“Beck.” Locke’s hand lands on my shoulder. Heavy. Grounding.
I stop talking. My chest is heaving.
Everyone’s looking at me. No one speaks. The kitchen feels too small.
I never lose it. I never raise my voice. I’m the one who talks everyone else down, who keeps the temperature low, who notices when someone needs space before they know it themselves.
I’m the one who watches.
And right now I want to find Silas and break every bone in his hands.
“This is what he wants.” Kyron’s voice cuts through. He’s calmer than I expect. “He wants us angry. He wants us to do something stupid so they have an excuse.”
“So what, we do nothing?” The words scrape out of me.
“We do nothing visible.” Kyron meets my eyes. “But we don’t leave her alone. Not for a second. Not in class, not on campus, not anywhere they can get to her without going through us first.”
Trey shifts against the counter. “This is my fault.” His voice is rough. “I should have seen what he was sooner. I was right there and I didn’t—”
“You’re here now.” Vaelor cuts him off. Not harsh. Just fact.
Trey’s jaw tightens, but he nods.
“That’s not enough,” I say.
“It’s a start.” Kyron doesn’t flinch.
Locke’s hand tightens on my shoulder. “He’s right. We can’t give them a reason. Not yet.”
Not yet.
I hold onto those words. Let them settle into my chest where the rage is still burning.
Not yet doesn’t mean never. It means wait. It means be smart. It means when the time comes, we’ll be ready.
I take a breath. Then another.
“Fine.” My voice is steadier now. Mostly. “But if he touches her again—”
“He won’t.” Locke’s voice is flat. Final. “Because he’ll have to go through all of us first.”
No one argues.
We stand there in the kitchen, six men who’ve been waiting two years for something that finally showed up.
I’d never say it out loud. None of us would. But we’d burn it all down for her. Every last piece of it.
Something creaks overhead. A faint sound—could be the house settling, or her shifting in bed.
No one moves. It doesn’t come again.
Silas thinks he can threaten her. Thinks he can use us as leverage. Thinks she’s alone.
He’s wrong.
And when he figures that out, it’s going to be too late.
Chapter 35
