My eyes stare up at the ceiling, my vision doubling as I try to concentrate on the fluorescent lights.
“You shouldn’t have given her that,” the alpha’s voice sounds like it’s under water, “Brooks said to not sedate her.”
“It was just a little.” The beta is swimming now as he leans over me, my vision going wobbly. The click of handcuffs coming undone makes me want to rub my wrists, but all I can do is stare at the ceiling. “She was thrashing around too much. This way we can get her to her room without losing an eye.”
The world moves around me, and suddenly I’m staring at the floor as I hang over someone’s shoulder. “See? Look how good she’s being.” The beta chuckles, and then I feel a finger on my cheek. “We’re going to have so much fun together.”
Vaguely, it registers that they must be carrying me somewhere, and I’ve been trained to get out of a situation like this. But…my body is so heavy. I’m not even sure I want to move.
And then…everything goes dark as I sink into oblivion.
three
Hayden
Open.
Close.
Open.
Close.
The lighter in my hand does nothing to quell the anxiety building in my gut.
Last night, everything was perfect. We flawlessly destroyed Banesworth, covered up his murder, and it seemed like Jo got some of the answers she needed regarding her sister. I went to sleep as the sun was rising, wrapped around her snug, soft, perfect body. Itold her I was going to keep sleeping when she got up to go to breakfast. And now…she’s gone.
Sam and West had come banging on the door, and I panicked, thinking I would get shit from someone for being in her room by myself. My relief at finding out it was just them was short lived, though.
They asked me about the bond…if I could feel her.
Before today, if I had to describe to someone what it feels like to have Jo’s very essence sitting right on top of my heart, I would have said that my nickname for her feels a little bit like fate.
Fireball.
Feeling Jo’s presence and having her bond inside me is like having a little ball of fire lighting up my insides. It keeps me warm, it makes me feel all fuzzy, and…it gets me hard.
As I pace her room though, the flame is nothing more than a flickering ember. To make matters worse, her empty bed mocks me like some flashing sign reminding me that my very reason for existing isnowhere to be found, and I realize that maybe her nickname is fateful in more than one way.
Fire always gets taken away from me.
Open.
Close.
Open.
Close.
In one way or another, everything and everyone I love gets destroyed. My mom. My life. Any hope of a relationship with my dad.
My house.
Okay, that one was my fault, butcome on. Dad literally tried to force me to marry someone and left me alone in a room with a burning fire. What did he expect?
I shake my head. Right. As West would say, even though Dad’s actions didn’t help the situation, I still need to take responsibility for what I did.Iam in control.
But…am I? I don’t even know where my bonded omega is.
