LOGINI stared at them, my mind reeling.“What?” The word came out strangled. “How—how the hell do you know?”My father—Kamari 2’s father—leaned back in his chair, his expression calm. Too calm for someone who’d just revealed they knew about dimensional travel.“I’m a scientist, Kamari. Well, a physicist, to be specific.” He gestured to the shelves lined with technical journals and equipment I’d assumed were just decorative. “I’ve been obsessed with quantum mechanics and dimensional theory for most of my career. Parallel universes, alternate realities—it’s been my life’s work.”“Okay, but that doesn’t explain how you knew about me.”“I developed something years ago. A detection system.” He pulled out what looked like a tablet from his desk drawer. “It monitors dimensional frequencies, alerts me when there’s a breach—when someone from another dimension crosses into ours.”My stomach dropped. “You’ve had this the whole time?”“The alert went off the day you arrived.” He tapped the screen, sho
I stared at the text message with a frown, trying to decipher what might be going on.MUM: Can you come over tomorrow, baby?Was something wrong? Maybe they wanted to invite me to another party? Or perhaps they needed help with something?The guilt that had been sitting in my chest since I’d first met them flared up again. These were good people. Kind people. They didn’t deserve to be lied to.And suddenly, I made a decision.I would tell them the truth. Tomorrow, when I went over there, I’d explain everything—that I wasn’t really their daughter, that their real Kamari was safe in another dimension, that this whole situation was temporary.They deserved to know.Even if it meant losing the only functional family relationship I’d had in fifteen years.🪷🪷🪷The next day, I took a cab to the mansion.The gate guard waved me through without question, and I walked up the long driveway, rehearsing what I was going to say in my head.Hi, so you know how I’ve been acting different lately? W
The next day, I found myself at the coffee shop again.It was becoming a habit—this little place tucked between two office buildings with its mismatched furniture and baristas who actually knew how to make a decent cup. The coffee here was quickly becoming my favorite thing about this dimension.We didn’t have coffee back home. At least, not like this. Nothing that smelled this good or tasted this rich or made me feel almost human again after a sleepless night.I was standing at the counter, rattling off my usual order, when someone called out behind me.“Kamari? Oh my God, Kamari!”I turned around slowly, my hand instinctively moving toward the concealed knife at my hip.A pregnant woman was beaming at me from near the door—very pregnant, probably seven or eight months along, with curly brown hair and a smile that looked genuinely excited.I had no idea who she was.“It’s been so long!” She waddled toward me, one hand on her swollen belly. “I can’t believe I ran into you here! How ar
[Kamari’s POV]I woke to the sound of a muffled scream.My body went rigid instantly, my hand reaching for the dagger I’d left on the nightstand, before I realized the sound had come from beside me.Enzo.He was still asleep, but his body was tense, his face twisted in agony. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his hands were clenched into fists so tight his knuckles had gone white.“Jessica,” he whispered, his voice broken. “Jessica, no. Please, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Jessica—”My chest tightened.I reached out and touched his shoulder gently. “Enzo. Hey, it’s okay. It’s just a dream.”He jerked awake with a gasp, his eyes wild and unfocused. For a moment, he looked at me like he didn’t recognize me, like he was still trapped in whatever nightmare had been tormenting him.“It’s me,” I said softly. “It’s Kamari. You’re safe.”Recognition slowly filtered into his expression, and he pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes, his breathing still ragged.“I’m sorry,” he said, his vo
The kiss started slow. Tentative. Unsure.I stood frozen, not knowing what to do, if I should return it. Trying to hang on to the little ounce of control I had left, to fight against what my body wanted, what my heart was screaming for.I knew I shouldn’t be doing this. Knew I should push him away, maintain the distance I’d worked so hard to create between us.But the moment he parted my lips with his tongue, all logical thought left my head.A sound escaped my throat—half gasp, half moan—and then I was kissing him back with a desperation that scared me. My hands fisted in his shirt, pulling him closer, and all the reasons we shouldn’t be doing this just evaporated.The mating heat roared to life between us, and this time I didn’t even try to fight it.“Enzo,” I breathed against his mouth. “We shouldn’t—”“I know.” He kissed me again, deeper this time. “But I can’t stop. Tell me to stop and I will, but…”He cupped my breast and I moaned, “Don’t stop.”He lifted me carefully—too carefu
[Enzo's POV]The past twenty-four hours had been hell.And I'd been to hell before—literally walked through fire and bloodshed more times than I could count—but nothing compared to this.The fucking mating heat was consuming me alive.I'd jerked off so many times in the past day that I'd lost count. In the shower. In my bed. At my desk. Against the wall of my office when the need became too overwhelming to ignore.But it didn't help. Nothing helped.Every time I came, the relief lasted maybe ten minutes before the fire started building again. Hotter. More insistent. More unbearable.I wanted her. Burned for her. Ached for her in ways that made me want to tear my own skin off just to feel something different.But I wouldn't approach her.Couldn't approach her.She was right about everything she'd said. This whole mess—the failed mission, her inability to focus, Lance still being in Edgar's clutches—it was all because of me and this damned curse.If I had never waltzed into her life,







