Chapter 134

Melanie’s POV

My afternoon classes feel like a blur of half-doodled lecture notes and caffeine-fueled daydreams. By the time I stroll up to the front door, my backpack practically sighs in relief. Inside, the place looks like a cyclone played bumper cars with my furniture—cushions tossed, toys scattered like confetti, and a suspicious smear of peanut butter on the wall (Theo’s artistic contribution, no doubt). Asher stands in the middle of the chaos, hair in wild disarray, clothes speckled with playground grime. He looks like he’s survived a Category 5 tornado—and he has. But he still manages that infuriatingly adorable grin. When he spies me, he sweeps me into a kiss that feels like a warm electric spark in the middle of domestic war zone.

Theo barrels in after him, cheeks rosy from cold and triumph. He’s clutching a stick like it’s Excalibur and wearing that triumphant grin only a little boy-turned-wolf can muster after a successful conquest of the slide. “Mama!