“Then, help him,” I urged. “Can’t you teach him how to hang on? How to stay sane?”
Hugo looked at me, his eyes softening. “Sorry, Laurel. That’s not something I can teach.”
“Why not?” I demanded.
He chewed on his cheek, considering, before he answered. “Ocean isn’t built like me. I used to go into ruts all the time. It was easy to fight it out, and so I’m used to what the rut rage does. I’ve been doing it my whole life. But Ocean…I’d guess he hasn’t rutted more than twice before he came in here. I wouldn’t even be shocked to find out he’d never rutted before. His brain isn’t coping well.”
I felt frozen, the words echoing in my ears.
“I see,” I said, my voice sounding distant. “Thanks for warning me.”
Hugo gave me a tight nod.
FIFTY-EIGHT
LAUREL
I walked up the path to my villa, my body on autopilot as I unlocked the door and stepped inside. I was brought out of it when the door closed, shutting out any light. The curtains were all drawn, and I peered into the gloom, wondering if Kaos was awake. There was a delicious smell coming from the kitchen, but I couldn’t see anything.
I peered up at the ceiling, flicking on and off the lights, but nothing happened.
Was the lightbulb missing…?
I jumped as a hand brushed my side, and something settled around my wrist with a click. When I tried to pull away, I realized what it was. A manacle.
This motherfucker had handcuffed me.
My eyes adjusted to the dark to see Kaos wearing a happy smile and holding up a steaming cup. “Noodles?”
“What is this?” I demanded.
“Shin ramyun?” he clarified, moving thecup closer.
“Not that.” I yanked at where we were cuffed together. “This.”
“Handcuffs,” he said with a shit-eating grin.
I huffed in annoyance, and he moved us over to the couch. He pressed the cup into my free hand and picked up his own from the table.
“This is ridiculous. And completely unnecessary,” I told him, but he just hummed. He was happier than I’d ever felt before.
I cautiously took a sip of the noodle broth.
Holy fucking spiceballs—I choked, managing to swallow it down, but it burned the whole way. My eyes were watering and my nose started to run.
Kaos wordlessly passed me a cup of milk, a smug expression on his face, and I gulped it down. Once I’d recovered, I eyed the cup again and fished out some noodles. It did taste really good, despite the pain.
My phone buzzed, and I put the cup down to answer it. It was a video call from Finch.
I answered and propped it up on the table, our faces looking eeriee in the light from the screen.
He glanced at me and then turned to Kaos. “Report.”
Kaos scratched the back of his neck. “Still keeping my mind healthy and happy,” he said, tugging on the handcuffs.
Finch shared an exasperated look with me. The moment felt too familiar, and I looked away uncomfortably. Finch cleared his throat, the same sound he’d made after he’d taken the leaves out of my hair. “The other part, Kaos. You checked out the information Laurel got from Prince? And from Thaddeus?”
Kaos gave me a lazy grin, raising an eyebrow. “Okay, I’ll admit that was pretty hot, what you managed to do.”
