"Welcome back, son."

Griffin opened his eyes, surprised to see his mother and father hovering over him with concern that slowly eased into pure relief. That was when he looked around and realized he was lying on a bed.

A bed?

How did he get here? The last thing he remembered, he had been with the others in the meeting room, making plans on how they were going to kill Angus.

"What happened?" he asked, confusion lacing his voice as he pushed himself up on his arms.

Aeron and Irene shared a look before his father answered. "We were talking when you suddenly clutched your chest and cried out in pain. Then you fainted. Not just you—Roman too. We figured it had something to do with the bond between you all and brought you here to rest. Roman is with his parents as well."

Irene narrowed her gaze. "What’s happening? Don’t tell me something happened to Violet?"

Right at that moment, the strange dream Griffin had came rushing back to him.

Except it wasn’t a dream.

"Fuck!" Griffin jumped to his feet so abruptly that his parents flinched back, worry instantly returning to their faces.

His eyes widened as everything clicked into place, his hand pressing against his chest as if to steady the sudden rush.

He saw Asher and Violet.

"The bond is complete," he whispered at first. Then a laugh broke out of him, wild and exhilarated. "Asher is finally bound to her! That lucky bastard!" He punched the air in excitement.

"Okay...?" Irene muttered, clearly unsure, her expression caught somewhere between relief and confusion.

Right at that moment, there was a knock on the door. Griffin rushed to open it. He didn’t need to guess who it was, he could already feel "him".

Roman burst in, breathless, eyes lit with the same realization.

"Asher and Violet are finally mated!" He announced.

"Yes, dude, finally!" Griffin shot back, matching his energy instantly.

They grabbed each other, arms thrown over shoulders, jumping in excitement like children who had just won a game.

Except they didn’t realize all the shouting was happening inside their heads. To everyone else, they were just grinning and celebrating like lunatics.

Scratch that—add Leon Draven to the scene, who stood by the doorway watching them with the same baffled expression as the others.

One moment, his son had been unconscious. The next, he had sprinted across the house like the devil was chasing him.

For a brief second, Leon genuinely wondered if Roman had gone mad. In the span of a few minutes, he felt like he had aged ten years.

While the boys were celebrating, Irene leaned in to whisper to her husband, "Should we be concerned about this new development?"

Aeron merely sighed.

Thankfully, moments later, both parents, in-laws, and mated pairs were seated to talk the new situation out.

"So you both can hear each other’s thoughts?" Leon asked, not because he was ignorant of the perks that came with being divinely mated, but to ensure his son wasn’t losing his mind. He was still traumatized by Roman’s abrupt behavior minutes ago. Last he checked, there was no mental hospital for wolves—and he refused to be left heirless.

At that, Roman grinned, sending a thought to Griffin. "I can’t fail to mention that I love this new upgrade."

Griffin shot back," You’ve said that a hundred times already."

"So you can hear the others as well?" Leon pressed. "Violet? Asher? Alaric?"

Both of them tilted their heads at the same time, unsure how to explain it. The movement was so identical it sent a chill down Irene’s spine.

Roman answered, "I did hear her at first, in the dream. But now I can’t."

Griffin added, "I think it has to do with distance. Maybe the bond weakens across realms. We should be able to hear each other if we’re close enough."

Roman let out a dramatic mental sigh. "I can’t wait for her return. Now we have a private channel where I can say my thoughts unfiltered. I’m practically bursting with excitement."

Griffin’s brow furrowed slightly. "Dude, we are with our parents. Can you try not to be weird?"

"What do you mean, weird?" Roman retorted. "Sorry, I’m just more honest about my feelings for our mate than you are, you prude. Meanwhile, Asher is probably busy monopolizing her for goddess knows how long. I have to step up my game. There’s competition now, and I refuse to fall behind."

"Goddess above, save me," Griffin muttered mentally, dragging a hand down his face in clear exasperation.

Leon exhaled, then glanced at Irene and Aeron. "I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this."

"Make that two," Aeron replied, his gaze settling pointedly on the ridiculous grin plastered across Roman’s face. Something told him that the boy was currently tormenting his son.

If only he knew how right he was.

"Griffin!" His mother’s voice boomed through the pack link, startling him and snapping him back to reality. "Concentrate."

That was all the warning Griffin needed. He immediately raised a mental wall between him and Roman, shutting him out completely.

"Congratulations on your quintet being complete," Irene addressed them. "I’ll admit, this is the first time we’ve ever seen something like this, but who are we to question the will of the goddess? Still, it is quite a staggering development, and I believe there is a great deal for you all to face out there."

"The heirs of the four major packs and the Alpha King’s daughter, all united in one bond?" Leon added, his tone thoughtful. "That’s a significant amount of politics the goddess is playing with."

"And speaking of politics..." Irene continued, "Micah is here. He arrived while you were unconscious, and he has a great deal of information about Angus that we urgently need."

"Our brother-in-law is here?" Roman’s interest sparked immediately.

"You don’t understand, Roman Draven," Aeron cut in, his expression darkening. The boy wasn’t taking this seriously enough. "This mission tomorrow has been confirmed to be far more dangerous than we initially thought."

Roman only scoffed. "Danger? Is that supposed to scare us? Isn’t that exactly what we’re meant for?"