Lying in the fetal position in that icy room, shivering uncontrollably, I felt as if my very core were being hollowed out by the cold. Every muscle in my body was clenched in a futile attempt to generate warmth. The air felt like sharp needles against my skin. Each breath I took was a struggle, as if I were inhaling shards of glass. My thoughts were scattered, frozen fragments in a desolate landscape.And then, something changed. Deep within, an unfamiliar sensation emerged—a glimmer of warmth that defied the frigid atmosphere around me. It was not the dual source of comforting heat I'd come to associate with Clay and Luke, but it was unmistakable warmth, a radiant glow replacing the chilling void. My muscles relaxed a fraction, my clenched jaw softened, and my racing heart eased its frenetic pace.As I wondered about the source of this newfound warmth, my mark began to tingle. A soft, electric buzz that pulsed rhythmically, like a gentle heartbeat under my skin. I knew that tingle; t
Blinking my eyes open felt like pulling weights from my eyelids. A harsh light bore down on me, searing its brightness into my retinas. My head was a swirling cauldron of fog and confusion, every thought struggling to solidify. The smell that invaded my nostrils was overwhelmingly sterile, like an army of cleaning supplies had waged war in the room.The fog in my brain slowly began to lift, and awareness trickled in. I was in a room, a hospital room, to be precise. The beeping of machines was a staccato rhythm that mimicked my disorienting heartbeats. As my vision began to adjust to the light, I noticed that the room was far from empty.Luke and Clay were there, huddled together, asleep on a couch. Their brows were furrowed, even in slumber. Trevor and Kyla were curled up in an armchair, looking like they'd been through an emotional wringer. All of them were deeply asleep, an exhaustion that looked like it had been days in the making.Except for one person.Moro was sitting at the foo
The instant the sensation washed over me, a gut-wrenching blend of urgency and distress, I knew its origin. It was that loathsome potion my father would use, a concoction designed to pull at the fibers of the bond between two individuals.I had felt it before, always as a tool of manipulation, and the familiarity sickened me. But woven into that was something else—a constant caress over the mate mark, sending ripples across the bond like urgent Morse code. It was like Lexi was sending me an emotional telegram, urging me that she was alright and that we needed to come to her.Next to me, Clay picked up on the agitation but couldn't place it. He began pacing around the room, his movements erratic, muttering "Oh shit, oh shit," under his breath like a mantra of doom. It was the first time he'd felt the pull of such a potion, a volatile cocktail that jerked at our instincts and summoned us toward its origin.I felt it, too, a newfound fortification in the bond, almost like invisible threa
Deep in the brightly lit hospital room, I sat alone with my thoughts, my emotional state as chaotic as a hurricane. There was a split-second moment when my teeth clenched around my father's throat. The point of no return. An abyss that seemed to stretch for eternity yet collapsed in the blink of an eye. The surge of his life force waned, flickered out, and extinguished. In that second, I felt the weight of a life ending under my hands. Adam may have been a monster, but he was still my father, and I had just ended his existence.A flood of conflicting emotions consumed me. Elation battled with repulsion. Satisfaction waged war against a deep, unsettling anxiety. Yes, I hated the man for what he had done—to me, Lexi, and countless others. But to kill him? To see the light leave his eyes, knowing that I was the one who had extinguished it? A new abyss seemed to open within me, a dark void questioning the kind of man I had become.I despised myself in that moment. I despised the fact t
My jaw clenched as I stood near the door of the hospital room, watching Lexi and Luke. Oh, how I wished I'd flushed that coke when I had the chance now. But at the time, it had seemed like a good idea to hold onto it. I hadn't foreseen it spiraling into this—all-consuming fire that Luke was desperately feeding, just to stay afloat. The irony wasn't lost on me. I'd been down this road, had been that guy. Nearly overdosing, ending up in a hospital just like this one. I wanted to shake Luke, and scream at him to see where this path led. But my words would be debris in the tornado of his emotions. Luke was in a place where logic was a foreign language, and his suffering was the only dialect he understood. When Lexi had finally woken up, and Luke abruptly walked out, I knew exactly where he was headed. To numb himself. To escape the agonizing reality that he'd taken a life, his father's life, no less. Every step he took down that path, he took a part of us along with him. A part of me w
The knock at the door reverberated through the room, fracturing the moment. I knew that moment was over, a fragile hiatus swallowed whole by whatever was coming next. When the door opened and Clay's parents, Elena and Louis, walked in, a strange mix of emotions washed over me: nostalgia, regret, and an abrupt self-consciousness that made me want to disappear."I should probably go," I said, getting up, my eyes averted. Thankfully, the intensity of how much I took earlier had started to wane, and I was back steady on my feet. Before I could make it far, Elena closed the gap between us and surrounded me in a warm hug, her arms strong despite her years. "My goodness, Luke. You smell like you've been rolling in the woods for days. You need a shower," she said.Her words made me smile. How many times had I heard that from her growing up? A lot. Despite the hardships and tangles of my life, that simple memory made me realize I had also been blessed with a lot of good. Elena had always b
A sly grin crossed my lips as I looked at Clay and Luke, their post-battle disarray apparent in more ways than one. "You know, Elena wasn't lying when she said y'all needed a shower. And let's be honest, so do I. I think we should all freshen up."Clay chuckled, playfully saying, "I agree. I can smell him from over here."Luke leaned down, his eyes locking onto my toes. While still a bit discolored, the healing was evident. "Okay, I'm in," he conceded, "as long as you promise to stay seated on the bench in there."Luke's arms enveloped me, lifting me effortlessly from the counter and carrying me toward the bedroom. As we entered, his touch felt protective, almost reverent, as he helped me out of my clothes. A sense of vulnerability washed over me, but it was softened by the look in his eyes—gentle, caring, yet tinged with a melancholy I couldn't quite place.Once undressed, Clay swept in, his arms warm and sturdy as he lifted me up and carried me into the bathroom. Luke was already in
The sensation of waking up was disorienting. For a moment, I let myself savor the peace. Despite the chaos that had swallowed our lives, this small pocket of morning tranquility was like a hidden treasure. As my eyes fluttered open, I took in the sight before me: a human knot of limbs and torsos, woven so tightly it was hard to tell where one of us ended and the other began. Lexi was tucked safely between Luke and me, her head resting on my chest, while Luke's arm draped over both of us.The scent of breakfast wafted through the air, pulling me further out of my sleepy haze. It was a strong smell, loaded with bacon, scrambled eggs, and fresh coffee. I felt Lexi stir, the movement rippling through the tangle of bodies.Luke's eyes opened, meeting mine. "Wow," he said, grinning as he breathed in deeply. "How I've missed waking up to the smell of your mom's cooking.""Yeah," I said, feeling the corners of my mouth stretch into a smile. "Me too."As we extricated ourselves from the tangl