LOGINSARAPHINA °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:・ I woke up slowly. And the first thing I noticed was the quiet. No rain was pattering against me, and there were no gunshots or shouting. Just silence, and the soft hum of an air conditioner and the faint scent of clean sheets. My body felt heavy and sore, like I’d been dragged through hell and left out to dry. When I finally managed to open my eyes, the room was dimly lit with the curtains drawn, but I could tell it was likely morning. I was in a bed. And Noah was right beside it. He was sitting in a chair pulled close to the mattress, arms crossed over his chest, head tilted slightly forward. Even in sleep, his posture looked tense, like he hadn’t fully let himself rest. There were still faint traces of dried blood on the side of his neck and a cut near his temple that someone had cleaned but not fully bandaged. His dark hair was messy, falling over his forehead, and he looked… exhausted. I stared at him for a long moment, my throat tight. “Noah…” H
THEA ASHFORD °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:・ “She’s fine.” Gage’s quiet voice jerked me out of my thoughts. I turned on the bed to face him, the soft glow of the bedside lamp painting dark lines across his profile. He was already lying down, one arm tucked under his head, watching me with that cool, collected face he wore whenever my brain went into overdrive. “I don’t like how she sounded on the phone earlier,” I breathed out, my voice low. “Even before she ended the call. Something felt… off. I don’t know what it is, but I have a bad feeling.” He reached out and gently pulled me closer until my head rested against his chest. His hand moved slowly up and down my back in that familiar, grounding way of his. “We can call her tomorrow,” he said softly. “First thing in the morning. But for now, you need to stop worrying yourself sick.” I let out a long, tired sigh and finally nodded against him. “Okay.” The word came out as little more than a breath. Even as I said it, the uneasy feeling in my che
RILEY °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:・ When the back doors opened, Noah and Seraphina looked like a complete fucking mess. Both of them were soaked to the bone with their hair plastered to their faces, clothes heavy and dripping as they shivered from the cold. But that wasn’t what stopped me cold. That wasn’t what made every thought in my head grind to a fucking halt. No. It was the way Noah was carrying her. Seraphina was in his arms, her head tucked against his neck, one of his hands cradling the back of her neck like he was terrified she might slip. Her gaze caught mine and held it, freezing the room so hard I couldn't process a single fucking word Noah was shouting over to James. It was like I was somehow underwater, right up until her eyes slowly started to slip shut. “Saraphina?” Noah called out when he noticed. Seeing her go under must have set off a total fire alarm in Noah because all the color drained straight out of his face, his eyes wide and completely frantic, wearing a look of p
SARAPHINA °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:・ I was so cold. The rain had soaked through every layer I was wearing, and the night air bit straight into my bones. I shivered so hard my teeth chattered, my hands barely able to keep their grip on the back of his neck. I could hardly feel my fingers anymore. Noah seemed to notice and without breaking stride, he tightened his arms around me, pulling me closer against his chest like the extra pressure might somehow make me warmer. Honestly, it didn't, but I couldn't really blame him when he was just as soaked as I was; still, pressing up against his solid, warm chest was the only thing holding me together right then. As we walked for what felt like forever under a relentless rain, I occasionally heard him curse under his breath. Then headlights cut through the darkness ahead of us. Noah tensed up instantly. His grip on me shifted, one arm still supporting my weight while the other hand went to the gun at his side. He stopped walking as the car approac
“Ye…” I started but then thunder cracked across the sky and I flinched so hard I almost stumbled.My grip on his arm tightened instantly, fingers digging into the fabric of his jacket. I’ve always been terrified of storms. The sound of thunder, the way the sky goes dark, the feeling of being trapped under something bigger than me—it had always set something off deep in my chest. And right now, after everything, it felt ten times worse.Somewhere nearby, rain was probably falling hard. I could hear it moving through the trees, a heavy rushing sound getting closer by the second.I held onto him tighter, almost pressing against his side without meaning to.“You said they might come for me again,” I went on, voice shaking. “You can’t just leave me here to fend for myself. Look at me, I can barely walk. I don’t even know where the hell I am. And as you can probably guess by now, I don’t work for any organization. I’m not some trained agent or bounty hunter. I’m just… me. And I’m too invo
I opened my mouth, still not sure what the hell I was supposed to say, when a phone buzzed in the tall one’s pocket. He answered it without looking away from me.“Yeah.”A short pause. I could hear a low voice on the other end, but not the words.“Okay.”He cut the call and stood up slowly, still watching me.“They’ve gotten in,” he told the shorter man. “No point digging for answers anymore. Just kill her.”My blood ran cold.The shorter one frowned. “Seeing that Noah’s got her tied up here might mean she knows something valuable.”The tall one shook his head. “If that were the case, they would’ve already killed her.”Noah?What the fuck did they mean by NOAH keeping me here?It was James. James and Seraphina. They were the ones holding me so I wouldn’t be able to find Noah. Not the other way around. My mind scrambled, trying to make the pieces fit, but nothing did.Before I could even open my mouth to ask what the hell they were talking about, the shorter one sighed.“Okay then.”H







