Kayla I pulled the chair closer to the table and sat down across from Grace, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible. She looked even more fragile up close, her hollow cheeks and sunken eyes making her seem far older than she probably was. Her wrists were still bound, resting limply on the
Fair enough. With that, I turned on my heel and carried everything back to Grace. When I re-entered the room, Grace’s eyes widened slightly at the sight of all the items in my arms. I set them down on the table in front of her. Then, I walked over to her and held up the key to her handcuffs. “May
Kayla Grace stared down at the table, her hands clasped tightly together in front of her. She almost seemed to tremble a little as she tried to gather her courage. I remained silent, giving her the opportunity to speak when she was ready. In the corridor outside, Noah and Nicholas were eerily si
I stared at Grace in silence, unsure what to make of all of this. I barely knew Grace, and I especially didn’t know her mother. Nor did I know Nicholas’s mother. For all I knew, this was just a bunch of poppycock. “Your mother,” I said carefully, “do you think I could talk to her? Hear it from her
Kayla I blinked at Nicholas, unsure if I had just heard him correctly. “You want to break her out?” I whispered, grabbing his arm and pulling him away from the interrogation room door, out of Grace’s earshot. “Are you insane?” Noah looked like he was about to burst. “She’s a guild prisoner, Ni
By the time we pulled into the driveway, the windows to the house were glowing warmly with amber lighting, and fragrant smoke billowed out of the chimney. Nicholas killed the engine, and I climbed off, pulling my helmet free and shaking out my hair. It felt… wrong to come back to this cozy, spacio
Kayla I stood frozen in the hallway as Nora disappeared around the corner. Despite myself, despite every wall I had worked so hard to keep up, my hands trembled slightly around the tray. Why did I feel so… hurt? Shaking my head, I turned away and headed back down to the kitchen without even br
Emma glanced at me sideways with a knowing smile playing on her lips. “Why the sudden interest?” “No reason,” I said quickly, perhaps a little too quickly. “Just curiosity, that’s all.” “Uh-huh,” she teased, nudging me lightly with her elbow. “Well, for what it’s worth, I think Nicholas has his
Kayla The blood drained from my face as I stared at the photograph on the coffee table. I felt sick. My stomach twisted, threatening to betray me as I forced myself to stay still. The room suddenly felt stifling, the air thick and hard to swallow. There Nicholas was, in the same clothes he was w
Nicholas glanced at the representative, his expression calm and pleasant as ever. “Of course. Always glad to see you.” The representative’s gaze simply shifted between us for a moment, his pen still poised over his notepad. He jotted something down that I couldn’t read and then looked back up at u
Kayla The eggs on my plate had already gone cold, and the toast was completely untouched. I picked up my fork, stabbed at the scrambled mess in front of me, and sighed. My appetite had vanished the moment I’d sat down, replaced by a gnawing frustration that only seemed to grow the longer Nicholas
I tilted my head, studying his side profile. “So you must know him better than anyone.” He hesitated, a muscle clenching somewhere in his jaw. I could tell he was treading carefully, trying not to say too much—no doubt he was feeling like the unwilling participant of a domestic feud by now. “I’d
Kayla The car was quiet at first, save for the low hum of the engine and the faint swish of the wipers brushing snow off the windshield. Noah didn’t say a word as we watched Nicholas speed away—not that I could blame him. We were both just sitting there in shock for different reasons that ultimate
The next moment, an intense, electric pull surged through me—a sensation I recognized all too well. My steps faltered as the mate bond suddenly flickered to life, drawing me back toward him with an irresistible force. I spun around, my breath catching as I met his gaze through the open driver’s si
Kayla Nicholas stormed ahead of me, his grip on my hand firm enough to make me stumble as I tried to keep up with his long strides. My breath puffed visibly in the cold air, and I nearly tripped over a crack in the sidewalk, catching myself just in time to glare at the back of his head. “Nichola
Kayla The silence between Noah and me in the wake of Nicholas’s sudden exit felt heavy and awkward. I stared down at the peeling label of my beer bottle, unsure of what to say. The edges of the label were already frayed from where my nails had been picking at it earlier, and I didn’t even try to
Throughout the meal, Rebecca kept leaning into Nicholas, touching his arm and laughing at his jokes with exaggerated enthusiasm. I tried to focus on my food, but my eyes kept drifting back to them. Nicholas didn’t seem entirely comfortable, but he wasn’t pulling away, either. It wasn’t as if I had