Josie
I knew I should tell Kiel everything.
The mories had co flooding back in vivid clarity. I wasn’t hallucinating anymore. Not even close.
The truth stood like a fire in my throat, refusing to be swallowed or spoken aloud. I rembered it all. The two tis Michelle tried to kill that night. Three, if I counted the earlier one too. Her words. Her eyes. Her threats.
But my lips wouldn’t move.
I stared at Kiel as he stood beside my bed, holding my hand like I was sothing fragile that might slip between his fingers. His warmth seeped into my skin, his steady presence trying to anchor .
But fear... fear held my voice hostage.
Michelle wasn’t just anyone. She was the Beta’s daughter. She had power. She had reach. And she had promised —no, warned —that if I ever said a word, she’d hurt the people I cared about.
I’d seen the look in her eyes. The way she smiled right before she hurt . She’d do it. She wouldn’t hesitate.
So I stayed silent.
I felt Kiel’s thumb rub slow circles on the back of my hand. He sighed deeply, and for a mont, I thought he might pull away. Instead, he softened his voice, adjusting the weight of his words like he could feel how brittle I was.
"How are you feeling?"
It was such a small question. Kind. Thoughtful. Loaded.
I could’ve lied. Said I was fine. Or I could’ve faked another hallucination. Pretended I still couldn’t tell reality from nightmare. But even that lie felt too heavy to hold right now.
I looked at him.
Really looked.
His eyes were tired, rimd with a faint redness, like he hadn’t slept in days. The corners of his mouth were pressed tightly together, as if he was holding back every emotion he couldn’t afford to show.
My heart clenched.
He was trying so hard.
And he looked so beautiful in his worry.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I’ll be fine," I whispered, not because it was true—but because I wanted to believe it. Maybe if I said it enough, I’d start to feel it.
Kiel’s jaw tightened as his gaze t mine. For a second, I wasn’t sure if he was going to cry or scream. But then sothing shifted. His expression softened. His hand ca up slowly, cupping the side of my face with a gentleness I didn’t know I needed until that mont.
His lips t mine.
Soft.
Slow.
Sweet.
Like he was tasting a mory he wanted to keep forever.
It was the kind of kiss that made you forget you were ever broken. That maybe, just maybe, you were sothing precious again.
My tears ca then. Unstoppable. Uninvited.
I didn’t even know why I was crying—relief, grief, fear, love? Maybe all of it.
He pulled back, just enough to breathe, and wiped my tears away with the tip of his fingers. They were warm, calloused, and so real.
"You’re going to be fine," he murmured. "I got you, Josie. I swear I do. You don’t have to carry this alone anymore."
My throat burned, but I nodded. Even if I couldn’t tell him everything now... maybe I’d find the courage later.
The door creaked open and I tensed instinctively, but relaxed when I saw it was Thorne and Varen. They stepped inside quietly, like they knew this mont wasn’t one they wanted to shatter.
Thorne crossed his arms. "We’ve enlisted extra security. No one gets in or out without being checked."
"About ti," Varen muttered as he made his way to the other side of the room.
They all hovered around , the way bees hover around a flower that’s been bruised by the wind. Protective. Quiet. Waiting.
I ended up in Kiel’s room, curled under one of his oversized blankets. The movie playing on the screen was so corny romantic flick I’d never have chosen for myself, but no one complained. Not even Thorne, though he groaned dramatically every ten minutes.
"Oh my God, if this man looks into her eyes one more ti, I’m going to vomit," he muttered, pressing the bridge of his nose.
Varen snorted. "You’d look into her eyes too if she looked like that."
Thorne rolled his eyes. "I’d rather stab myself."
Kiel chuckled and shifted closer to , his fingers brushing against mine beneath the blanket.
I glanced around the room, my chest swelling with sothing unfamiliar. Warmth. Safety. Peace.
For a brief, dangerous mont, I felt happy.
The flickering screen showed the couple in the movie kissing under the rain, and sothing inside twisted. I turned to Kiel slowly, my voice barely above a whisper.
"You’ve been so warm to ," I said, embarrassed at how raw my voice sounded. "I... I just want you to hold ."
He didn’t hesitate.
Kiel pulled into his arms like it was the easiest thing in the world. His scent—cedar and sothing darker—wrapped around like a second blanket. My head rested against his chest, and I could hear the steady beat of his heart. Steady. Strong. Real.
His lips found mine again, but this ti it was different.
Deeper. Hungrier.
I didn’t know who moved first—maybe him, maybe —but suddenly, he wasn’t just kissing . He was tasting , morizing , leaving fire across every inch of my skin.
His hands found places on my body I didn’t know craved touch.
My back. My waist. The nape of my neck.
Each place he touched ignited sothing in . A spark. A plea. A silent scream that begged him not to stop.
I lted into the mont.
The air around us buzzed, heavy with unspoken desire. I tilted my head as his lips trailed down my jawline, finding the sensitive spot behind my ear.
A gasp slipped past my lips.
"Kiel..."
He growled low, barely audible, but it made my spine arch involuntarily.
I didn’t even realize my shirt had shifted until I felt his breath against my neck. His teeth grazed the delicate skin there, and I whimpered, half in shock, half in need.
"God, you taste like heaven," he murmured.
My thighs clenched involuntarily.
I could barely focus—my body was fire and my brain was fog—but when I glanced to the side, I froze.
Varen was watching.
Not just glancing—watching.
His elbows rested on his knees, chin in his hand, and there was sothing unreadable in his eyes. His other hand casually tapped the silver earring in his left ear.
And then I noticed it—Kiel’s piercings. The ones I had felt earlier. They were cold on my skin. I had tasted the tal, tasted him, and the mory sent another shiver down my spine.
My legs pressed together.
I looked away quickly, heat blooming across my cheeks. Embarrassnt? Maybe. But also... sothing else. Sothing darker. Wilder.
Kiel didn’t stop.
He sucked on the tender skin of my neck like it was the only thing he’d ever wanted.
Thorne’s voice broke the mont.
"We should go," he muttered, but he didn’t sound angry. Just... resigned. Tired. Maybe amused.
My gaze snapped to him. Our eyes locked.
I swallowed hard.
He held my gaze for a heartbeat longer than necessary before turning away.
But Kiel was relentless.
He continued sucking on my neck, hands wrapped around my waist, lips searing marks into my skin like I was his to brand.
And in that mont, maybe I was.
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