8

As soon as we reach my bedroom, everyone moves into action. The boys gently lift Drake onto our bed. Vincent opens the window while Caron rummages through her bag, pulling out a fresh syringe and drawing a potion from a small glass vial.

“Wait—what’s happening?” the doctor snaps, grabbing Caron’s wrist and yanking the needle from her hand. Ben growls low in his throat.

“Give it back,” he snarls, stepping protectively in front of her. Caron stares, stunned.

“Not until someone tells me what you’re injecting into my patient,” the doctor says, defiant.

“None of your damn business,” Vincent hisses, snatching the needle back with practiced ease. His eyes burn with warning. “Touch my wife again, and I’ll show you what dark magic really looks like. Understood?”

I can’t help but smirk. Vincent may be intense, but his loyalty runs deep—and he protects the people he loves with terrifying conviction.

“I’m sorry,” the doctor says, lifting her hands. “But what do you expect? Who even are you? My patient needs quiet and rest, not… all this chaos.”

I take a step toward her, my growl rumbling in my chest. Layla looks like she’s ready to rip her head off and flush it down the nearest toilet.

“This isn’t your patient,” I snap. “You said it yourself—you don’t know what’s wrong with him or how to fix it. They do. So either back the hell off or spend the night in a cell. Honestly, I’d prefer the latter.”

She swallows hard, backing away.

“Sorry, Luna. I didn’t mean to offend.”

I roll my eyes as Layla makes a gagging face behind her. “That’s all you’ve been doing. What happens in this room is private. When you leave, you don’t speak of it. Not to a soul. You don’t dwell on it, and you sure as hell don’t question it. You’ll follow my orders—or you’ll be banished and declared rogue.”

My aura slams into her like a wave, and she gasps, clutching at her throat. Her eyes roll back slightly as she staggers. Layla studies her, eyes narrowing.

“What is it?” I ask quietly. “Something’s off about her.”

“I know,” Layla replies. “But we’ve got enough going on.”

Caron clears her throat and leans over Drake, parting the collar of his shirt to expose the wound on his neck. The spot where the dart had struck is now dark blue, pulsing with each slow heartbeat. She carefully injects the potion into the same spot and looks up at me.

“Okay, Lilly. Now you need to extract the power from him—bit by bit. Each time, push it completely out of your body. Every last trace. It’ll take time, but you’ll know you’re done when his color returns and the mark is gone.”

I nod and step closer, placing my hands on his chest. I allow my power to seep into him, feel it reach out for the corruption within. A cold, silky darkness slithers toward me—seductive, smooth, like it wants me to give in. To lie down and join Drake in that empty place.

But then I see Baylee and Caden out of the corner of my eye. Their faces are full of hope. And that alone gives me the strength to resist.

With a breath, I rip the darkness from him and push it from my body, out the open window. A thick, toxic smoke pours from my mouth like a chimney at a waste center. It burns and chokes, but I keep going—again and again—each wave harder than the last.

Relief comes in small doses. With every release, I feel lighter.

I don’t stop until Drake’s cheeks are flushed again and the dark mark on his neck fades completely.

The sun is setting by the time I’m done. The room is quiet, everyone drained. I’m starving—for food, for touch, for Drake’s voice. I miss his laugh when Baylee does something incredible. I miss the way his heartbeat stutters when May toddles across the room like she’s conquered the world.

It’s only been hours, but it’s felt like days.

When the final breath of dark smoke leaves me, I collapse beside him. The waiting begins. No one speaks.

Then suddenly—his head shifts.

His cheek brushes mine, and his chest begins to hum with life. His eyes flutter open and land right on me.

A smile spreads across my face, soft and exhausted. That’s all I need—just that look—to let go and finally rest.

“Lilly?… Lilly?… Lilly?… What the fuck’s wro—?”

But I’m already gone, slipping into the safety of sleep in his arms.

⸻

Drake’s POV

Darkness wraps around me like silk—quiet, endless, and still. I can think, I can breathe, but I can’t move. My soul floats in limbo.

Weightless, but unbearably heavy.

Time drags on. Or maybe it doesn’t. Maybe it’s only seconds. There’s no way to know.

Then… I feel it. A pull. A firm tug on my chest, right on my heart. A force I can’t fight. It yanks me forward, dragging me from the stillness.

I think of Lilly. Her face. Her big, doe eyes. Her lips on mine.

heavens, her lips.

The softness of them against my skin, the way they make me feel alive.

But the closer I get to the surface, the stronger the pull becomes. Words start slipping through the fog. At first they’re broken, muffled… then clearer, sharper. Familiar voices.

My mind moves toward them, the darkness finally loosening its grip.

A dot of light appears in front of me. I push toward it, harder and harder, and as it widens, memories flood back—love, laughter, warmth. Lilly.

And then… I remember what put me here.

Lilly. Baylee.

Are they safe? Am I too late?

The fear slams into me like a blade.

I see Lilly hanging from a tree by her wrists. Baylee screaming in a corner. Forces tossing them around like rag dolls.

I shove myself forward, panic screaming through every cell. The closer I get, the more real it feels. I can’t lose them. I won’t.

Finally, I burst through the surface, gasping for air. Her scent hits me like a tidal wave—warm, familiar, perfect.

My eyes find her face.

Alive. Breathing.

My heart rate slows, soothed just by the sound of her heartbeat.

But then I notice her skin—so pale. Too pale. Her lips are cracked, her eyes dull. She looks… wrong.

Her gaze meets mine, and she exhales a soft sigh before her eyes roll back and she collapses against me.

“Lilly?… Lilly?… Lilly? What the fuck’s wrong with her?! What happened?!”

I surge up, cradling her limp body in my arms, panic surging through me again like a storm.