“I don’t want it!” I say again. “I never wanted it.”
“I know, and we’ll find a way to remove it. But until then—”
“You don’t get it. He’s in my head now, Red. He’sinme!”
“No, he’s not. Not unless he’s controlling you.” He gives me a pointed look, silently asking if there have been other instances.
I somehow manage to shake my head.
His blue mage light flickers, turning to purple as it mixes with the red. My skin tickles as it stitches back together.
“I hate him,” I say.
“We all do.” He looks under the bandage, then peels it away. “You’re fine. Go upstairs now. Try to rest. We’ll talk about this more when everyone calms down.”
I hear the dismissal for what it is.
But like hell I’ll be able to rest after this.
The halls are dim, quiet except for the hum of distant voices. The air feels heavier up here, like the house itself knows something’s gone wrong.My feet carry me to the room I share with Rowen, but I pause in the entry. Do I still have the right to be in here? He was so furious with me. Like he wanted to hurt me.
But it doesn’t matter. I need him. I need his scent, his things. I need Rowen.
Grief hits me hard in the chest when I see the empty room. I didn’t really expect him to be here, but it hurts just the same.
I close the door behind me and sit on the edge of the bed. The mattress dips under my weight. The blankets are still a mess from earlier, the scent of sex lingering in the air.
My hands hang between my knees. Everything feels like it’s unraveling. I want to cry, but honestly, I’m so tired of crying. I’ve done enough of that for a lifetime. So I just sit there, breathing shallowly, waiting for the panic to settle. It doesn’t. If anything, it grows.
Rip spoke to me. He’d gotten in my head.How?Was it from proximity? Or can he reach from wherever they are? Is it two-way? Can he hear my thoughts? I’d only known it was him because of the bracelet, but hadn’t I felt itbeforethat? I’ve felt that tug for a few days. Weeks, if I’m honest. His voice has only gotten clearer today. Because he was here? Or was it because of what he did to the mark?
Why didn’t I notice when it changed?
“I didn’t ask for this,” I whisper. It wasn’t what I signed up for all those months ago, when Rip offered me money for my blood.
But now I can’t hide from it either.
Like it or not, Rip and I are connected.
I can feel him like a shadow at the edge of my thoughts, like he’s waiting to open that channel again. And no matter how much I want to deny it, refuse it, reject it… I know he’ll be able to break through, anyway.
Next time, she dies.
I drag a hand through my hair, gripping the strands hard. I’ve made such a mess of things. Will Rowen forgive me? Or Ivy? I should’ve told them I was hearing things, but would it have made any difference? The voices before weren’t him. Not exactly.
This… this isn’t my blood screwing with me. This is so much more.
I clench my jaw until it aches. I need to stop being… well, human. Weak. Rowen deserves better. Isn’t that what fate thought when it wove our hearts together?
I have to be stronger. Be worthy of being here.
If Rip can reach me through this mark, then I need to learn how to block him out. To fight back. I can’t let him use me to hurt anyone else. But how? How does a half-blood defend a pack of wolves against a coven of vampires?
The thought alone makes me want to laugh—or scream. Every time I think I’ve found a shred of power, the world reminds me what I really am: nothing. A bridge between two sides that will never fit. Maybe that’s how my mom felt. Not quite human, not quite shifter.
I lean forward, pressing my palms to my eyes. The only thing that has ever felt right in my life is being here. This place. This pack. It’s felt like home from the moment I realized I was safe.
The bond between me and Rowen hums faintly, a low vibration under my skin. I can feel his anger still burning somewhere out there, but beneath it, something else. Fear.
