LOGINLena stood frozen after Vance left.The sheet slipped from her shoulder. She did not fix it. The bond with him stretched thin and painful across the distance. Every step he took away from her felt like a cut.Jax wiped the thin line of blood from his neck with the back of his hand. His silver eyes stayed on the empty doorway for a long moment. Then he looked at her.“He means it,” Jax said quietly.Lena’s voice came out rough. “I know.”Silence settled between them. Outside, the distant music of the masquerade continued. Inside the chamber, the air still held the heat of what they had done and the sharp edge of what had just been said.Jax took one slow step closer. He did not touch her. He simply stood near enough that she could feel the steady calm he always carried.“Echo bearers do not form single bonds the way others do,” he said.Lena’s head lifted. “What?”“It is rare,” Jax continued. His voice stayed low and even. “But it happens. Especially with the older bloodlines. An Echo
Vance kept the knife against Jax’s throat. His hand did not shake this time. “You have ten seconds,” he said. Jax stayed silent. Vance turned his head just enough to look at Lena. The sheet had slipped lower on her shoulder. Her skin still carried the flush from what she had done with the man under his blade. The bond between Vance and Lena burned hot and painful in his chest.“Look at me,” Vance said. Lena lifted her eyes. Guilt sat heavy in them. Vance felt it through the bond like a second blade. “You left the temple,” he said. “You ran into the dark. I felt every step. Then the bond went quiet.” Lena’s voice came out small. “I needed space.” “Space,” Vance repeated. The word tasted bitter. “Space with him.”Jax shifted under the knife. Vance pressed harder. A thin line of blood appeared on Jax’s neck. Jax did not flinch. His silver eyes stayed locked on Vance. Slowly, almost lazily, he lifted two fingers and rested them against the flat of the blade. The metal stopped moving. Van
Vance stood in the broken doorway and saw everything. Lena half-naked under a thin sheet. Flushed. Breathing hard. Standing too close to the silver-haired bastard who still had the smell of her on his skin. The rage hit so hard his vision tunneled. He had tracked her for hours. Through the trees. Through the howls. Through the bond that kept pulling and twisting and going quiet at the worst moments. He had followed the scent of her blood and the faint, wrong sweetness of the place she had run into. He had watched from the shadows outside the masquerade while masked vampires danced and laughed and pretended the world outside didn’t exist. And he had seen her leave with him. Jax. The calm one. The quiet one. The one who had looked at Lena like he already owned the parts of her Vance hadn’t claimed yet. Vance had almost lost control right there in the garden. He had almost torn through every vampire in the place just to reach her. Instead he had forced himself to wait, to track, to
Lena stood in the middle of the chamber, the sheet clutched tight against her chest, and tried to breathe past the ache in her ribs.Jax didn’t move closer. He stayed where he was, naked and unashamed, silver eyes watching her like he could see every thought she was trying to bury. The calm he’d worn all night was gone. What replaced it was quieter. Heavier. Like he’d finally set something down and wasn’t sure if the floor would hold.“You still want me,” he said.Not a question.Lena’s throat closed.She wanted to deny it. The words sat right there, ready, sharp enough to cut. But her body remembered the way he’d moved inside her, the deliberate control, the way he’d looked at her like she was the only thing in the room that mattered. Her skin still hummed with it. Her mouth still tasted him.And underneath that heat, the bond with Vance pulsed like a second heartbeat.Hot.Angry.Hurt.She felt it flare hard against her chest, the mark on her neck burning as if Vance had just presse
Lena waited, heart still beating hard against her ribs. Jax’s thumb stopped moving on her wrist. He stared at her for a long second, silver eyes darker than before. The easy calm he always carried cracked just enough for her to see what was underneath. “I’ve hunted Echo bearers before,” he said. The words landed like ice water down her back. The room didn’t change. He did. Something colder slipped through the cracks. Lena pulled away from his chest and sat up. The thin sheet slipped down, but she didn’t care. She searched his face, hoping he would laugh or say he was joking. He didn’t. “You hunted them,” she repeated slowly. Not asking. Confirming something she didn’t want to be real. Jax sat up too, movements smooth and controlled even now. He didn’t reach for his clothes. He just looked at her, steady as ever. Like he’d already decided to tell her everything… and wasn’t afraid of what it would cost him. Jax didn't look away. “My family carried a curse for ce
Jax’s mouth stayed on hers, slow and sure, like he had nowhere else to be. Lena’s back pressed against the closed door. Her fingers curled tighter into his shirt, pulling him closer even as her mind tried to catch up. The kiss wasn’t rushed. It wasn’t rough. It was deliberate, like he was learning the exact way she tasted, the exact way she breathed when he tilted her head just so. She shivered. Not from cold. From the way his hand slid up her side, thumb brushing the underside of her breast through her dress. The touch was light, but it sent heat straight down her spine. Jax pulled back just enough to look at her. His silver eyes were dark now, pupils blown wide. “You’re still fighting it,” he said quietly. His voice was rough, but controlled. Lena swallowed hard. Her lips felt swollen. “I don’t know how to stop.” Jax’s thumb brushed her lower lip again, slow and deliberate. “Then don’t stop.” He kissed her again, deeper this time, tongue sliding against he
The gates slammed shut behind them with a heavy clang.The sound echoed through the trees like a final warning.Lena didn’t look back.The iron doors of the enclave were already sealed again, cutting her off from the only home she had ever known. Cold wind rushed through the forest ahead, carrying
And somewhere in the crowd…someone moved.Lena didn’t see who it was.But she felt it.A sudden ripple of intent cut through the storm of emotions flooding her mind.Fear. Curiosity. Excitement.All of it pressed against her senses at once.Her head throbbed.The golden mark on her wrist burned ho
Steel scraped against leather as the three warriors stepped forward.The sound alone made Lena’s stomach tighten.Each of them carried a weapon.One had a curved blade.Another held a heavy iron spear.The third rested a hand casually on the hilt of a short sword at his waist.None of them looked n
Lena didn’t make it ten steps.A hand slammed into her shoulder and yanked her backward.Hard.She hit the ground.Dust filled her mouth.Someone grabbed her arms before she could scramble up.“Got her!”The shout echoed across the square.Lena twisted, kicking wildly, but two guards pinned her dow







