“You’ll feel it more around her. Around them.”
His eyes flick toward the hallway.
“Especially him.”
I freeze. “What do you mean?”
But he’s already moving. Already retreating, that smirk back on his lips.
“You’ll figure it out. Or you’ll break trying.”
He pauses in the doorway, gives me one last glance.
“Either way... I’m here.”
Then he’s gone.
Gone, and I’m left in the quiet with only my breath and the ache that still gnaws at my ribs.
I slide down the wall, head in my hands.
The hunger hasn’t faded.
The fear hasn’t left.
But for the first time since this started, I know I’m not the only one carrying this.
It’s not food I need.
But gods help me—
I don’t know what else to want.
Chapter 12
Gray
The kitchen feels hollow after Wes leaves.
Not empty—the others are still here, voices drifting in muted conversation as they process whatever the hell just happened. Thane sits like carved from stone, radiating the kind of controlled power that makes my teeth ache. Bree hovers near the table, her fingers tracing patterns in the wood grain while the mist curls restlessly around her ankles.
But something's missing. Someone's missing.
And it's not just that Wes walked out.
It's the way he walked out. Like something was clawing its way under his skin. Like he was one breath away from breaking apart in front of all of us.
I've seen Wes afraid before. Seen him angry, hurt, lost. But I've never seen him look like prey.
My hands flex against my thighs, an restless energy building in my chest that has nothing to do with magic and everything to do with instinct. The kind that says something's wrong. That says I should move. Should follow.
Should hunt.
The thought stops me cold.
Hunt?
Where the hell did that come from?
