New person

The kitchen was filled with the comforting scent of sizzling butter and melting cheese. Remi stood at the stove, flipping sandwiches in a skillet, her movements steady and methodical despite the tension that still lingered in the air.

Will leaned against the doorway, arms crossed as he watched her. Trey and Elijah sat at the kitchen island, sipping hot drinks, while Del rested nearby on the couch with a blanket draped over her lap. The comfort of the pack house felt almost surreal after the chaos of the last few days.

“She said no soup,” Remi murmured mostly to herself. “So grilled cheese it is.”

Will tilted his head slightly. “So… Rae actually speaks Cajun?”

Remi nodded without looking up. “Yeah. She’s from a bayou outside of New Orleans. Doesn’t usually bring it up unless she’s mad—or giving Aspen commands.”

Elijah raised an eyebrow. “That explains a lot.”

“We met our first year of college,” Remi said, her voice softening as she flipped another sandwich. “Rae, Del, and I were randomly assigned as roommates. Rae barely spoke that first week, just stayed glued to her computer or her notes. But once she warmed up, it was like she decided we were hers.”

Trey smirked. “Sounds like her.”

“She’s not close to her family,” Remi added, turning back to the stove. “She doesn’t talk about them much, but from what I’ve gathered, it wasn’t exactly a loving environment. She left and never looked back.”

Del gave a quiet nod from her seat. “She always said we were her real sisters. And she meant it.”

Will’s gaze softened slightly. “That why she’s so protective of both of you?”

Remi plated a sandwich and handed it to him. “Exactly. Once Rae lets you in… she’ll go to war for you. No questions asked.”

Trey leaned forward on his elbows. “Honestly, she’s got more bite than half the wolves I’ve met.”

“She’s strategic too,” Elijah added. “Like she doesn’t just think about the next move—she thinks five ahead.”

Remi smiled faintly, her eyes flicking to the hallway where Rae had gone. “She doesn’t need to shift to be part of this pack. She already is. In every way that matters.”

A pause settled over the room—one of mutual understanding and growing resolve—punctuated only by the hiss of the skillet and the comforting smell of melted cheese.

Rae padded into the kitchen, barefoot, her damp hair piled into a messy bun, wearing leggings and a faded oversized shirt that said “Hack the Planet.” Aspen trailed closely behind her, alert but relaxed, like a shadow always ready to pounce.

At just 5’3”, Rae looked deceptively harmless—messy blonde curls springing in every direction, her sharp blue eyes alert and sparkling with mischief. But anyone who knew her even a little understood that beneath that compact frame was a mind like a loaded weapon, always scanning, calculating, and two steps ahead.

“I feel like a new person,” Rae announced with a grin, stretching her arms high overhead as she stepped fully into the room.

Will, Trey, and Elijah looked up from their sandwiches just as Remi turned from the stove, smiling warmly.

“You look like one too,” Remi said. “Get some rest?”

“Kind of.” Rae shrugged, grabbing a slice of grilled cheese off the plate Remi had just set down. “Sleep is for people who aren’t being hunted by hackers and corrupted council members.”

Behind her, Del followed in with a lazy stretch, her caramel-brown skin glowing against the oversized hoodie she wore, dark curls pulled back into a puff. At 5’6” with piercing green eyes, she had an easy presence about her—calm, grounded, the kind of person who made everyone else feel a little steadier just by existing in the room.

Then, without warning, Rae turned to Del, grabbed her hand, and spun her into a clumsy little dance right there in the middle of the kitchen.

“Rae!” Del squeaked, laughing as she nearly tripped over her own feet. “This is chaos!”

“Exactly,” Rae said, still spinning her. “Beautiful, messy chaos. My kind of therapy.”

Aspen gave a short bark and wagged her tail, clearly approving.

Will chuckled under his breath, leaning against the counter. “You’re definitely not what I expected when Remi said her roommate was a tech genius.”

“You thought she’d be quiet and shy, huh?” Trey said, amused.

“Like a librarian,” Elijah added with a smirk.

Rae twirled Del one more time before letting her go and popping the last bite of grilled cheese into her mouth. “Well, sorry to disappoint,” she said, mouth half full. “But I’m the kind of hacker who drinks juice, dances in kitchens, and takes down traitors with her laptop.”

Remi handed her a juice box without a word, the corner of her mouth twitching in fond amusement.

Rae caught it midair. “Also,” she added, suddenly more serious as she plopped onto the couch beside Aspen, “I found something while I was running diagnostics. There’s more to these data breaches than just tracking movements. They were testing something. Pushing firewalls, trying to see how much control they could get over internal systems.”

“Like a dry run,” Trey said, instantly alert.

“Exactly. And I intend to figure out what they were preparing for.”

Del exhaled, brushing her fingers through her hair. “Here we go again…”

But there was no fear in her voice—only a familiar bond of battle-tested sisterhood