The effect is almost instant.
The unconscious beta jerks, blinks, and opens his eyes. He looks drained and shaky, so I quickly hand him a glass of water. He takes it, glancing around uncertainly as he notices unfamiliar faces in the kitchen. He rubs his bruised forehead in confusion.
"We need to get him to a hospital. What if he develops a hematoma?" I murmur.
Snow nods. "Yes, we will. He’s been unconscious for a really long time."
Jordan coughs. "What the hell happened? I found you all on the patio, all unresponsive, and as I tried to call the ambulance, some… some people broke in…" he starts, his voice shaky.
"Jordan," Snow interrupts, leaning slightly toward the beta. "Don’t worry about it. We dealt with those people, okay? I don’t want you telling my parents about this. They already have enough to worry about with the Winter situation. This whole thing would be too much. Dad has been a shadow of himself these past few days, living in a constant anxiety."
Jordan nods nervously. "Yes, yes, sure, I get it, just… they scared the hell out of me. Armed guys, they looked dangerous, violent—"
"We should get going," Luca says suddenly, his expression making it clear he doesn’t want to talk about the mafia kidnapping. "There’ll be people wanting to talk to me," he mutters, glancing at me and Snow.
All his energy feels agitated, slightly pissed off.
I’m pretty sure that even though part of him understands their family needed new leadership, another part, the loyal one, the part that still feels that blood bond, isn’t exactly happy about Rocco’s death.
Moon looks at him and says, "Yeah, let’s go."
But then he suddenly hesitates and glances at me.
"I’ll call you in a few days, Summer, once things calm down a little, okay? It’ll all settle soon, I promise."
I nod, but then ask the question that’s been sitting on my tongue.
"Are you going to come out now? With Anzo and Rocco gone, you don’t have to hide anymore."
Moon sighs, exchanging a look with Luca.
"That’s true. Now that Ennio’s probably taking over the Ferro family, we can come out. I’ve always liked him, even though he’s cold and formal, like some mix between a robot and a businessman. But deep down, he’s not as barbaric as Rocco was. We can work with him."
Moon steps closer, wraps his arms around me, and pulls me into a tight hug, whispering in my ear,
"It’s going to be okay. From now on, everything’s going to be okay, alright? Summer, I need you to believe that."
Then he pulls back, takes Luca’s hand, and together they leave the kitchen.
I look at Snow, who’s helping Jordan to his feet and leading him to the table.
"I’ll take him to the hospital," he says, glancing at me.
My head is spinning. The adrenaline that’s been driving me for hours is finally fading. All I want is to lie down and sleep. I desperately need a reset button.
"Good idea. I’m gonna take a quick nap, and then after you’re back, I’ll come downstairs and we can talk, okay?"
Snow walks past Jordan and comes closer to me.
"Summer, I want you to know—"
I lift my hand and brush his chest lightly.
"We’ll talk about everything when I wake up. I swear, I’m about to pass out. I just need to lie down."
He nods.
"Of course."
