"I hurt people."
"You didn't want to."
"Intentions don't matter when someone's bleeding out on the floor."
He wasn't wrong. I couldn't argue with that.
"Cal's going to be okay," I said instead. "Martinez too. Rae healed them both."
"This time."
"That's all any of us have. This time. The next time. One moment after another."
He was quiet for a long moment.
"How do you do that?" he asked finally.
"Do what?"
"Believe in things. In people." His eyes found mine. Exhausted and so full of pain it made my chest ache. "In me."
I thought about it. Really thought.
"Because giving up isn't an option," I said. "Because I've seen who you are when you're not fighting for control. I've felt it through the bond. The man underneath all the trauma and the conditioning and the fear—he's worth fighting for."
"You barely know him. Hell, I barely know him."
"I know enough."
Stone stared at me. Searching for something. I didn't know if he found it.
"You're going to get hurt," he said quietly. "Staying close to me. Eventually I'm going to—"
"Then I'll heal."
"And if you can't?"
"Then at least I'll have tried."
He flinched. "That's not comforting."
"It's not meant to be." I stood. Crossed the room. Sat down beside him, close enough that our shoulders touched. "It's meant to be honest. I don't know what's going to happen. Neither do you. But I know that I'm not walking away from you. Not now. Not ever."
"Lumi..."
"The bond won't let me." I felt it even now—that pull between us, fierce and undeniable. "And even if it would..." I turned to look at him. "I wouldn't. I choose you, Stone. All of you. Even the parts that scare you."
His breath caught.
For a long moment, neither of us moved.
Then his hand found mine. Tangled our fingers together. Held on like I was the only solid thing in a world that kept trying to tear him apart.
I stayed until dawn.
At some point, Stone fell asleep. Not peacefully—his body jerked with nightmares, small sounds of distress escaping his throat. But he slept. And when the dreams got bad, I'd squeeze his hand, and he'd settle.
It wasn't much.
