Chapter 107. A Most Public Reckoning

I had braced myself for bad news, but nothing could have prepared me for the blow Liam and Chase were about to deliver. Their faces were solemn, their eyes filled with a regret that spoke louder than words, and a sense of foreboding flooded my gut before a single syllable passed their lips.

"We made a bargain," Liam said at last, voice low but unwavering. "A pact with Selene to protect you and… the babies."

My whole body went rigid. The unborn twins within me stirred in response, or perhaps it was my own pulse hammering at my rib cage that I felt. Six months along, and I had grown accustomed to them reacting to my heightened emotions--but the sharp flutter now felt like panic. A creeping sense of dread, slow and paralysing, started to snake through my limbs.

"Protect me from what?" I rasped, my throat tight with fear and confusion. "And why didn't you tell me? Why have I only found out now?"

"We thought we could fix it quietly. The terms o