"Got him," I whispered.
Then my knees buckled, and the world went dark.
I woke up to the smell of blood and ozone. I was moving. bouncing.
"I have her. I have her."
The voice was rough, broken. Rhett.
I forced my eyes open. I was in his arms. He was human again—naked, shivering, covered in dust and blood—but he was holding me so tight I could barely breathe.
"Rhett," I croaked.
He stopped. He looked down at me, and the raw vulnerability in his eyes broke my heart. "Lina. You came back."
"I always come back."
"We need to move," a voice said. Arthur.
I looked around. We were in the tunnel connecting the Ballroom to the Library. The group was moving fast.
"The Archives," Amelia said, her voice shaking slightly. "Sub-basement. It's lead-lined. It's safe."
We ran.
We burst into the Archives, skidding on the marble floors. Arthur led us to a heavy iron door behind his desk. He punched in a code, and the door swung open to reveal a narrow staircase.
"Down," he ordered. "Go."
We scrambled down the stairs, the heavy door clanging shut behind us.
The sub-basement was dusty, cramped, and filled with crates, but it was quiet.
Rhett didn't stop until we reached the furthest corner. He collapsed onto a pile of old drop cloths, pulling me down with him.
"Safe," he breathed, his chest heaving against mine.
"We're safe," Kai said, dropping to his knees beside us. He reached out, touching my face, my hair, my arms, as if checking that I was whole. "You're real. You're here."
"I'm here," I promised.
"You were gone," Lucien whispered. He was standing over us, his face pale, his violet eyes blown wide. "The bond... it was empty. It was just... gone."
"I know," I said, reaching for his hand. "I felt it too. It was cold."
Lucien shuddered. He dropped to his knees, burying his face in my neck. "Don't ever do that again. Do you hear me? Never."
"I won't," I swore, my hands tangling in his dark hair.
The adrenaline began to fade, replaced by a desperate, clawing need. I needed to feel them. Not just through the bond, but physically. I needed to know they were alive. My skin was still chilled from the Void's embrace, a deep, unnatural cold that seeped into my bones, making me shiver uncontrollably despite the press of their bodies.
Rhett felt it first. His nostrils flared as he scented the lingering emptiness on me, his wolf instincts kicking in with primal fury. "You're freezing," he growled, his voice thick with possession. He yanked at the tattered remnants of my dress, ripping it away with a savage tear that exposed my chilled skin to the air. "Mine. Need to mark you. Warm you up. Make you smell like us."
"Yes," I gasped, arching into him as his hot mouth descended on my neck. He sucked hard, teeth grazing the skin before biting down—not breaking it, but leaving a deep, throbbing hickey that bloomed purple under his lips. His tongue lapped at the mark, scenting me with his musk, rubbing his stubbled jaw along my collarbone, my breasts, claiming every inch. "Rhett, please—fuck, yes."
Kai stripped off his shredded shirt, his earth-warm body pressing against my side, hands roaming frantically over my ribs, my hips, thumbs digging into my flesh as if to imprint himself. "So cold," he murmured, voice rough with desperation, his mouth latching onto my shoulder. He sucked a trail of bruises down to my breast, tongue swirling around my nipple before biting down just hard enough to make me cry out. His scent—rich soil and fresh rain—flooded my senses as he nuzzled into my skin, grinding his hardening cock against my thigh. "Gonna thaw you out, Lina. Fill you with my heat. You're ours."
Lucien shed his jacket in a blur, his cool fingers—warmer now from the bond's rekindling—trailing fire along my inner thighs as he knelt between my legs. "We lost you," he rasped, violet eyes locked on mine, dark with feral need. He spread me open, inhaling deeply before dragging his tongue through my folds in one long, possessive lick. "Never again. Gonna scent you inside out." His mouth sealed over my clit, sucking hard while two fingers plunged deep, curling to hit that spot that made stars explode behind my eyes. He bit my thigh, leaving his mark—a sharp, claiming bruise—before rubbing his cheek against it, his shadows flickering to tease my entrance.
