"How are you going to pay the rent?"

"I told you," I said, walking along the sidewalk with my bag over my shoulder. "I found a cheap shared apartment."

"Cheap still costs money."

"I know."

"So what's your plan?"

I hesitated.

"Maybe I should ask Dad to lend me something for the first month."

There was a short pause on the line.

Then my mother laughed, but there was nothing amused about it.

"You're going to ask your father?"

"Mom"

"After everything that man did to us?"

"Please don't start."

"That rich man walked out when you were three," she continued, her voice tightening. "Disappeared for years, came back as a multimillionaire, and still refused to take care of his own child."

"I know what happened."

"And now you want to crawl back and ask him for money?"

"I didn't say that," I muttered.

"I cannot stand that man," she said. "Not after what he did to us."

I stopped walking.

"Mom... you're still holding on to that hate."

"Of course I am."

"But I'm not," I said quietly. "I already forgave him."

There was a long silence.

"You forgave him?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Well I haven't."

I rubbed my forehead.

"I'm tired of being stuck between you two," I said. "You're divorced. It's over. I just want to move on."

"I'm only trying to protect you."

"I know."

I looked up at the building in front of me.

The address matched.

"Well," I said quietly.

"What?"

"I'm here."

"At the apartment?"

"Yeah."

"Call me later," she said. "Let me know you're safe."

"I will."

I ended the call and slipped my phone into my pocket.

Then I walked up the stairs and knocked on the door.

The door was swung open as a familiar face stared at me

" Look who came to pay a visit today?" He said as he showed me the way inside.

The moment I stepped into the living room, the conversation inside the apartment died.

Someone reached over and lowered the volume of the music.

A guy sitting on the couch leaned forward, squinting at me.

"Who the hell is that?"

"I don't know," another voice answered. "She just walked in."

Six guys were scattered around the room-two on the couch, one leaning against the wall, another sitting on the arm of a chair.

All of them were staring at me.

My grip tightened around the strap of my bag.

Then someone stood up.

Slowly.

I recognized that movement before I even fully processed the face.

The figure took two steps forward.

My heart dropped.

Dave walker.

For a second neither of us spoke. His eyes narrowed slightly as if he was trying to confirm that I was actually standing there.

"What are you doing here?" he asked finally.

The room went quiet again.

"You... live here?" I asked.

One of the guys looked between us.

"Wait," he said. "You two know each other?"

Dave didn't answer.

He just kept staring at me like my presence in this room was the last thing he expected.

And that's when it finally clicked.

The familiar faces.

The jerseys thrown over the back of a chair.

The gym bags on the floor.

The loud, confident energy filling the room.

These weren't just random guys sharing an apartment.

They were the rugby players.

My chest tightened.

I couldn't breathe.

Six pairs of eyes stared at me and among them was the person I had hoped I would never see again.

Then I realized something even worse.

The six pairs of eyes staring at me belonged to the rugby players.

"Get the hell out of this house."

Dave's words sliced the living room like a blade-low, lethal, vibrating with barely-contained fury.

For half a heartbeat I thought I'd misheard.

"Excuse me?"

He didn't blink.

"You heard me."

Arms crossed over his broad chest, grey hoodie stretched tight across pecs that rose and fell with controlled rage. Joggers slung low, showing the sharp cut of hipbones. He stared down at me like my very existence was an insult to his territory.

"Humans aren't allowed in my apartment."

The sentence landed heavy.

A couple of the guys exchanged glances-Ryder's eyebrow lifting, Atlas leaning back on the couch with a muttered, "Since when?"

Dave ignored them.

His storm-gray eyes stayed locked on me-cold, unyielding, but burning underneath with something darker.

"Especially you," he added, voice dropping to gravel.

Irritation ignited in my chest, hot and fast.

"I didn't come here for your approval," I shot back. "I came for the empty room."

"You're not taking it."

"And who decided that?"

"I did."

I let out a short, incredulous laugh.

"That's funny. I don't remember seeing your name on the lease."

Ryder snorted. Atlas hid a grin behind his fist.

Dave shot them a look that could've frozen lava before swinging those eyes back to me.

"This is my house."

"No," I said calmly, stepping closer close enough to smell cedar and wolf musk rolling off him. "It's an apartment. And if there's a free room, I can rent it."

"You don't belong here."

The words were ice.

My chin lifted.

"I belong wherever I pay rent."

He paused just a fraction.

Then scoffed.

"You think you can afford it?"

"Yes."

I reached into my bag, pulled out the folded listing, and held it up like evidence.

"This is the address posted. Eighteen hundred split. Room available. I already wired my share."

Atlas nodded slowly. "She's right. Money hit the account yesterday."

Dave's head snapped toward him.

"You're not seriously considering this."

Atlas shrugged. "Rent's rent."

Dave ran a hand through his damp hair-frustration carving lines around his mouth.

"This is ridiculous."

I lifted my chin higher, stepping into his space until only inches separated us.

Heat rolled off him in waves shower fresh skin, lingering steam, pure alpha dominance that made my pulse kick hard between my thighs despite every screaming instinct to hate him.

"Look," I said, voice steady even as my nipples tightened under my hoodie, "I'm not asking for favors. I'll pay. I'll stay out of your way."

His gaze dropped slow, deliberate tracing the line of my throat, the swell of my breasts pressing against fabric, the way my leggings hugged every curve of hip and thigh.

The mate spark flickered sharp, electric, racing straight to Dave's core and leaving him hard in seconds.

Dave's nostrils flared.

He felt it too.

His jaw ticked hard.

One of the guys Ryder leaned forward with a grin.

"Well... this might actually get interesting."

Dave didn't look amused.

The living room argument still crackled when Cole finally stood tall, broad shouldered, calm as ever.

He jerked his head toward the hallway.

"Come on. I'll show you the room."

Dave scoffed behind us, arms still crossed, eyes burning holes into my back.

I grabbed my bag and followed Cole-feeling Dave's stare like a physical hand sliding down my spine.

The hallway felt narrower with every step.

Cole pushed the door open and stepped aside.

"This is it."

I walked in slowly.

Small. Clean. Single bed against the wall, narrow window spilling pale afternoon light across plain sheets. Bookshelf in the corner. Wardrobe. Simple. Quiet.

Peaceful.

Behind me, Cole leaned against the doorframe arms loosely crossed, watching me take it in.

"Well?" he asked after a beat.

"It's good."

He nodded once-like that was the only answer he'd expected.

"Name's Cole, by the way."

"Nina."

A small, knowing smile. "Yeah. I figured."

I raised an eyebrow. "You did?"

"The way Dave reacted the second he saw you?" Cole said calmly. "Didn't take much guessing."

I exhaled through my nose.

"Yeah. We... know each other."

"Clearly."

He stepped inside, glancing around briefly before meeting my eyes again.

"Look," he said, voice low and steady, "I'm gonna keep it real."

I waited.

"Living here isn't gonna be easy."

"That much is obvious."

He almost smiled.

"Dave gets... intense."

"That's one word for it."

Cole's gaze flicked toward the hallway-like he could still feel Dave's rage simmering out there.

"But the rest of us don't care who lives here," he continued. "As long as rent's paid and nobody starts unnecessary drama."

"I can handle that."

He studied me for a long second-like he was weighing whether I was bluffing.

Then he nodded.

"Good."

He pointed down the hall.

"Bathroom's shared. Kitchen too. Laundry downstairs."

"Got it."

"Just don't touch anyone else's stuff without asking."

"Reasonable."

He started toward the door-then paused.

"One more thing."

"What?"

"If Dave starts acting like an asshole..." He shrugged, casual but pointed. "...just ignore him."

I let out a small, breathless laugh.

"I'll try."

Cole gave one final nod.

"Welcome to the house, Nina."

He stepped back into the hallway.

The door stayed open behind him.

I stood alone in the room heart still racing, skin still tingling from Dave's nearness minutes ago.

The mattress dipped under my weight as I sat.

Simple sheets. Quiet walls.

My space.

But even here alone the air felt thick with him.

His scent lingered in the hallway.

His voice echoed in my head.

His eyes dark, furious, hungry-burned behind my lids.

This house wasn't just walls and rent.

It was territory.

And Dave had already marked me as the intruder he wanted to devour.

Whether to destroy me...

Or claim me.

I wasn't sure which scared me more.

Or turned me on more.