Their Secret Obsession by Pippa Moon

Chapter 0353

Adam POV

I closed my eyes, letting heartbreak, guilt, and fury swirl in my chest. I saw the same fierce determination burning in Lottie's gaze when I opened them again. She eased away from me and squared her shoulders. "I need to speak to Selene," she declared, loud enough for us all to hear.

Startled whispers moved across the group. Liam and Chase only offered sad smiles as though they had expected no less from her. Kane drew in a sharp breath, crossing his arms over his chest. "What's the point?" he asked quietly. "She didn't warn us about any of this. Why would she listen now?"

His question made my wolf, Savage, howl inside my head--a raw, mournful cry. I clamped down on despair, refusing to let it consume me. He was her mate; he should be supporting her, not ignoring her needs.

"She's our goddess," I affirmed, my tone harsher than I intended. "She's answered Lottie before. She needs to know why she kept this from us. Why did she not give us a chance to stop Liam and Chase from making that deal? If she truly wanted Lottie safe, surely we should all have had the option of offering ourselves."

"And if she says it's too late?" Liam asked, his voice flat. A cold thrill of dread ran through me, but I stood taller, forcing my shoulders back.

"Then I'd make her listen," I vowed. "I can't lose you both. And nor can she! I do not plan to stand by while the goddess tears our family apart--not for the sake of a treacherous alpha who betrayed us all."

Chase stepped closer, brushing his knuckles against Lottie's cheek while she remained in my arms. His eyes brimmed with pride and heartbreak, a look I knew well.

"That's our brother," he laughed, shifting his gaze between us. "Did you know? He never learned to give up, did you, Adam?"

A weak smile tugged at the corner of my mouth despite the gnawing misery in my gut.

"No," I whispered, "I never did. And I'm not about to start now."

A silent understanding bound us in that moment. There was still so much about Alpha Leigh, Astaroth, and Sebastian we hadn't discovered, not to mention the hidden corners of Selene's realm where such pacts could be forged. But our time was running out; Liam and Chase had only a few days before Selene claimed her debt in full.

moments--remembered how I had lost her

I declared, releasing Lottie enough to look at everyone in turn,

gazed up at me, her cheeks still

softly. There was a tremor in her voice, though she tried to keep it steady. She wasn't the only one who trembled. We all felt

Kane, and Knox before my eyes settled on my sister and her red-rimmed eyes. I drew a deep breath,

that moment, as Lottie's

pulse of

mind. I recognized it as the pack mind link. Chase

out. I steeled

wave of

but

I a

sense of calm emanate through the

we just know

The weight of this goddess's debt threatened to break all of

tone more measured. I sensed a flicker of guilt behind his confidence--he was aware Lottie had

might be... worse."

Lottie's tense figure. Her gaze lingered on me, full of questions and brimming with

her yourselves," I snapped through the link, frustration curling in my gut. "She deserves to hear it from both of

admitted, an edge of helplessness creeping into his thoughts. "But the words never come. Every time we try, something chokes

if we forced it. For now, we need to keep her

my throat, though outwardly, I kept