Eva "What's wrong with him?" I asked Vic.It took me a while to get out of that room and tear my eyes away from him. Once I learned he was alive, I envisioned a different union for us both. Thinking back to Vic’s words now, he hasn’t sounded particularly happy when he told me Nox was alive. Now, I understood why. “I don’t know,” Vic revealed. “He’s been in this state ever since he was shot. I haven’t been able to find a way to bring him back. It’s like he’s become a lifeless doll.”When he caught my expression, he apologized. “Sorry. It’s just that I don’t know what to do. I’m desperate. Nox was the head of this operation so to see him like this is more than heartbreaking.”“He hasn’t been to a doctor?” I asked. “Kolton is back in action, which makes that impossible for us. He’d come for Nox right away without ever giving him a chance to leave. Let’s not forget that Cyrus is there with him.”I didn’t have the chance to tell him that he was now mated to Leonora. I could only put my

EvaI sat on Nox’s lap and he held me close. Words couldn’t describe how good to felt to have his arms around me. I held onto the back of his head while he buried his face in my neck, inhaling my scent. I couldn’t say that I felt our bond right away, but something stirred within me as soon as we came close to each other. No words were exchanged between us. We simply held each other. The more his arms tightened around me, the more sure I became that we were going to be alright. After a while, I pulled away from him though I was still sitting on his lap. His eyes were wet with tears but none of them stained his cheeks. I asked him, “What’s wrong? Talk to me. Please.”Box placed his hand over mine and pulled it away from his face. My heart sank at this, but then he kissed the back of it. “It’s hard to explain.”I tilted my head. I wouldn’t accept this explanation. There had to be an explanation. There always was. “I was angry,” he claimed. “For a long time, that was all I could feel.

EvaThe next few weeks went by too quickly, but in a way, I was glad for it. Before I knew it, I'd been back with Nox for a month and a half. It was unbelievable sometimes because it felt like only yesterday I'd been stuck in that basement with silver poisoning me from the inside out. I still had bad dreams about it. Nox was back to his usual disposition. He stopped shutting us all out and was back to being the man I'd known and loved. Our bond was fragile but present, and I took care of him as best as I could. He needed a lot of assistance even though he insisted he could get things done by himself. I still hadn't told him about the miscarriage. I figured why should I say something to hurt him? He was already bothered by the fact that Kolton managed to sink his teeth into me and how incompetent Cyrus had been. I couldn't help but feel the same way about him. Why did he even bother shooting Nox and ruining his life just to then let Kolton have me? Then again, if he hadn't been so

EvaA few hours earlier...Nox had been getting better and better with time. In the first week, he could only stand, now, three weeks later, he'd been taking several steps without falling. He claimed that he was now feeling sensations in his legs, which meant that he was finally healing. This was a miracle. I was so busy helping him that I barely noticed the time flying. Every day was an accomplishment and I was so proud of him. My heart swelled with pride. Nox wasn't a quitter; every time he fell, he'd get back up. It was so inspiring, watching him achieve this. It brought tears to my eyes every time I thought about it. Everyone was happy for him and supported him in any way they could. It was great to see everyone working as a team. It was clear that they respected him very much. All his fears concerning people looking down on him because of his condition disappeared and I hoped he understood that he was wrong. We never talked about it, though. It was better to leave those fears

EvaOpening my eyes was a painfully slow process. I had such a hard time figuring out where I was. Every time my eyelids parted just a little I was being blinded by bright lights. I tried to put a hand over my face but found that I couldn’t move. Why was this so familiar to me?I also had this feeling like I was moving even though my feet weren’t touching the ground. It was so strange that I felt a sense of urgency that helped me insist on opening my eyes despite the brightness. I looked to my left and saw someone grabbing the side of the bed I was on while looking straight ahead. This person was wearing a dark denim jacket and a beanie. I didn’t recognize this person. Then, I looked to my right and saw shoulder-length hair and a familiar build. Cyrus?The fear I felt was enough to make me open my eyes wide and realize that I had to get away from him. I tried to turn on my side and felt a lot pins and needles all over my body. I felt no pain, so that was the good thing. However,