So none of his friends went to check on him? Not once? My jaw clenches. I’d camp out by his bed if I’d known him then.
“I know what you’re thinking. They’re not shitty friends. We just weren’t super close or anything.” He pauses for a beat. “We kind of just landed together. We were loners, you know. And Logan was a rogue shifter who didn’t want a pack. I think the attack scared him off. He talked about leaving Prodigy all the time. Once he heard about Mav, he probably just decided it was time.”
“I’m sorry. Did you have any family besides your mom?”
He shakes his head, soft hair brushing my cheek. “No. Never met any of them. Mom was too unstable to have people around. Friends or family. It was always just us.”
He says it like he’s used to being the only one standing when the world falls apart, and it breaks my heart. I can’t even imagine. Even when my packdrives me crazy, I still love them. They’re still there for me and I’d lay down my life for them. They’re everything to me.
Tobias deserves the same kind of support.
“Well, I promise you this, if anything happens, our entire pack would camp out at the hospital. We basically did when Evan was there. We took shifts.”
He lets out a quiet laugh, already half-asleep. “I believe it.” His voice is full of longing.
The tension drains from him, his breathing evening out. I don’t move. If I can protect him while he’s awake, I can protect him while he dreams too.
I’ll keep you safe, Toby. I promise.
14
TOBIAS
Isleep in Rowen’s room again the following night.
And the next.
And the next.
On the fourth night, I stay in my room.
It takes forever to fall asleep. My sheets feel wrong. The mattress too flat. Too cold. Too empty. When I do finally drift off, the dreams come hard—shattered and violent. I wake up gasping, chest tight, and shirt damp with sweat, like I’ve been running for miles.
I stare at the ceiling. My entire body shakes.
Rowen said I could go to him whenever I needed, and he’d meant it. I know he did. But needing that every night?
Needinghimevery night?
That’s not comfort—that’s dependence.
And I refuse to be someone’s burden.
Especially after all they’ve done for me.
But, gods—how I want to. Iacheto. Rowen has this way of making the nightmares go quiet. Like he pulls the noise right out of me and leaves the silence behind. But I can’t keep asking him to hold me together. Not when I can’t offer him anything in return.
My gaze snags on the camera on the nightstand, catching a sliver of moonlight through the curtains. I reach for it without thinking. The weight of it settles into my palms like a familiar truth. Solid. Real. Something I lost and now have again…thanks to him.
He’s given me so much. Everything, really. I need to be careful.
My throat tightens.
“Dammit,” I whisper, pressing the heel of my hand to my eyes.
Every time Rowen touches me, it just makes me ache for more of it. I crave it, even though I shouldn’t. Worse, I don’t even know if these feelings are real or if they’re just because he looks at me like I matter. Like I’m not something to be feared. He makes me feel… everything. Seen. Heard.Safe.
But safety is dangerous. Safety gets ripped away.
