A sound escapes my throat, half-growl, half-snarl, and I slam my fist into my thigh.Pain radiates up my arm, and into my thigh muscle but I welcome it.Use it to ground myself.
Control yourself.She’s not yours.She’ll never be yours.
Behind the door, Tessa’s heartbeat slows gradually, her breathing evening out as she comes down from her climax.I stand there listening, torturing myself with the knowledge of what I can never have, and hate every second of it.
Then I hear something else.
Footsteps.Soft and deliberate.
I turn to find Prophet standing at the end of the hallway, his dark eyes unreadable in the shadows.He’s dressed in his usual black, hands clasped loosely in front of him, and there’s something in his expression that makes my stomach drop.
“Walk with me,” he says quietly.
It’s not a request.
We end up on the back deck of the clubhouse, the cold Alaskan air doing nothing to cool the fire burning under my skin.Prophet leans against the railing, his gaze fixed on the dark forest beyond the compound, and for a long moment, neither of us speaks.
“Heaven is watching,” he says finally, his voice barely above a whisper.“They’ve been watching since the moment the mark appeared on her skin.”
I go still.“What are you talking about?”
“The ice-devourer isn’t the only ancient power stirring.”Prophet turns to face me, and there’s genuine fear in his eyes.“Tessa’s bloodline was chosen by angels centuries ago to guard the seal.Her ancestors made a covenant, their lives in exchange for protection, their deaths to maintain the binding.The devourer breaking through now isn’t random.It’s a consequence of the covenant failing.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because your bond with her isn’t an accident, Vex.”He steps closer, his voice dropping even lower.“The angels are watching to see if you’ll break her.If you’ll prove monsters can’t be trusted with sacred things.If you claim her fully, if you take too much and she dies because of it, heaven will use it as justification to wipe out every vampire on this continent.”
The words hit me like a punch to the gut.
“You’re saying I’m being tested.”
“We all are.”Prophet’s jaw tightens.“But you most of all.They’re waiting for you to fail.”
“Then why did they let me near her in the first place?”
“Because maybe they want you to succeed.”He pauses, something like hope flickering across his face.“Maybe they want to believe even monsters can choose something greater than their own hunger.That love can be stronger than nature.”
Love.
The word sits heavy in the air between us, and I can’t bring myself to say it out loud.Can’t admit what I feel for Tessa has already crossed every line I swore I’d never cross again.
“What if I can’t?”My voice comes out rough.“What if I touch her and can’t stop?”
“Then you’ll destroy her.”Prophet doesn’t soften the blow.“And heaven will destroy you.And the devourer will break free and devour everything in its path because there’ll be no one left strong enough to stop it.”
“No pressure.”
“None at all.”
I laugh, but there’s no humor in it.“You know what the worst part is?I’m already breaking my own rules just by being near her.Every night I stand outside her door, listening to her breathe, and I tell myself I’m protecting her.But the truth is, I just can’t fucking walk away.”
“Then don’t.”
I look at him sharply.“What?”
“Don’t walk away.”Prophet’s expression softens slightly.“But don’t claim her either.Find the line between the two and hold it.Protect her without consuming her.Love her without destroying her.It’s possible, Vex.Difficult, but possible.”
“You’re asking me to be something I’m not.”
