Tangled Hearts.

~Chapter 48~

~Raelyn~

~May 20th 2023~

It had been about a month since the bunker, and—shockingly—I hadn't torched the world in a fit of rage or snapped and joined a cult.

Sure, I had night terrors that made *The Exorcist* look like a Pixar short, and panic attacks that could put a lawn sprinkler to shame. But hey—considering I was tortured, branded like cattle, and kidnapped while pregnant—this was... functional. Or at least, function-adjacent.

Okay, *maybe* I wasn't thriving, but I hadn't punched a stranger or burned down a Starbucks, so I was counting that as a win.

I was doing my absolute damndest to evict Layne—the bastard formerly known as Colby's father—from my brain. He was still alive (unfortunately), still a threat (obviously), and still haunting my dreams like a demonic motivational speaker.

But my roommates? Saints. Literal saints in sweats.

Katrina kept feeding me sugary crap like she was trying to bake me from the inside out. Jake told the worst jokes known to mankind, just to watch me roll my eyes. Devyn hugged me like she was on a personal mission to replace therapy with cuddles. And Tara? Tara mocked my trauma with loving savagery, because that was her love language.

And then there was Colby.

Colby, with his stormy eyes and brooding forehead vein and tragic backstory that made every girl want to climb him like a jungle gym.

He was my mate. My overprotective, emotionally constipated, insufferably hot mate who'd probably try to swaddle me in bubble wrap if I so much as sneezed weird.

And even though I wanted to scream half the time, I was stupidly, maddeningly in love with him.

The only thing keeping my feet on the ground right now?

Bean.

Our daughter. The little chaos gremlin growing inside me who made me crave pickles dipped in cream cheese and hot Cheetos at 3 a.m. I would suffer through all the nausea and rage cravings and weird body horror just to meet her.

Because she was mine. And I'd kill anyone who tried to take her from me again.

~

I woke up far too comfortable, which was already suspicious.

And then I realized why.

Colby.

The man was practically fused to me—arm locked around my waist like a damn seatbelt, face smushed into the pillow, legs tangled with mine like he was trying to *merge*.

I blinked, still groggy, until something in my brain sparked. That *something* being a single, innocent text notification:

> Isa: Just boarded. Can't wait to see my favorite circus freaks 💜

Oh.

OH SHIT.

"COLBY!" I screeched, flailing like a caffeinated crab as I slapped his arm. "WAKE UP!"

"Mmrgh?" he grunted. His face was still half buried in my hair, voice muffled by my neck. "S'early."

"COLBY. ISA'S COMING."

That got him.

His eyes flew open like a raccoon caught mid-crime. "Wait, what?"

I shoved my phone into his face. "She's. On. Her. Way."

It took about two seconds for his brain to reboot.

"Wait—*Isa Isa*? Your sister Isa?"

"No, the other Isa I hide in my trunk. YES, YOU IDIOT. MY SISTER ISA IS FLYING HERE!"