LOGINTHE NEW NORMAL~TATE'S POV~The smell of bacon woke me up.For a second, I panicked. I thought the apartment was on fire again. I sat up, checking my hands, but there were no glowing veins, no sparks, no white-hot plasma. Just regular skin.I let out a breath and flopped back onto the pillows. The bed was empty, but the sheets on both sides were rumpled.I climbed out of bed, threw on a robe, and padded out to the kitchen.It looked like a normal Sunday morning. Or, as normal as it gets when your boyfriends are apex predators living in an off-campus luxury apartment.Daxon was sitting at the island, shirtless, eating scrambled eggs straight out of the pan because he refused to dirty a plate. Mathias was standing by the stove, flipping pancakes. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, looking annoyingly awake."You're burning them," Daxon said with his mouth full."I am caramelizing them," Mathias corrected without looking back. "There is a difference. Also, use a fork, you animal.""Forks
THE INFERNO~MATHIAS'S POV~I was in the kitchen of the Safehouse, pouring a glass of blood from the fridge, when the world staggered.It wasn't an earthquake. It was a psychic shockwave.A pulse of sheer, white-hot energy slammed into the back of my skull. It traveled down the mate bond like a lightning strike, so intense it made my knees buckle. The glass shattered in my hand, spraying red across the counter.It felt like fire. It felt like her."Tate," I gasped.Daxon, who had been dozing on the couch after a double shift, shot up. His eyes were already flashing gold."Did you feel that?" Daxon roared."She's in trouble," I said.I didn't wait for him. I didn't wait for the door. I blurred.I moved faster than I ever had before. The vampire blood sang in my veins, pushing my muscles past their limit. I tore out of the apartment, vaulting over the balcony railing, hitting the pavement three stories down without slowing.I followed the scent.Panic. Ozone. And... burning fur.I reach
THE PARK~TATE'S POV~Fall in the Pacific Northwest was less of a season and more of a threat. The wind had teeth, the rain was constant, and the sun clocked out at 4:00 PM.I tightened my scarf, burying my chin in the wool. My bag weighed a ton, filled with a Constitutional Law textbook that was thick enough to stop a bullet. I was walking back from the campus library to the Safehouse.Mathias was there. Waiting.Just the thought of him made my step lighter. He had been back for three days, and we had spent most of them in bed, re-learning the maps of each other's bodies. He was still edgy...the vampire instincts didn't just turn off....but he was home.I took the shortcut through Miller's Park.It was a small, sad little patch of green sandwiched between two brick apartment buildings. During the day, students played frisbee here. At twilight? It was empty. Just the creak of the swing set chains in the wind and the rustle of dead leaves.I kept my head down, walking fast. Edward
THE RETURN~TATE'S POV~I was angry-cleaning.It is a specific type of cleaning. It involves a lot of bleach, aggressive scrubbing, and pop music played at a volume that probably violates the Geneva Convention.I was at "The Safehouse"—the off-campus apartment Mathias had bought under a shell company name because he didn't trust dorm security. It was sleek, modern, and currently smelled like lemons and rage.I was on my hands and knees, scrubbing a scuff mark on the baseboards. I was wearing one of Mathias's old black t-shirts and nothing else. The cotton was soft, worn thin, and it still smelled faintly like him—cedar and ice."I don't care! I love it!" the speakers blasted.I scrubbed harder. Mathias had been gone for twenty-one days. Three weeks. No calls. Just cryptic texts from burner phones saying Safe or Moving East. He was hunting the Anomalies....the mistakes Marcus had left behind.I missed him so much it made my teeth ache. I dipped the sponge into the bucket, ready to a
THE STANDOFF~TATE'S POV~Ten minutes. Daxon said ten minutes.It had been eight.I sat on the edge of my bed, the silver-loaded crossbow resting on my knees, aiming at the door. My heart was a metronome of panic. 'Thump. Thump. Thump.' From the hallway, I heard heavy footsteps. Not the wandering shuffle of a student. The purposeful, predatory stride of a wolf on the hunt.The doorknob turned. I raised the weapon."It's me," Daxon's voice came through the wood, low and rough.I scrambled up, disengaging the deadbolt and chain. I yanked the door open.Daxon filled the frame.He wasn't wearing his usual "college boyfriend" disguise of a hoodie and jeans. He was wearing tactical black—combat boots, cargo pants, and a tight black t-shirt that showed off every muscle in his arms. He looked like he was ready to storm a compound, not a dorm room.His eyes were flashing gold."Where is he?" Daxon snarled, pushing past me into the room. He scanned the space in one second—checking the closet, t
THE BOYFRIEND~TATE'S POV~The dorm room was weirdly clean.That was the first red flag.Usually, Chloe's side of the room looked like a Sephora had exploded inside a laundry basket. But today? The floor was clear. The bed was made. The BLACK DAHLIA poster had been straightened. And the smell of vanilla body spray had been replaced by something muskier. Expensive cologne. Cedar and... something sharp. Like formaldehyde masked by citrus.I walked in, dropping my heavy bag of law books on my desk."Chloe?" I called out. "Did you get evicted? Or did you finally find the floor?""Shut up," Chloe said, popping out of the bathroom. She was wearing a dress. A nice one. And she had done her eyeliner without the usual 'I hate the world' thickness. She looked... happy."He's here," she whispered, grabbing my arm. Her grip was tight. "Be cool. Do not be weird. Do not talk about the creepy construction boyfriend.""He's in security," I corrected automatically. "Who is here?""Liam," she said, bre







