Jimmie’s POVThe silence in Devon’s apartment was starting to press in like a second skin. Heavy, Suffocating and Unbearable.I was pacing again, back and forth, like a caged animal, my thoughts gnawing at me from every side. He hadn’t called. Not a single word since Franco came with the news, chest tight with urgency, to tell Devon something was wrong with Nathaniel.Devon left, just like that. But not before five of his soldiers—werewolves showed up, summoned by Fara on his orders, assigned to protect me.To guard me.To cage me.I’d insisted on going with him. God knows I begged, but Devon's face had gone hard, unreadable. “It’s not the right time, Jimmie,” he’d said. “You don’t need to face her. Not yet.”Franco had agreed. Of course, he had. I remembered the way he looked at me, like I was glass. Breakable.Now here I was. Alone, yet not alone. Five soldiers lurked like shadows. One outside the hallway, two flanking the front and back of the property, and two more lingering insid
Devon'sNathaniel lay still now.The doctor had injected something into his IV — a clear liquid that promised peace for the night. She said he’d be out for a few hours. Once he woke, and they repeated the necessary scans, we’d know for sure if he was truly out of danger. Only then would we be allowed to take him home.Home.What even was home anymore?I nodded at the doctor. “Thank you,” I said, though my voice was cracked at the edges. My body was still humming with the remnants of rage — the aftershocks of that venomous argument with Lucan hadn’t fully left me. My wolf was pacing just beneath my skin, rattling the cage. Restless. Restive.“Papa, you need to go home and rest,” Eleanor said, her tone steady, firm, the way it always got when she didn’t want to be argued with. She was speaking to Lucan, whose ego was about to snap under the weight of being told what to do by his own daughter.“I’ll stay. I can—”“No,” she said, sharper this time. “You won’t.”Lucan looked like he wanted
DevonThe sterile scent of antiseptic hit me before I even stepped inside—that familiar mix of bleach and bitter, unshakable sorrow. I’d walked hospital halls before. During battles. After raids. But this… this was different.This time, it was my son.My boots echoed against the glossy white tiles as I followed closely behind the nurse who had bowed slightly and said, “Mr. President, right this way, please.” Franco and two guards flanked behind me, but I hardly noticed.I could only hear my heartbeat loud, crashing, like war drums in my chest.The nurse led us through a long hallway marked VIP ACCESS ONLY. Security here was tighter, the air somehow colder. Frosted glass, sleek modern design. Touch-screen panels are beside each room. Quiet zones. A polished floor that looked too clean, like it was afraid to be stepped on.The elite got privacy here. Silence. Softer lights. High-thread-count sheets and smart monitors that sent real-time vitals to private physician offices. There were fl
Devon POVThe moon had risen now, full and proud, hanging above the ocean like a silent sentinel, casting a silver sheen across the waves that licked gently at our bare feet. We were lying together on the smooth bedrock, the wind doing its work, sighing through the flowers behind us, brushing cool fingers over the sweat still lingering on our skin, whispering secrets that only the night knew.Jimmie had shifted closer to me, his body curved into mine like a second skin. I made room, instantly, instinctively, kissing his forehead with a tenderness I didn’t know I was truly capable of before him.He didn’t speak. He didn’t need to. The silence between us was full. Full of breath, full of feeling, full of that strange, powerful stillness that follows something sacred.And gods, tonight had been just that.I remembered standing in that clearing, my wolf trembling inside me, on edge, uncertain, terrified in a way only an Alpha could be when he's handing over the most intimate part of himse
Devon’s POV“I’ve never seen you… You know… as a wolf.”Jimmie’s words echoed in my head, low and soft, yet loud enough to stir something deep inside me. Not just my wolf—something deeper. More vulnerable. Something only he’s been able to reach.I glanced down at our hands intertwined as we walked, the backs of his knuckles brushing against mine like he belonged there. Like he’d always belonged there.The hallway leading out of the back building was silent except for our bare footsteps on old stone. Evening twilight poured through the tall windows, casting soft gold over the walls. It painted Jimmie’s profile like a vision—fragile and fierce all at once. The scarf still clung loosely around his neck, the one he’d wrapped tighter every time the wind touched him.My chest tightened.I wasn’t wearing a shirt. No point. It’d be gone in seconds anyway. Just a simple black brief clinging to my hips, and even that felt too much. My skin was humming, tingling in anticipation, but also in memo
Jimmie's POV It’s been five days since I was pulled from the hunters’ den. Five long, heavy days. And somehow, Devon hasn't left my side—not even for a breath. I think part of him fears that if he looks away too long, I might vanish. That they’ll come back for me. That I’ll be ripped from him again. I tugged the thick scarf tighter around my neck, the wool rough but comforting against my skin. My fingers still tremble sometimes, like echoes of that place are trapped in my bones. I stood alone on the open terrace, its wooden floor chilled beneath my feet, overlooking a horizon that stretched into a vast expanse of green and ocean blues. The view was breathtaking. Rolling hills swayed with wildflowers, trees bowed softly in the wind, and the sea kissed the edges of the earth like it belonged there. Maybe it did. Maybe I didn't. The wind grazed my cheek like a memory. I didn’t know what was next. I didn’t know who I was anymore. Clementine was still missing. There had been no updates.