Novels by Dee Butterfly

Wren's POVIt was funny how quickly the word normal had stopped meaning anything.An hour ago, I had been standing between Kai and Lucas outside the cafeteria, feeling like one wrong sentence might spark World War Three. Now I was walking back into English class with a bottle of water, as if I had simply stepped out because I was thirsty. Life was weird.The classroom buzzed with its usual chaos. Chairs scraped across the floor. Someone in the back argued over football scores. Lyra was dramatically explaining why iced coffee counted as breakfast while our teacher tried—and failed—to get everyone’s attention. No one looked at me twice. At least, that’s what I told myself.Kai walked in a second after I did. He didn’t look at me. He didn’t smile. He didn’t even acknowledge I existed. And somehow, that made me hyperaware of him.I slid into my seat and reached for my notebook. Or I tried to. It wasn’t there. Frowning, I dug through my backpack, but it was gone.“Looking for this?”I turn

Wren’s POVIf feelings had a volume knob, mine got twisted all the way up and then snapped off somewhere around my ribs.I tried to act normal. I really did. I nodded when people talked, laughed when something vaguely sounded like a joke, even unwrapped one of Lucas’s chocolates like I hadn’t just walked back into the group holding Kai’s hand like it had always belonged there.Like it didn’t change everything.But my brain? My brain was a crowded room with too many voices.Kai’s voice, low and steady: Yeah.The way he said it. No hesitation. No shame. Just… truth.And Lucas—quiet now. Not defeated. Not gone. Just watching in that way that made me feel like I was standing under a spotlight I didn’t ask for.I glanced at him once.Big mistake.Because he was already looking at me.Not angry. Not even upset, really. Just… aware. Sharp in a way that made my chest tighten. Like he was recalculating, reshuffling, deciding his next move.And somehow, that made everything worse.Because this

Kai’s POVI knew exactly what Lucas was doing.That was the problem.If it had been random, careless, just him being his usual loud, attention-hungry self, I would’ve ignored it. Would’ve brushed it off like background noise. But it wasn’t random. It wasn’t careless. It was deliberate. Every move he made today had intention stitched into it, clean and precise, like he’d planned it down to the second.The ball.The touch.The note.The roses.The chocolates.Each one landed exactly where it was supposed to.And Wren noticed.That was the part that sat wrong in my chest.Not because she did anything wrong. She didn’t. She wasn’t encouraging him, not really. But she noticed. She reacted. She smiled. And Lucas… he fed off that. I could see it in the way his shoulders straightened just slightly every time her attention shifted toward him, like he was collecting wins in a game I hadn’t agreed to play.But now we were here anyway.Standing in the park just outside school, the air still damp

Lucas’ POVI’d been trying to blend in, laughing with the guys, tossing the ball around like I wasn’t thinking about anything serious. Like school wasn’t a chessboard and I wasn’t three moves behind what was happening between them. But of course, I noticed. I always notice.The subtle way Kai’s eyes followed her hand when she adjusted her sleeve. The small tilt of her head whenever he leaned in slightly. I caught the almost imperceptible shift in her posture—the little pauses, the little sighs, the way she let him occupy space around her. And it was driving me insane.Not that I wanted her. Not like that. At least… not that way. Wren was Wren. Dangerous, brilliant, chaotic, and completely not mine. But right now? I had to stake a claim. Had to remind everyone in the room that I was still part of the picture. That I still had a place in her orbit.And so I waited. Patiently. Or tried to.The ball flew toward me, careless, reckless. I caught it with one hand, spun it slowly, letting it

Kai’s POVI knew that name before I even saw the screen.Lucas.It didn’t matter that she hadn’t said it yet. I felt it. The shift. The way her body went just slightly tense under my hands. The way her breathing changed like something delicate had just been dropped into the middle of the room.And I hated how fast I noticed.Hated how fast I reacted.My hands stayed on her waist.I didn’t even think about moving them.Didn’t want to.She hesitated.Of course she did.Because now there was a choice sitting right there in her palm, glowing back at her.Me.Or him.Not fully. Not yet. But close enough to make my chest tighten.“I should… answer,” she said softly.Careful.Too careful.Like she was trying not to set something off.My jaw tightened before I could stop it.I didn’t like how that sounded.Didn’t like that she felt like she had to tread lightly with me.Still…“Yeah,” I said.Calm.Too calm.“Answer him.”Because I wasn’t going to be that guy.I wasn’t going to cage her.Even

Wren’s POVMy brain was short circuiting every five minutes.I was sitting cross-legged on my bed, textbook open in front of me, staring at the same paragraph for what had to be the fifteenth time.I hadn’t read a single word.Not one.Because all I could think about was—His hand in mine.His mouth on mine.The way he said you’re mine like it was the most obvious thing in the world.“God,” I groaned, dropping my head into my hands. “Get it together, Sinclair.”My phone buzzed beside me.I didn’t even hesitate this time.Kai.My stomach flipped before I even opened it.Kai:You alive?I rolled my eyes, but I was already smiling.Me:Barely. I’ve been trying to read the same page for 20 minutes.Three dots.Fast.Kai:Yeah? What’s it about?I glanced at the book like it might suddenly cooperate.Me:No idea.His response came immediately.Kai: Come over.My heart stuttered again.It was getting ridiculous at this point, I should definitely get checked.Me:Kai…The three dots danced on

CHAPTER 29MATILDA’S POVThe security guard behind the marble desk in the lobby didn’t even have a chance to reach for his phone.When I pushed through the heavy glass doors, he blinked at me in bleary-eyed confusion, his mouth opening to recite whatever corporate script he had been trained on. But before he could get a word out, I held up a hand, gave him a sharp, utterly unbothered nod, and strode straight toward the private executive elevators at the back of the atrium.I swiped the keycard Gideon had given me weeks ago—the one he had forgotten to revoke when he threw me out of his garage—and the metal doors slid open with a soft, quiet chime.I stepped inside. The doors slid shut, sealing me into the mirrored car as it surged upward, floor by floor, into the dark tower.My reflection stared back at me in the glass. Pale. Dark circles under my eyes from a night without sleep. Jeans and a simple black sweater underneath my leather jacket. I looked nothing like the polished, controll

CHAPTER 28MATILDA’S POV3:14 AM.The glowing red numbers on my bedside digital clock stared back at me in the dark, ticking away the seconds of a night I knew I wouldn't sleep through.I lay flat on my back, my eyes fixed on the ceiling, listening to the quiet settling of the house. Down the hall, Mom was sleeping peacefully. The neighborhood outside was dead silent. I had my house back. I had my safety back. I had every single thing I had prayed for since the night Caleb’s debt came crashing down on my head.So why did my own bed feel like a cage?Every time I closed my eyes, the dark didn't bring rest—it brought imagery so vivid and grotesque it made my blood run cold.Piece by piece.Blossom’s flat, hollow voice kept echoing in the quiet room, repeating the words like a sickening lullaby. I saw the worn, formal photograph of that eight-year-old girl with big, innocent eyes. I saw a father who stood by and did nothing while his own flesh and blood was torn apart.And then I saw Gid

CHAPTER 27MATILDA’S POV“That photograph…” Blossom’s voice was barely a whisper, floating in the dim light of the car’s dashboard. “You touched an open wound, Matilda. A wound he was nowhere near ready to deal with. That’s why he shut down.”She turned her body in the seat, her eyes locking onto mine with an earnest, desperate intensity.“I think you’re the only person who can undo this.”I stared at her, my mouth dropping open in sheer, unadulterated shock. “What?”“I know it sounds crazy, but—”“Are you out of your mind?” I interrupted, my hands flying up as I let out a harsh, disbelieving laugh. “Do you hear how completely ridiculous what you’re asking of me is? You want me to go back in there? You want me to walk into his lair and force him to face his demons?”“I just need you to provoke a reaction!” Blossom pleaded, leaning forward, her hands gripping the steering wheel. “He’s suffocating all of us with this ice! If you can just get him to snap—”“You want me to be the living s

CHAPTER 26MATILDA’S POV“Sweetheart? Who’s at the door?”Mom’s gentle voice floated down the hallway from the living room.My heart slammed against my ribs. I practically threw my body against the doorframe, blocking Blossom from view as panic surged through me. “No one, Mom! Just a neighbor asking for directions!”I turned back to Blossom, keeping my voice down to a fierce whisper. “Give me ten seconds. Wait at your car.”Blossom didn't argue. She just gave a sharp nod and slipped off the porch.I shut the front door, grabbed my denim jacket off the coat rack, and shoved my arms through the sleeves. “Mom, I’m stepping out for a few minutes to grab fresh air!” I called out before she could ask questions, stepping back out into the cool evening air and pulling the door shut behind me.Blossom’s sleek black sedan was parked half a block down the street, idling quietly beneath the amber glow of a streetlight. I walked fast, my hands shoved deep into my jacket pockets, my mind racing.I

CHAPTER 25MATILDA’S POVFour days.Four days, ninety-six hours, and not a single black car had idled at the end of my street. No heavy boots had kicked open my front door. No cryptic, two-word texts had lit up my phone in the middle of the night.Nothing.I lay flat on my back, staring up at the white plaster of my bedroom ceiling, the silence in the house heavy and unbroken. Part of me—the rational, sane part—had fully expected the biker gang to storm back into my life. I had prepared myself for Gideon to drag me out of bed, to throw another impossible contract in my face, to remind me of the debt.But he hadn’t.Gideon Vale had meant every single word he said in that garage. The deal was off. I was free. My house was safe, my mom was safe, and I was completely, utterly erased from his world.I should have been celebrating. I should have been popping champagne.Instead, a strange, hollow weight sat right in the center of my chest.I rolled onto my side, staring at the empty space on

CHAPTER 24MATILDA’S POVSilence fell over the room like a physical blow.Gideon didn’t shout. He didn’t throw the bottle. He didn’t surge across the desk to rip the photograph from my hands.Instead, he went entirely, unnervingly still.The raw grief that had flickered across his face moments ago vanished behind a wall of absolute ice. He stepped forward—slow, deliberate, terrifying in his quietness—and reached out.His fingers brushed mine as he took the small, worn photograph from my grip. He didn't look at me. He carefully placed the picture back into the top drawer, slid it shut with a soft click, and turned his gaze on me.His eyes were completely dead.The air in the room felt suddenly devoid of oxygen. My heart hammered against my ribs, a sudden, heavy knot of guilt twisting violently in my gut. I hadn't just broken his rules. I hadn't just snooped. I had put my hand directly onto an open, bleeding scar.“I…” My voice cracked, the word tasting like lead on my tongue. I never a