Leo’s smile widened. “Are you?”
I stared at him.
“I don’t want to play whatever game this is.” I said.
“You already are,” he replied, that infuriating tilt to his voice. “Whether you like it or not.”
“I didn’t ask for this.”
“This may come as a surprise to you,” Leo said, his voice dropping the usual edge of mockery, “but none of us did either.”
For the first time, he wasn’t smiling.
The shift in the room was almost imperceptible, but I felt it—like the pressure in the air before a storm breaks. Behind him, the others watched, each holding their own silence like a weapon. Thorne’s broad shoulders were locked with tension, his jaw tight, eyes fixed anywhere but on me. Slade’s gaze, cold and steady, tracked my every movement like he was waiting for a detonation. Phoenix leaned against the back of the couch, calm as ever, but his fingers tapped a quiet rhythm against the fabric—off-beat, unsettled.
“What do you want from me?” I asked, the words coming out sharper than I meant, edged with the bitterness I couldn’t quite swallow. “What is this?”
“To get to know you, maybe?” Phoenix said casually, one eyebrow lifting. “Favourite colours, favourite food…”
“Favourite position…” Leo added with a wolfish grin, his voice a teasing lilt that cut through the tension like a Slade.
My face flushed instantly, heat rushing up my neck. I opened my mouth, ready to snap back, but Slade beat me to it. He elbowed Leo sharply in the ribs with a low grunt.
Leo choked on a laugh, doubling over slightly. “Touchy,” he muttered, rubbing his side.
Slade didn’t look away from me. He didn’t speak, either. But the message was clear.
This wasn’t a joke to him.
“Look, little ghost,” Phoenix said finally, his voice low and even. “We get it. This place is …difficult. People will come at you from all directions, and most of them won’t wait for you to be ready. It wouldn’t hurt to have someone in your corner.”
I let out a short, humourless laugh. “So, what, are you trying to recruit me or something?” I asked, the words sharp with disbelief, though part of me meant it as a joke.
“Or something,” Leo said, too smoothly, his grin returning like a flicker of flame that refused to die out.
I looked at each of them in turn.
Thorne, still silent and rigid, like having me in the room physically pained him.
Slade, unreadable, his eyes dark and thoughtful, flicking between the others and me as if he was trying to measure my threat level.
Phoenix, who met my stare without blinking, offering something that might have been honesty—just barely.
And Leo, lounging like a king among wolves, all teeth and charm, but underneath it, something colder flickered.
None of them were safe.
And yet, somehow, this didn’t feel like a trap.
It felt like concern.
“I don’t understand. It’s not like I have a choice here,” I said, my voice low, wary.
“But you do,” Phoenix replied, his tone gentler than I expected. “And tomorrow… well. You’ll find out exactly why.”
My stomach twisted. “What’s happening tomorrow?”
Silence.
