My lip starts to tremble as I listen, tears again stinging my eyes, but Jesse leans forward. “Rafe,” he murmurs, glancing between us. “Slow down a little, man. I mean, if we’re aware of what they’re feeling, then she’s aware of it double – she can feel it all down their bonds. And that, on top of

“We got your back, Ariel,” Rafe murmurs, patting my knee. And then we spend the next few hours talking softly, letting our thoughts wander, none of us really making a move to go to bed. Instead, slowly – perhaps simultaneously – we all fall asleep curled up next to each other like we used to do when

“Enough of that,” Rafe calls from across the room where he’s tossing what few personal possessions he has into a backpack. “Hands off, Luca. Still my sister.” “Still my mate,” Luca calls back, but his voice is cheerful as he pushes himself up from the wall, letting his arm drift from behind my bac

“Neither do I,” I whisper back, taking a step closer. To my surprise, Luca lifts his arm and wraps it around me, tucking me in against his side, where he likes me. “But we can figure it out together.” Luca murmurs something I don’t quite hear, raising a hand and cupping my cheek in his palm, stari

To my surprise, Jackson makes absolutely no move to put me down. Instead, he just looks at Luca evenly for a second. “Your girlfriend?” he asks, the words low and light with disbelief. He hums consideringly and then turns his face back up to mine. “What do you think, Clark?” he murmurs, nodding over