CHAPTER 174: _ DANGEROUSLY HOT ALLIES

Heidi’s brows knit in confusion. Morgan’s words replay in her mind as she shoves aside her suspicions about the twins’ dynamic.

"That’s where you come in."

She blinks. "What do you mean that’s where I come in?"

Morgan doesn’t answer right away. He holds out the phone to her with a fixed gaze.

"I’ve never seen you with a phone," he says simply. "So, you’ll take one of mine."

Heidi stares at it like it’s a bomb. "You’re giving me your phone?"

He nods patiently, almost too calmly. "You’ll go home, act normal, and spy on Sierra. If you stumble on a conversation that can clear your name, you record it. Send it to me. We’ll take care of the rest."

His tone leaves no room for negotiation. The kind that would make anyone else shut up and obey. But Heidi is not anyone else.

"That actually makes sense," she admits, crossing her arms. "But I can’t take your phone, Morgan. It’s too much."

Morgan’s mouth curves in a deceitful smile, exactly, more like a man amused by how naïve his captive bird still is. "You’re my mate," he murmurs. "You own whatever I say you own."

The air inside the car turns heavy like honey melting too close to a flame. Heidi feels the heat climb her neck. He doesn’t even blink as he says it, doesn’t move an inch closer, yet she feels his presence surrounding her like warm smoke.

"I’m giving you a tool. With this, you’re going to spy on Sierra."

Heidi freezes, blinking again. "Spy?"

He nods once, eyes glinting with something wicked and amused. "Yes. Go home, act normal. If you stumble on a conversation that can help your case, record it. Keep it as evidence."

Her jaw drops slightly. "You want me to..."

"Spy," he repeats in an impatient tone. "Exactly that."

There’s a second of silence, filled only by the faint hum of the car engine and Grayson’s soft, rhythmic tapping on the steering wheel.

She opens her mouth to argue, but Grayson’s incredulous voice stops her short. "When did you come up with that plan?" he asks, leaning forward from the passenger seat. "And when were you planning to share it with the rest of us, genius?"

Morgan’s jaw flexes, eyes still on Heidi. "It just came to me," he says.

"Of course it did," Grayson mutters, rolling his eyes. "Out of the same place all your half-baked, mate-obsessed ideas come from."

Heidi can’t help it, a soft and startled laugh slips out. Both twins glance at her. Grayson grins; Morgan doesn’t.

She clears her throat. "And what if I don’t find anything? What if Sierra and her little clique are smarter than we think?"

Grayson scoffs immediately. "Please. The NAY sisters, except for Lira, couldn’t outsmart a stapler. You’ll find something... trust me."

He leans back with annoyance, like that’s settled. But Morgan shakes his head and speaks in a low tone. "Heidi’s right. We need a Plan B."

Grayson glances at him. "You’re agreeing with her now?"

"Yes," Morgan strokes his chin. "If we’re going to win this, we can’t rely on luck."

There’s something in his tone that makes Heidi’s wolf stir in an instinctive recognition, like the sound of a heartbeat that matches her own. It’s been happening more often now, and it’s unnerving.

Then her wolf’s voice hums through her head: "He wants you. Right now. For being so hot and clever."

Heidi bites down on a gasp, pinching her thigh lightly just to stay grounded. Seriously? Not the time,

she scolds silently.

Her wolf purrs. "With our mates? Girl, it’s always the time."

Heidi tries to keep her face neutral, but Morgan’s eyes flicker, studying her like he can feel her thoughts. And maybe he can. His wolf side is older, sharper, primal in ways she doesn’t yet understand.

"So," she manages to say, ignoring the heat in her face. "What’s Plan B?"

Morgan looks straight at her. "If you can’t find proof, call me."

"Call you?"

He leans against the chair. "Yes. I’ll figure something out."

Heidi swallows. There’s something in the way he says it that makes her chest tighten. For weeks, she’s been alone in this Duskwind mess, running on anger and exhaustion. And now, suddenly, two of the most arrogant, infuriating men she knows are offering help.

She’s filled with gratitude she doesn’t want to admit. Gratitude and... something else. Something like wanting to grab him by that stupid black collar and kiss him until she forgets she ever hated him.

No. Nope. Bad idea.

She reminds herself that just because they’re forcing their help on her doesn’t erase everything they’ve done before. These two have been the bane of her existence since orientation week. The four Alpha-born men who think the moon shines out of their egos.

Still... Morgan did hand her his phone. That has to mean something.

The air shifts as the car slows down. Grayson breaks the moment with an annoyingly chipper, "We’re here."

Heidi blinks and looks out the window. Her stomach drops. The Castell estate looms ahead. The iron gates are as black as sin, with the family crest engraved in silver. The very last place she wants to be.

Her pulse spikes instantly. The Castell estate smells like fear. Not with someone like Sierra’s mother’s perfume clinging to every wall and hallway. It’s been hell for her before, and now, it’ll be a damn inferno.

"Ugh," she mutters, pressing her forehead to the window. "I hate being back here."

Grayson whistles low. "Can’t imagine why. The place looks like it belongs to a telenovela villain."

"Because it does," she snaps.

Morgan doesn’t say anything, but his gaze softens as he studies her reflection. He knows, or maybe his wolf knows how badly she wants to run.

Mrs. Castell isn’t just wicked. She’s powerful, cunning, and fiercely protective of her daughter, Sierra, the same Sierra who started the rumor that Heidi was a pornstar. The same girl who is nothing but a mistake.

Heidi’s wolf rumbles, a low growl under her skin. "We could just go with our mates. Stay safe. Stay close."

No, she argues internally. That would make it worse. She’ll have more to say if I don’t show up home tonight.

She exhales slowly and turns to face the twins. "Thanks for the ride," she says quietly.

Morgan opens his mouth like he wants to say something( maybe to tell her not to go, or maybe to promise something dangerous, but she cuts him off with a shaky smile. "And for the phone."

She unbuckles and reaches for the door handle.

The moment she steps out, the crisp evening air hits her like a warning. Every instinct tells her to look back, and she does — just in time to see Morgan still watching her through the tinted window. Grayson, beside him, raises a hand in an exaggerated wave and mouths, Don’t die.

Heidi rolls her eyes and flips him a half-hearted salute. "Idiot," she mutters, but her lips twitch.

The car door shuts with a satisfying thud, and the black vehicle pulls away slowly, leaving her standing there at the gates, clutching Morgan’s phone like a lifeline she doesn’t want to need.

As the car disappears into the distance, the whispers in her head return — the cruel, unrelenting reminders of what everyone has been saying about her.

Heidi Castell, the pornstar.

Heidi, who seduced the wrong men.

Heidi, the fallen Moon Blessed.

She grips the phone tighter, jaw set. No. She’s done hiding. Done letting others twist her story. If Sierra wants war, she’ll get one.