MATED TO FATHER, FATED TO SONS

ROWAN

We will both fuck her tomorrow!

This was my idea. Yes, I know. Shocker.

It sounded exactly like something Ryker would come up with in one of his morally questionable schemes, something I would immediately kick against and call reckless and dangerous. But it was completely reversed this time. I came up with it and he was the one who kicked against it initially.

After three frustrating hours of searching for Victor fruitlessly through every corner of pack territory, combing through abandoned buildings and checking every hidden passage, knowing he knew exactly how to escape and get in completely unnoticed using passages he himself had helped design years ago, Ryker was driving us back to the pack house in tense heavy silence.

The headlights cut through the darkness as we drove through the tree-lined road leading back home.

I sat beside him in the passenger seat, my body turned slightly toward the window, one elbow propped against the door, buried deep in thought that circled endlessly without resolution.

Victor obviously did not want to kill Amaris right now because he had already had two perfect opportunities to end her life. Once during the crash when she was unconscious and vulnerable and completely defenseless, and again in the hospital when he walked right into her room disguised as a doctor with a mask covering his face.

He was planning something much bigger and more destructive, playing the long game with strategic patience that I recognized from years of training under him, and that meant what was coming would be significantly worse than a simple murder.

I turned to Ryker who had his dark eyes fixed intensely on the road ahead, his jaw set in that familiar stubborn line, probably buried deep in his own thoughts too, and broke the deafening silence that had existed between us for the last twenty minutes.

"What if he actually wanted to kill her outright?"

Ryker was silent for a long moment, his jaw clenching even tighter, the muscle jumping visibly, and then spoke flatly without any emotion. "Then she would already be dead."

I was not entirely sure if that statement should be taken as something comforting or absolutely horrifying. Probably both.

"My main issue is that Victor has a significant number of loyalists still embedded in the pack," I continued, voicing the concern that had been eating at me since we started this futile search.

"We might think we successfully eradicated most of them after the coup failed, but I seriously doubt it. He personally trained most of the current sentinels from the ground up, gave them chances and opportunities when no one else would."

"And as such most of them owe their lives and careers to him." Ryker completed my statement for me without looking away from the road, his hands tight on the steering wheel.

"Exactly," I confirmed, running my hand through my hair in frustration. "Even if we want to keep an eye on her twenty-four seven, how do we know who is who? Who to actually trust among the warriors?"

"That means we fall back to using her as bait to lure him out," Ryker stated coldly.

"It is far too risky Ryker, especially with her being completely powerless right now," I protested, turning fully in my seat to face him. "She cannot even defend herself against a regular wolf, let alone Victor."

"She is not powerless," Ryker countered, his voice taking on an edge. "She is not nearly as weak as everyone assumes she is."

I rolled my eyes in clear annoyance, feeling heat rise in my chest. "And how exactly do you know that? Let me guess, when you were fucking her?"

Ryker clenched his fist tight on the steering wheel, his knuckles going white with the force of his grip. "Not this tired argument again. I think you are just annoyed that I had her first."

"No, you are completely wrong," I shot back, my voice rising. "I am annoyed you had her at all knowing how impossibly complicated the situation already was with Father."

Ryker scoffed bitterly, shaking his head. "Says the guy who was just on top of her in his room before I walked in and interrupted."

I sighed deeply and let out a long breath, forcing myself to calm down, knowing this pointless back and forth would not go anywhere productive between us. We could circle this argument forever and never reach any resolution.

The car hit a pothole and we both jerked slightly.

"I have actually been reading extensively about how she can activate her wolf properly," I said, changing the subject to what actually mattered right now.

"You know she probably just got her wolf recently when she came here and discovered she was fated to us through the bond. So I assume she has never fully shifted before in her entire life."

Ryker squinted his eyes in clear discomfort, his shoulders tensing visibly under his shirt. "Where exactly are you going with this Rowan?"

"You know exactly where I am going with it."

"It better not be what I am thinking because my immediate answer is absolutely no," Ryker stated firmly, his voice hard.

"This is the only realistic way we can help her protect herself," I pressed, leaning toward him. "If she is able to shift to her full wolf form properly, she can defend herself against Victor when he inevitably comes for her again."

Ryker took the last turn leading into the pack house estate, his movements sharp and aggressive, the tires squealing slightly. "Let me get you completely correctly so I am sure I am not assuming anything here. You want us to mate with her during the full moon so our wolves get strong enough to actually trigger her shift."

I bit my lower lip hard, tasting copper, hesitating before answering. "I am not in support of my own idea but I know it is the only viable way to keep her alive." I paused for a second before heaving a breath and continued.

"We have to fuck her to keep her safe."