in the empty house. Sebastian was nowhere, and I'd accepted my fate-tied to a pole, a helpless piece in Eric's sick game of revenge. My pa

? Did he even give a damn? The timer glared: 00:59. My pulse thrashed, drowning out the silence. I yanked at the ropes one last time-useless. Each tick was a bomb in my skull-00:30. Hopelessness crushed me. T

OO

the skin of the man who'd ripped me free just in time. Sebastian. His speed had beaten the blast, and the house cr

ge. I lay there, stunned, adrenaline buzzing like a live wire. "You came back

elled me, and this wouldn't have happened. A groan snapped me out of it. I turned-Franklin, bloody and beaten, slumped nearby. Eric

d carrying me to his Bentley. He dragged Franklin int

ng?" I asked, my v

than it should've been. I glanced at Franklin, questions swirling. "Long story," he muttered, gripping his side. So he was

n with Franklin over a year. I grabbed my spare phone-Eric had taken my main one-and typed

illed?" His eyes stayed o

and I needed her. "She deserves to know your kind exist

e like steel. Doubt crept in, and I froze.

sense when it was something else entirely. I was done. I'd confront him when we stopped, wherever we were headed. He wouldn't even say-just k

eat flooded my cheeks, my stomach doing flips. "Glad you're okay,"

ahead. "I don't think you're in-" I started, then stopped. Franklin had torn off his shir

n grinned, and Sebastian smirked like it wa

ranklin bolted from the car like he hadn't been half-dead minutes ago. "See y

ng the night. I wanted to call him out, but

ke a kid, and gorged on cotton candy and fries until my stomach groaned. It was wild, messy joy. Time slipped away, and soon we were s

s ago." My voice was quiet, but it hit him hard. His eyes darkened, jaw clenching-he knew I

idn't kill Riya. I loved her." The words crashed into me, thick with pa

for the same girl?" I asked, curiosity s

got there..." His voice broke, hands balling into fists. "She was already gone. Lying in her own blood, dead. I d

"So he thinks y

house caught fire in the mess. I begged him to leave, but he wo

ard. "Then...

Another vampire, maybe. We weren't the only ones

rnival should've been done by six. Sebastian stood, br

yanking him into a kiss-fierce, desperate, like the world was collapsing. His hands gripped my waist, strong and claiming,

shirt on the dash, his jacket on the floor. Our kisses turned ravenous, his touch igniti

OOO

my bones. Sebastian froze, eyes wide with p

k. "What? Wha

ambled to the driver's seat, shir

" I shouted, gripping

and terrified. "That's

, eyes glowing-charged at us. Before Sebastian could start the car, it slammed i