LILA’S POVThe smile wasn’t mine.It wasn’t Nathan’s either.It didn’t belong to anyone I could see.But I felt it.Cold.Calculated.Wrong.A ripple moved through the network again slow this time, like someone dragging a finger across water.Testing.Learning.Ryker.He was inside.Not physically.Not fully.But threaded into the edges of what I had built.And the worst part?He wasn’t breaking it.He was studying it.Nathan stepped closer instantly, his energy flaring beside mine.“I feel it too,” he said quietly.My chest tightened.“Then you understand,” I whispered.“He’s not attacking us.”“He’s mapping us.”The connection shifted again.A rejected mate screamed somewhere in the distance of itNot pain from injury.But recognition.Fear.Like something inside them had been touched.Tampered with.My stomach dropped.“No…” I whispered.I reached inward instantly, searching the link.“Stay calm,” I sent through the network.“Stay together.”The response was fractured.Uneven.Beca
Read more