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“Look, man,” I call out again, “I’m just having a moment with my girlfriend.” At least, I think she’s my girlfriend. She’s looking at me like I’m a stranger right now, and I don’t like it.

“London, are you good?” James asks.

“Of course, she’s fucking good,” I snipe.

“I wasn’t talking to you.”

“I’m fine,” she responds weakly. “Micah and I are just talking. We will rejoin the group in a few minutes.”

James pauses for a moment as if he doesn’t believe her.

“Did you fucking hear her?” I ask, wondering why he’s still fucking here.

She nudges me. “Micah, stop it.”

“Yeah, I heard her, man. Jade called a meeting. We all need to chat about a few things. It would be appreciated if you both came and you didn’t kill anyone or chop off anyone’s fingers in the process.”

“Can’t promise anything,” I yell back.

I tilt my head and peer down at London, whose big brown eyes are staring right into me.

She jerks her head in the direction of where James’s voice came from. “Let’s go, Micah.”

I finally relent, and she shuffles away from me as fast as she can. “I can’t fucking wait,” I mutter, trying to ignore the painful fucking bulge against my pants.

Chapter Twenty

London

Iwasn’t sure how I would react to seeing Micah again. My love for him is undeniable, yet there’s a lingering sense of unfamiliarity that troubles me. Perhaps I’ve never known him or understood the chilling whispers of his senseless brutality. He’s always had demons inside him, and I love him regardless of them. Because I have that anger, too… but right now, it’s directed at him.

I’m so fucking mad at him.

We rejoin the group, and I’m fully aware of how utterly disgusting I am as we approach the others huddled around the fire, Ezra included.

I’m tired, so exhausted, but I’m more hungry than anything. I’m always hungry. My stomach never settles, even when I’m able to eat scraps of whatever anyone cares to give me. I’ve never gotten used to the hunger, unlike Micah, who seems superhuman and can seemingly go days on end without eating or sleeping.

Always prowling.

As soon as we approach and I see Naomi sitting next to Serena, my body goes wholly still. My anger… it’s directed at her, too. We make eye contact, and for a moment, we are the only two people here. She’s no longer the cocky, confident girl who thought she owned the school and everyone here. Her golden hair is pulled back, and her eyes are… broken. I recognize the emotions swimming inside her. If I looked in the mirror, I’d see the same.

Because Micah broke her, and he broke me, too.

And she broke Ezra.

A vicious, toxic cycle I am now the center of, yet I have no time or energy to sympathize with her. She’s the reason why Micah didn’t come back to me and I had to break my own hand to get out of those binds. I have no idea how much longer I could have endured that. The dehydration alone almost killed me—though, what I was planning on doing to myself scares me the most.

I can’t be by myself. I realize that now.

As I cautiously step inside the circle, I can’t help but notice the palpable intensity of Micah’s energy right behind me. Ezra hangs to the side alone, not quite a part of the group but not an outsider anymore. We make eye contact, and he frowns, then tips his head to the side as if saying—

I’m sorry.

Naomi notices our interaction and frowns, wrapping her arms around herself. Everyone watches me as I sit cross-legged on a blanket Micah grabbed from his pack.

Micah keeps his distance and stands away from the group, gripping his bone weapon needlessly since no one is attacking him right now.

Although my earlier rejection pains him, I can’t be what he needs me to be at this moment. His eyes somehow grow darker, and he pulls his hood up and sits at the edge of the circle. I don’t owe Micah an explanation to make him feel better.