My thumb brushed her lips as I stared down at her.
I cocked my head, smiling as my thoughts tumbled into that moment he’d met her.
The pure blinding adoration that had flowed from my Ocean as he’d scented her.
Ocean deserved the world.
He’d been so hopeful.
I’d wanted an omega for him too. I was wary of dreaming, always had been, but there was no stopping the hope.
Hope she’d torn down.
I was dragged to the present by the shift in her vanilla rose notes spiking sharply in fear.
I refocused.
Thick lashes had lifted, and her large blue eyes were grey in the moonlight.
Oh—hello, sweet demon.
My thumb still rested upon her lips. I was still sitting in the dark by her side, cloaked in silence.
Laurel didn’t move, but it was hard not to notice how tense her body had become.
She was afraid. Or unsure.
I shifted my thumb, stroking her cheek again. She flinched away, daring to push herself up from where she lay.
Her gaze was darting around in the dim light now, and I saw it land on the knife and rope resting by my boots. She stared at them for an age before returning her gaze to me.
Her eyes were wide and afraid, as if I’d lost it.
But I wasn’t mad.
Not yet.
Madness was in my periphery, threatening to swallow our pack whole.
My brother would be mad, his bond pulsing with sickness that would corrupt him forever. It would drive away his soul, just as I’d lost mine.
I wasn’t strong enough to be his anchor; instead, I would poison him more.
But maybe not tonight.
The strongest thing I could offer him now was this bond.
So, if I couldn’t hold on, we’d lose everything.
She made me focus. Gave me something to do. Let me feel comfort that I could give to Ocean through our bond.
“Sit up,” I said. The words were quiet, but a command, drawing a reaction out of her before she even realized.
Her lips parted in fear as she settled back on her ankles, and I saw her eyes dart to the door.
I felt the edge of a smile on my lips as I watched her make the calculation.
Could she run? A fool’s game, since one word from me and she’d stop.
