ano

chill in my marrow that even the heavy

body waging a silent, desperate war to

inct honed over years of walking on eggshells-always listening fo

u have to b

a frantic hi

my door. They must have assumed t

e. "Omegas are built to endure. Once she heals, she'll come crawling back. Where

. "About the elevator? About the silver coating on t

stuttered

ota

ccident. Isabelle h

new? Or he suspected a

r stew for a week. Let her feel the cold. Then, I'll offer her a small scrap of kindness-maybe allow her to design a sh

in a

ull, bouncing around until they c

pet. A utility. Something t

hed away by a cold, hard rage. It started in my toes and

e me? He thought he could use

The ceiling was white, s

like tearing open fresh stitche

side of the bed just as

s wal

tched my sketchbook-the black leather-bound journal where I kept my *real* designs. Not the

ndifference. He flipped through the book casually. "I found this in your

sly pinching the corner of a page

rash," he said, his voice smooth. "It'

n" in real-time. Break me down, take what I

I mean, I *real

of his mouth. The weakness hidden be

dn't

trembled violently,

deliberate st

ice was raspy from disuse, lik

tugging at his lips. "Or what? Y

ung

r. It was the feral desperation

was shockingly strong, fueled

give it

lamped around his wrist. Th

years, I saw somethi

love. It w

as f

t the dog he thought he was training h