So I don’t.
I pick up the mug of coffee first and take a slow sip. It’s strong, dark, no sugar. I don’t wince. I won’t give Vale that show. I set it down, tear off a piece of toast, drag it through the yolk of the egg, and take a bite.
The silence in the room shifts.
Something that was coiled draws back a fraction. I don’t know why.
Maybe because I’m behaving. Or because I’m accepting my fate? Maybe because they were trying to see if I’d refuse food just to prove I could.
I swallow, set the toast down, and look at Caelum. “You dragged me out of bed so you could watch me eat?” I ask. “Kinky, but there are cleaner ways to say you’re lonely.”
Vale chokes on a laugh. Saint exhales like a prayer he’s trying not to say out loud. Wraith’s mouth kicks, just barely. Ash… finally speaks.
“Cute,” he says softly, almost clinically. His voice is calmer than I expected. Patient. “But we can skip the flight response testing. We already know you’re feral. We’re here for the drive.”
My body goes still.
I hate that it happens so fast. I hate that I didn’t get to school my face first. Caelum sees it. Of course he sees it. “Good,” he murmurs. “You did take something.”
I force my shoulders to loosen. “I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to,” Ash says. “Your pupils dilated, and your breathing changed. Also, you stalled two beats instead of one. Your shoulders rose three millimeters when I said ‘drive,’ which tells me you’re guarding your upper body subconsciously. I assume it’s not literally on you now, so that means you hid it. Somewhere you think we won’t touch.”
I stare at him.
Slowly, I say, “You’redisgusting.”
“Frequently,” Ash agrees, unbothered.
Vale leans his cheek into his fist, watching me like I’m a show. “Where is it, Red?”
I don’t look at him when I answer. I keep my eyes on Caelum. “Before I even think about telling you that,” I say evenly, “you’re going to give me something.”
Vale laughs. “Oh, sweetheart. That’s not how this works.”
“Careful,” Saint murmurs without looking away from me, voice low and smooth. “She’s not bargaining for money.”
Wraith is silent. But I feel him watching me, steady, the way he had in the hallway last night. Protective and assessing. Wolfwaiting to see which way I run so he can intercept. I can feel him ready to move if Vale lunges, or if I do.
I sit up a fraction straighter.
“I want protection,” I say.
Caelum’s gaze sharpens, just enough. “You already have it.”
“No,” I say. “I want it inwriting.”
That gets me a reaction. Subtle, but it’s there. Vale’s brows go up. He wasn’t expecting that. He expected crying, or bargaining with sex, or hysterics, or threats. He didn’t expect paperwork.
Saint’s attention narrows, focus turning razor-edged. He looks almost…pleased. Ash’s fingers still on the keys for the first time since I walked in. Wraith doesn’t react with surprise at all. He just… nods once, barely visible. Like there it is. That’s the part I wanted them to see. Caelum studies me.
“In writing,” he repeats, slow. “You think paper means anything in my world.”
“I think you’re not stupid,” I say. “And I think you know that if anything happens to me, other people will know who to blame.”
Silence. I feel it hit them like a match.
Vale straightens in his chair. “Explain that, little spark.”
