When I woke up the next morning, I felt better rested than I had in weeks. For the first time since I started hypnosis, Philippe hadn’t had to rush in during the night to wake me from my night terrors. Simply connecting with my mate did wonders for my state of mind, and even though our lovemaking was confined to our dreams, my body felt sated and satisfied.

A moment after seeing Sinclair's message, my phone rang, and I pulled it from its charger. "Good morning, my love," I greeted him, beaming.

"Good morning, gorgeous," His handsome, sleep-drowsy face filled the screen. "How are you feeling?"

"A thousand times better," I admitted. Not only had he saved me from my nightmares, but the weight of my lies was finally lifted. I ran my hand over my belly, checking in with our pup.

"Rafe is happy too; he's been missing you as much as I have," I added.

"I'm glad you're both feeling better," he rumbled, "though you're not going to be happy with me in a moment."

"Why?" I asked nervously, sitting up. A thousand possibilities ran through my mind, though I suspected I knew where this was going.

"Because I've called a meeting with your co-conspirators," Sinclair revealed, a note of foreboding in his deep voice.

"But Dominic, it wasn't their fault," I objected. "I convinced them, and to be fair, without you, I outranked all of them except Gabriel. So they were just following orders."

Sinclair gave me a sardonic look. "I hate to break it to you, trouble, but as incredible and strong as you are, your wolf has only been awake for a month—there are children with more experienced animals. As far as I'm concerned, you don't outrank anybody yet."

"I'm their Luna," I countered defiantly, deeply affronted by his undervaluing of my agency.

"You are, and you and I are going to have our own reckoning when I'm home," he promised ominously. "But for now, we all need to get on the same page."

Muttering mutinously, I slid out of bed. "When is this meeting?" I snapped after a moment, deciding to forgo some of the more colorful insults swirling in my mind.

"Half an hour, in Gabriel's chambers," Sinclair shared, a familiar glint in his green eyes. "Now, would you like to spend that time grumbling at me, or would you like to sneak in some fun before the day gets away from us?"

"That depends," I huffed, thinking I'd quite like to continue grumbling. "What kind of fun?"

"Well, I've been thinking about the show you gave me the other day," Sinclair said, sending a crimson blush to my cheeks as I recalled pleasuring myself on our last video call. "And how beautifully you lost control, even while defying me every step of the way."

I smothered a shiver. "And?" I squeaked, already excited and having to clench my thighs to relieve the ache between them. My annoyance and trepidation about the meeting vanished, replaced only with erotic interest—exactly what the wily wolf intended.

"And since I'm such a generous mate, I thought I might give you the chance to redeem yourself," Sinclair bared his fangs, all predator now. "By doing exactly what I tell you to do, no matter how scandalous it sounds…" His words trailed off into a low growl, and I swear my sex spasms began as if already on the verge of climax. "You'll follow my orders exactly, so that even though it will be your own hands, it will feel like I'm the one playing your sweet body like a fiddle—and I'm going to watch every moment."

"Okay," I gulped, trying to control my pounding heart.

"Good girl. Now prop the phone on the table by the bed and make sure I can see you," he instructed, his voice like rough velvet. "Then take off your nightgown and lie down."

"And then?" I breathed, already obeying.

"Then wait for my instructions…"

Forty minutes later, I careened into Gabriel's chambers, freshly dressed but still weak-kneed from our video call. Sinclair was as good as his word—unsurprisingly—and spent nearly the full half hour before the meeting ordering me to pleasure myself for his enjoyment, and Goddess, was it hot! I never thought I would enjoy that sort of thing, but I'm wondering if I don't have a small exhibitionist streak when it comes to my mate.

I'm sure the wolves in the room could sense my overexcited vital signs, not to mention smell my lingering arousal. Part of me wonders if Sinclair takes some sort of twisted pleasure in showing off his sexual prowess this way, or if perhaps this is just part of my punishment. Either way, I entered the meeting ten minutes late and took a seat at the table.

Sinclair's face was already on a large computer screen, and his hawkish eyes followed me the moment I entered the room. They lingered on me for a long moment after I sat down before he turned his attention to my companions. "So, I'll get straight to the point," he began gruffly. "I know you've all been helping Ella continue her hypnosis sessions. I know about the second memory she uncovered, and that she hasn't slept in weeks because of the nightmares."

Henry, Roger, Gabriel, and Philippe all exchanged wary glances before turning their attention to me.

I sank down in my chair, feeling like a child sent to the principal's office—only there were four principals, and they were all lethal predators. "I didn't know about any nightmares," Henry stated with concern. Roger and Gabriel murmured in agreement, and Philippe glowered as I confessed that only he knew.

"No, only Philippe knew, and I swore him to secrecy," Their gazes swung to my guard, full of accusation, so I added, "I didn't give him a choice."

"There's always a choice," Henry said gravely, and guilt filled me as I saw the shame in my guard's eyes.

"This isn't about blame," Sinclair interrupted. "Ella and I have talked, and we'll sort matters between us when I come home. I also know it wasn't easy for her to convince you, and I know why you agreed," he revealed, sounding resigned. "I'm more concerned with how we move forward."

I looked up, not quite believing my ears. It almost sounded as though he was going to let us continue, but that couldn't be right… could it?

"I know my mate well enough to realize that once she's set her mind on something, there's no stopping her—at least not when I'm so far away," he added with a note of warning. "So I want to make sure that future sessions are safe and healthy. I want to know when they're happening and how they go, as well as any new information that's discovered."

"Dominic," Henry sighed, "I'm sorry we kept this from you, and though we felt it was worth the risk, I'm sorry we didn't pick up on how badly it was troubling Ella." He reached over and squeezed my hand, looking at me with obvious worry.

"Thank you," Sinclair nodded, and I realized that though he certainly blamed me for not speaking up about my bad dreams, he also blamed them for not noticing what was obvious to him from thousands of miles away.

"But son, you have enough going on without adding these updates and reports to your plate," Henry continued. "I can assure you that we'll keep a sharper eye going forward and relieve some of the other stresses Ella is dealing with. Then we can update you with everything when you're back."

Not for the first time, I felt indignant to have all these men talking about me as though I wasn't in the room, but I also understood this was part of being a she-wolf. All these bossy Alphas viewed me as part of their pack, and though the independent woman in me felt offended, the orphan who grew up with no one caring felt oddly touched. "No," Sinclair countered, unwilling to budge an inch. "I'm not happy about any of this, so I'll be damned if I'm going to stay in the dark about it."

"That's fair," Gabriel acknowledged. "And I think I speak for us all when I say that we do regret the subterfuge, and for not taking better care of your Luna." The others mumbled their agreement.

"There's another thing," Sinclair continued. "Ella, I expect you to go through Leon's suggested therapy after your sessions, and I want you all to make sure she does it."

My jaw dropped. "What?"

"You heard me, little mate," he rumbled. "That point is not up for debate. If you're going to do this, you're going to do it safely."

If I could shoot daggers with my eyes, my mate would certainly be dead. Still, he stared me down and growled until my wolf was trembling and tucking her tail between her legs. "Fine."

"Good," Sinclair approved. "Now, I'd like a word with Philippe in private."

My heart sank as I looked at my guard. "Dominic—"

"No," Philippe objected, holding up a hand to stop me. "It's okay, Ella. I answer to my Alpha, and I knew what I was risking."

"But—"

"Come on, Ella," Henry encouraged, leading me from the room. Still, I couldn't help but look back over my shoulder at my guard. The door closed behind us, and the last thing I saw was my mate's enraged face scowling from the computer screen.