All Chapters of Bloodlines & Hearts: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Avoiding Ethan was harder than Lydia thought. For someone who acted like he wanted to be left alone, he sure had a knack for showing up everywhere. She found herself ducking behind trees, taking the long way around town and slipping out early to run errands just to avoid him. It was exhausting, really. Who knew avoiding one person could become a full-time job?Two days had passed since the fight with the creature and Grimholt had fallen into an uneasy silence. No strange noises. No shadows creeping through the woods. Just silence. Lydia would have given anything to keep it that way.She kept telling herself it was better to steer clear of Ethan. Better to give him space, better to give herself space. After everything he said, it was safer to keep her distance. Hating him wasn’t an option not anymore. She couldn’t hate him even if she tried. But she also couldn’t bear to be near him not when his presence made her feel like she was being slowly torn apart from the inside.Ethan seemed f

Ethan did not know what the hell was wrong with him. Lydia was not his type. She never had been. Too stubborn. Too soft. Too…much, and yet, here he was, haunted by the scent of her skin, the tremble in her voice, the way she looked at him. A look he did not deserve.Every cell in his body screamed to turn around, to look at her, to finish what they had started against that tree. But he would not. He could not.He had spent the last two days telling himself he was fine with the silence between them. That the distance was necessary. But every hour without seeing her felt like something crawling under his skin. He found himself pacing. Listening for her voice like it might steady something in him. It did not. Nothing did.Because the truth he would not say out loud, not even to himself, was simple: Lydia was not just getting under his skin. She was already there. Deep and that terrified him.The memory of her pressed against him, soft and yielding yet somehow strong enough to push him aw

“Perfect. We should just start preparing for death.”Lydia’s voice was dry, almost sarcastic, but not enough to hide the tremor under it.Ethan turned, a corner of his mouth twitching like he was trying to fight off a smile.“What is so funny?” she asked, folding her arms. “Not scared of dying?”He shrugged. “Death is for everyone. We all die eventually. Why waste energy fearing something that is guaranteed?”Lydia scoffed. “Wow. Morbid and emotionally unavailable. What a combo.”But Ethan’s eyes did not carry their usual detachment. They were darker tonight. Not just brooding, haunted.She let out a breath and leaned back against the counter, fingers tightening around her mug like it was the only solid thing left. “It was not dying that scared me,” she said quietly. “I think…I could have handled that. The pain, the ending. I have made peace with the idea that it might not be a long life for someone like me.” Her voice cracked, but she kept going. “I was scared for my mom. For what i

Sleep had finally claimed both of them. Thank the moon goddess because honestly? After all that Shadowbreed drama, they both needed their beauty rest.Everything was peaceful until sometime around 3 AM when Ethan started moving. It startled Lydia awake, and for a second she thought they were being attacked again.But nope. Just Ethan having what looked like the nightmare from hell.He was sweating even though the room was freezing cold. His face was all scrunched up in that broody way of his, but this time it was not for show. Whatever he was seeing behind those closed eyelids was seriously messing him up."Ethan," Lydia whispered, poking his shoulder. No answer.She whispered again, softer this time, like maybe gentleness would work where volume would not. “Ethan, hey..."His lips moved, forming words that never quite made it into sound. She leaned in, holding her breath, trying to catch whatever pieces she could“Do not...no...” It was barely a whisper, like whatever he was seeing w

“School?” Lydia blinked. “I thought we were still working on the project.”Ethan did not look at her. Just stared straight ahead. “We are done.”“How?” Her voice raised with disbelief. “What about the report?”“I said we are done.” His tone was final. “I will handle Professor Harris.”Lydia nodded slowly, biting back the twenty follow-up questions bouncing around in her head. “And our stuff?”“I will have Daniel pick it up and drop yours off later.”And that was it. No discussion. No room to argue.She should have ve felt relief. Grimholt was behind them. The danger, shapeshifters, near-death experiences, all of it. They were safe now, back at LuxeMount. But instead of calm, Lydia felt this slow squeeze in her chest. Back here, everything would reset. Ethan would go back to being cold, unreachable, surrounded by people who actually belonged in his world. And she...did not.Neither of them spoke for the rest of the ride.Lydia turned to the window, not because the view was interesting,