A Knock Too Crazy To Ignore.

Winter POV

The knock was so loud it made my whole body jolt.

For a second I thought I imagined it. My heart was already racing, my breathing uneven, and the room felt too warm, like the air itself was pressing against my skin. But then it came again—another hard knock against the door that made the wood rattle in its frame.

I froze.

Derrick froze too.

My pulse started pounding harder the moment I realized who it probably was. My skin felt damp and overheated, and I pushed a strand of hair away from my face, suddenly aware of how messy I must look. My palms were slightly sweaty, my chest rising and falling faster than I could control.

Outside the door, there was silence for only a second.

Then Keon knocked again.

Louder.

The sound echoed through the room like he was trying to break the door down.

Derrick’s eyes flashed bright red.

The change was so sudden it startled me. One second he had been looking at me, his expression intense and unreadable, and the next his jaw tightened and something sharp flickered across his face. The red glow in his eyes was unmistakable, like a warning light.

He didn’t move toward the door.

Not yet.

Instead he stayed exactly where he was, shoulders tense, like he was forcing himself not to react. I could almost feel the argument happening inside his head. His gaze flicked briefly toward the door and then back to me, as if deciding whether to ignore it completely.

Another knock slammed against the wood.

“Derrick.”

Keon’s voice came through the door, deep and controlled, but there was something in it that made the hairs on my arms rise.

Urgent.

My heart skipped.

Derrick still didn’t answer.

Instead his eyes narrowed slightly, and I felt the faint pressure of a mindlink opening. Even though it wasn’t directed at me, I could tell he was reaching out to Keon. The air in the room shifted in that strange way it always did when someone used the link.

A few seconds passed.

Whatever Derrick sent, Keon clearly didn’t like it.

The next knock was even harder than the last one, the sound echoing so sharply it made me flinch.

“Derrick,” Keon said again, louder now. “You need to come outside. Now.”

My stomach twisted.

Derrick muttered something under his breath, low and irritated. I only caught pieces of it.

“…seriously… right now…”

The rest of it was too quiet for me to make out.

He finally pushed himself to his feet, running a hand through his hair in frustration. His movements were controlled, but I could see the tension in his shoulders and the tight line of his mouth.

For a moment he just stood there, staring at the door like it had personally offended him.

Then he glanced back at me.

The red in his eyes hadn’t faded yet.

“Stay here,” he said quietly.

My heart was still beating way too fast, and I nodded even though I wasn’t sure if he expected an answer.

Derrick walked toward the door with slow, deliberate steps. Each one seemed heavier than the last, like he was forcing himself to deal with something he really didn’t want to deal with.

He stopped right in front of it.

For a brief second, everything went completely still.

Then he opened the door.

The hallway light spilled into the room, and Keon was standing there.

Even from where I sat, I could feel the shift in the air the moment Derrick faced him. It was subtle, but it was there—like the atmosphere had suddenly grown thicker.

Keon didn’t step inside.

He stood in the doorway, tall and perfectly still, his expression sharp and unreadable.

But his eyes moved.

They flicked past Derrick’s shoulder for the briefest moment.

Right toward me.

My breath caught in my throat.

The look lasted maybe a second, but it felt longer. His gaze swept over me quickly, taking in everything before Derrick shifted slightly and blocked the doorway.

Derrick crossed his arms.

“What is so urgent that you’re knocking down doors?” he asked flatly.

Keon didn’t answer immediately.

Up close, his face looked calm. Too calm. But something about the way his jaw was set told a completely different story.

“I tried mindlinking you,” Derrick continued. “You could’ve just answered.”

“I did answer,” Keon said.

His voice was quiet, but it carried easily into the room.

“I told you to come outside.”

Derrick let out a short, irritated breath.

“It’s late,” he said. “Whatever this is can wait until morning.”

Keon’s expression didn’t change.

“No,” he said simply. “It can’t.”

The two of them stood there for a moment, staring at each other.

The tension between them was impossible to ignore.

From my spot in the room, I could feel it like a pressure in my chest. Neither of them was raising their voice, but the quiet way they spoke somehow made everything feel even more intense.

Derrick leaned slightly against the doorframe.

“Then explain,” he said. “Because right now I’m busy.”

The word hung in the air.

Keon’s eyes flicked toward the room again.

Toward me.

This time Derrick noticed.

He shifted his stance just enough to block the view completely.

“You don’t need to look in here,” Derrick said coolly.

Something flashed across Keon’s face for half a second.

It disappeared just as quickly.

“I’m not here to argue,” Keon said.

“Good,” Derrick replied. “Then say what you need to say.”

Keon’s voice dropped a little lower.

“You need to come with me. Immediately.”

Derrick gave a humorless laugh.

“Right now?”

“Yes.”

“That’s not happening.”

Keon didn’t even blink.

“It is.”

Derrick pushed himself off the doorframe, clearly getting annoyed now.

“You can’t just drag me out of here every time you decide something is urgent,” he said. “Whatever it is can wait until dawn.”

Keon took a slow breath.

For the first time, the calm mask slipped just slightly.

“No,” he said again. “It can’t.”

The hallway went quiet.

For a second I thought Derrick was going to refuse completely.

But then he glanced back toward the room.

Toward me.

His expression softened a little.

He sighed.

“Give me a minute,” he said.

Keon didn’t respond.

Derrick stepped back inside the room, leaving the door half open behind him.

My heart was still racing when he walked over to me. The tension from the doorway followed him inside, heavy and uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly.

I blinked up at him.

“For what?”

“For this,” he said, gesturing vaguely toward the door. “Apparently whatever he wants can’t wait.”

I didn’t know what to say to that.

Derrick hesitated for a second, then reached out and briefly squeezed my shoulder in a reassuring way.

“I’ll be back later,” he added.

Then he straightened and headed back toward the door.

Keon was still standing exactly where he had been.

Waiting.

The moment Derrick stepped into the hallway, the space between them tightened again.

Derrick pulled the door a little closer behind him.

But before it fully closed, Keon’s eyes lifted.

And this time, they met mine directly.

The look was sharp enough to make my breath catch.

There was so much emotion in it that I couldn’t even begin to sort through all of it. Anger was definitely there, but it wasn’t the only thing. Something deeper flickered beneath it, something raw and intense that made my chest tighten.

Neither of us spoke.

For a moment it felt like the entire hallway had gone silent.

Then Derrick pushed the door closed.

The click of the latch echoed in the quiet room.

And just like that, they were both gone.