Hunter’s POVThe world spun as Liya turned towards us, her scent washing over me in a violent wave of familiarity. For a blissful moment, I forgot about the tense situation, forgot about the rogues surrounding us, forgot about everything except the fact that she was here, alive and well.It’s crazy how one person could affect you so immensely, that nothing else mattered but them. The fact that they might not even want you wasn’t relevant, or that they had sinister intentions towards you, because you get satisfied from the mere fact that they’re standing right in front of you."Liya?" I breathed; my voice heavy with disbelief. “It’s really you.”Her eyes widened in shock, mirroring my own. Then, anger crossed her face. "Hunter?" she spat; her voice laced with ice. "What are you doing here?"My initial excitement disappeared, replaced by a cold dread. My heart sank, the hostility and disgust in her voice was a punch to the gut.Did she even feel the mate bond? My wolf curled inside me,

Hunter’s POVLiya had to come with us. After searching for her so long, there was no way we could let her go again. She needed to return to where she was supposed to be. And more importantly, we needed her.There must be a reason why she hated us so much, some people have done worse to their mates and they were still forgiven, because of the mate bond.But Liya, she was trying so hard to fight it, which meant the hatred she had for us was almost as strong as the bond, which is practically impossible, so we needed to get her back to know what was really going on with her.As the drama went on, I was brainstorming ways we could get Liya to come with us. It would be a little hard, because we had just a few people with us, and Liya clearly brought her best warriors with her to fight this pack.It seemed like it was just yesterday that she left, how was she able to become an Alpha of a certain pack in this short time?How is it possible that she gathered all these warriors and they allowed

LiyaSunrise came with a sour dose of memories, the type that caused me to swallow hard every minute.I was returning to the place I had been running from in the first place, trying to protect the same person that had made me leave.I wondered how she was doing, we hadn’t communicated in months, but I suppose she had her way of taking care of herself. She had always been a survival, and even though I thought she was weak some times, now I understand better.“Good morning Liya,” James smiled at me, as he took a seat beside me at the breakfast table.Yesterday, when I had agreed to return with my mates, James insisted on coming with me, and I may have accepted for two reasons.A justified one, which meant I needed James by my side as my friend and someone I really trusted.And also a petty one, his presence obviously pissed the triplets, and I would give anything for it to stay that way. If they wanted to play that game, they picked the wrong opponent.“Are you alright, Liya?” James que

Liya’s POVHunter sighed, and looked at me, "Alright, Liya. What exactly do you want?""Simple," I said, my voice firm. "We want to be independent. We don't need you telling us what to do or how to live."Gunter scoffed. "Independent? You can't just waltz in here and demand independence for a rogue pack. It doesn't work that way!""Why not?" I challenged. "We have a strong alpha, a growing pack, and we're capable of taking care of ourselves.""But for how long?" Hunter countered. "Sooner or later, you'll attract unwanted attention. Other packs will see you as a threat, a loose cannon, and they'll come for you."“Then, let them come. Let them fucking come!” I seethed, angry at how low they thought about my pack.“Liya-” Gunter started but I was not done. “Let me remind you that you made the majority of them who they are now. You destroyed my father’s pack, leaving the ones that survived to become rogues. No one wanted them in their packs, why? Because of you, because of this very pack

Gunter’s POVThe moment I saw James lean in towards Liya, my wolf growled a warning. The audacity of the rogue! He was clearly trying to rile us up, to assert some kind of dominance over our mate.I scoffed with this believe. That little act was merely an intended provocation, an attempt to make us jealous. But before I could intervene, Ryder and Hunter were already there, their own possessive instincts flaring.My brothers obviously reacted with aggression. I wanted to join them, to teach James a lesson for disrespecting us and our claim on Liya.But something held me back. A flicker of understanding, a sense of strategy that often kept me grounded when my brothers were consumed by their emotions.This wasn't the time for a brawl. Liya was already on edge, and a fight would only push her further away.Before I could do something to try to de-escalate the situation, Hunter had already snatched Liya and Ryder shoved James aside. I smiled a little as Ryder stopped himself from injuring