Madeleine POVThe wind kept tearing at my face, flinging grit and dust against my skin until my cheeks burned raw. Every gust felt intentional, like the night itself was trying to keep me awake, trying to make sure I did not escape into darkness. I did not fight it. I refused to close my eyes. If I blinked, even for a second, I was certain I would wake up back in that room. The concrete walls, with damp rot in the air and the slow, deliberate footsteps of Stone Ridge guards pacing just beyond the door, boots scuffing, keys clinking, reminding me I was just a property to be owned.I could still hear them in my head.I did not know who this man was. I did not know his name, his face, or the reason he had reached for me when the flares split the sky and chaos tore through the yard. I did not know why he had decided my life was worth risking his own. None of it made sense. But his leather jacket was warm beneath my hands, real and solid, and his back was broad and unyielding, a wall movin
Last Updated : 2026-06-18 Read more