflecting different kinds of pain.Quinton, I know this is hard.I know it feels like I’m choosing her over you.But the mate bond—real or artificial—doesn’t change my partnership with you.Nothing could change that.
Doesn’t it?Quinton’s voice went quiet.
And through their connection, Conall’s recognition that his twin wasn’t entirely wrong shimmered—the mate bond had changed his priorities in ways he was still struggling to understand.
We’re brothers,Conall said finally.That’s never going to change.
No,Quinton agreed, but his voice carried a finality that made Nadine’s chest tight with dread.But everything else is changing.Including us.
He turned and walked out of the storage unit, leaving behind all their years of absolute trust fractured by forces none of them fully understood.
The rift between Conall and his twin widened with each moment, every decision.
But with shifter communities under assault, personal conflicts would have to wait, Nadine knew.
I just hope they get the chance to repair the breach.
CHAPTER 20
THE TENSION IN THEstorage facility pressed against Nadine’s skin like an approaching thunderstorm.She watched Anders process the intelligence they’d uncovered, racing through implications while the emotional wreckage of the Stewart twins’ argument still poisoned the air around them.
