“We’re not going anywhere,” I promise.
She’s asleep within minutes.
I watch her breathe—slow and steady and alive.
Forgiveness isn’t erasure.
It’s responsibility.
It’s showing up, even when you’ve failed.
It’s promising “never again” and meaning it with everything you have.
Jace meets my eyes over her head, his expression raw.
“We’ll make it right,” I tell him quietly.
He nods. “We will.”
For the first time in days, I believe it.
But as I watch Bree sleep, something hardens in my chest. Riley. Ethos. They took everything from her—from all of us. They twisted love into weapon, trust into betrayal.
They’re still out there.
And we’re going to make sure they can’t hurt anyone ever again.
Chapter 23
Bree
The pounding on the door jerks me awake; my heart tries to punch through my ribs.
For a split second, I’m disoriented—wrapped in warmth, Rhett’s arm heavy across my waist, Jace’s breath steady against my shoulder. The room still smells faintly of soap and steam from hours ago.
Then the door crashes open.
Auren stands in the doorway, chest heaving, eyes wild.
“Get up. We go now. Ten minutes before they’re on us.”
The words punch through the fog of sleep like ice water.
Rhett’s already moving, rolling out of bed with the kind of speed that says his body was awake before his mind caught up. Jace swears under his breath, scrambling for his boots.
“What—” I start, but Auren’s already gone, his footsteps thundering down the hall.
I throw back the covers and lunge for the leather outfit I wore earlier—pants, jacket, boots. My hands shake as I yank the zipper up, fumbling with the straps.
Gray appears in the doorway—human, solid—storm-gray eyes sharp. “Move. Now.”
Theo’s right behind him, already pulling on his coat, and Wes stumbles past with a pack slung over one shoulder.
Jace runs toward us from the kitchen when I make it to the hall, still shoving food into a bag—bread, apples, cheese, anything he could grab.
“Jace—”
“You’ll thank me when we’re starving,” he mutters. “Priorities.”
