Mag-log inIt hadn’t felt right.That’s what kept replaying in his head as he walked her down to the room.Because earlier that night… Gabriel hadn’t been asleep.He had been lying exactly the same way he always does… staring at the ceiling, lost in thoughts he couldn’t escape.And then he heard the front door opening in a soft and careful way.Almost like someone didn’t want to be noticed.His brows had furrowed instantly, because his father doesn’t sneak.Damien Blackwood doesn’t move quietly.He doesn’t hide.He doesn’t leave the house in the middle of the night like a man with something to conceal.But tonight… he did.Gabriel had sat up slowly, his heart beating just a little faster, listening to the faint around of footsteps.Then silence.And then, the door closing.He had gotten out of bed almost immediately, walked to his window, and there it was.His father’s car… pulling out of the driveway….fast, purposeful, and reckless.Like he knew exactly where he was going.Gabriel had frowned,
For a moment… Gabriel thinks he’s imagining it.Because there’s no way.No way after weeks of silence… after nights spent staring at his phone, waiting for a message that never came…She’s just….here…. standing in his house, breathing the same air, looking exactly the same.And yet… not the same at all.His entire body goes still.Every muscle locks. Every thought disappears.Because Holly is right there.Right in front of him.His Holly.His chest tightens so suddenly it almost feels violent, like something inside him just snapped awake after being numb for too long.He wasn’t ready.God… he wasn’t ready for this.Not like this. Not without warning. Not with her walking in beside….his gaze flickers, and lands on his father.Something sharp twists in his chest instantly.His jaw clenches hard, because now it doesn’t just feel like shock anymore.It feels wrong.Everything about this feels wrong.Holly being here with his dad of all people, and at night.His fingers curl slightly at hi
~HOLLY~The moment Gabriel's eyes lock on mine… everything inside me spirals.My heart starts beating so fast it feels wrong…..too loud, too hard, like it’s trying to break out of my chest.I’m standing there… right between them.Damien behind me.Gabriel in front of meHe’s right there.Not a memory. Not a thought I keep pushing away. Not a voice I replay in my head when I can’t sleep.He’s real, standing in front of me, breathing, looking at me.And God… the way he’s looking at me…..My chest tightens so painfully I almost stagger.His eyes don’t widen in shock. They don’t soften either.They just stay on me……cold, unreadable and heavy.Like I’m something he doesn’t recognize anymore.Like I’m someone he doesn’t want to recognize.My lips part, but nothing comes out.Not his name.Not a breath.Nothing.Silence stretches between us, thick and suffocating, until I feel like I’m drowning in it.I want to look away from Gabriel, but I don’t know where to look.
~HOLLY~I wish… I really wish I had another option.Anywhere else. Anyone else. But I don’t.And Damien…I know him.He won’t allow anything else.Not after what just happened.Not after someone came to my door.Fear creeps back into my chest at the memory, and I instinctively wrap my arms around myself.My fingers press into my skin as if I can physically hold myself together, as if I can stop the trembling crawling under my bones.I can’t stay here, and I know that.But going there…It feels like I’m walking straight into something I’ve been running from.A deep sigh leaves my lips again, and again, and again.“You’re thinking too much.”I freeze.My heart skips as I slowly turn my head toward the door.Damien is standing there, leaning slightly against the frame, his eyes fixed on me… sharp, observant, unreadable.How long has he been standing there? Watching me fall apart piece by piece?My breath catches.“I…” I start, then stop.Because what am I even suppos
~DAMIEN~“You’re coming with me,” I say calmly, but there’s no room for argument in my voice. “You’re moving into my house.”Her eyes widen slightly. “What?”I hold her gaze steadily.“This isn’t random, Holly,” I continue, my voice low and serious. “Someone was watching you. Someone came to your door. That’s not something I’m taking chances with.”Her grip on me tightens again slightly.“I don’t want you here alone,” I add, softer now. “Not even for one more night.”She swallows, her emotions still lingering in her eyes.“B-But….”“No,” I cut in gently. “This wasn't like the last time you refused for reasons best known to you, and I allowed you.”Her lips part slightly like she wants to argue… like there are a thousand thoughts fighting inside her head, but nothing comes out.“Holly,” I call softly, brushing my thumb against her cheek again. “Trust me.”There's a pause, a quiet moment, then she nods slowly.“Okay.”Relief settles in my chest….but it’s not co
~DAMIEN~I feel it before I even read her message.That sharp, crawling unease beneath my skin… like claws dragging slowly across my nerves.My wolf stirs….alert, restless, and dangerous.Something isn’t right.My phone vibrates in my hand, and the moment I see Holly’s name, my chest tightens.“I am having that feeling again. The feeling of being watched. I'm alone right now, and I'm so scared, Damien.”A low growl rips through my throat before I can stop it.Shit….not again.Not her.Not mine.I’m already moving before my mind fully catches up, grabbing my keys, my jacket…everything is instinct now.I feel protection, urgency, and violence waiting to happen.“I’m on my way…” I text back quickly, my fingers moving fast but my mind already racing ahead.Something is watching her.And the last time she said that… I felt it too.That wasn’t imagination.That was presence.I slam the car door shut and start the engine, my grip tightening around the steering wheel a







