~ JESSE ~An hour after leaving Cazz, I was in my room, bathed, fully dressed, agitated, and scared. There was no chance I was sleeping tonight, because my stomach was getting sicker and sicker as I played those events with Cazz over and over in my mind, growing more upset with every passing minute.What the hell had happened?He’d sounded so… needy when he first called me. I thought he’d brought me there to reconcile. But to ask me to let him compel me?I shuddered at the thought—and thanked God that he hadn’t done it against my will. But that didn’t change the fact that he was obviously

~ JESSE ~“Just breathe, Jesse,” Maya said quietly. She sounded like she was grieving—urging me not to give up.But I could barely inhale, and when I did, my lungs didn’t seem to draw oxygen from the air. I was heaving.“Why… why would he d-do that? Why? He promised me he’d never… wait, has he done this before?!” I was horrified and snapped my head around, staring at her wide-eyed and pleading.It was only a small relief when she shook her head.  “Then why?!” I shrieked.

~ CASIMIR ~I was standing outside Jesse’s chamber door, which had been mostly closed, but not entirely. And I was peering through a tiny sliver of space to watch my mate embrace my best friend.“Rake… if anything happens—”“Shhhhh, don’t do that. Don’t let the tensions here make you catastrophize. I’m back again in less than a week—and I’ll be calling the final Selection for Cazz and you to make the declarations. So, just focus on that. And don’t worry about me.”“No, Rake, I’m serious. If anything happens to you it will kill me. I need you to be so careful. Watch your back when my brothers are around—always. And… and come back safe. Plea

~ CASIMIR ~Half an hour later I was pacing Rake’s rooms, clawing hands through my hair and growling.Where the fuck was she? I wanted to run, to shift, to go after her, scent her for myself, follow her and drag her back here. But I couldn’t leave this fucker to escape.Rake, on the other hand, sat in the simple chair in his room, watching me pace. The only clue to his tension, the way he drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair.“Would you sit down?” he growled. “This isn’t what you think it is. She’s going to come back and tell you and you’re going to see. You know that, Cazz. You know her. You’re just creating divisions where n