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What’s worse?
The subtle sugar fragrance mixed up with the acrid, bleachy tang. The sight of Lilah’s dark hair visible just below the surface.
“Starlight,” Finn’s voice is a scratchy wreck.
Somehow, he’s the first one to move, the first one to process what’s happening.
He reaches into the barrel and hauls out a small, soaking wet body.
Lilah struggles like she’s being electrocuted.
Her skin is bee-sting red.
The chemical sheds off her, revealing her scent.
Burnt sugar and luscious vanilla, but twisted. So painfully twisted.
The sharp, pained scent drops me to my knees.
She’s still in heat.
The fuckers are shell-shocked, staring at Lilah like she’s a wardrobe to Narnia instead of the girl we devastated.
“She’s… She’s…” Atlas stares at her in horror.
“Our mate,” Hunter grits out.
“No.” Jett fights it, but I can see him tremble. He knows.
Now they all know just in time to see how hard we’ve fucked up our best chance at happiness.
“Star.” Finn crawls to her on his knees. He better get used to the position because we all need to fucking beg.
Lilah reacts to his voice like it’s poison, crab-scuttling until she’s backed into the corner.
“Why are you here.” Squeezing her eyes shut, shaking, she buries her face in her arms. “Go away. Leave me alone. Just please leave. Please.”
My voice cracks. “Lilah—”
“No. You told me,” she mumbles, delirious. “I don’t belong. I know. I don’t belong and I’m done with you. I’ll be gone as soon as the heat… As soon as the heat—”
She grunts, her scent spiking crazily.
Done with us?
No.
It’s not happening. Not when she saved my life and all I had was a second to picture how perfect we’ll be together. All of us.
“You’re not leaving.”
Her eyes squeeze tighter, and she covers them with the heels of her hands, curling her toes, curling her knees like she’s pulling deep into her shell, and I’ll never get to see her again.
The sound that escapes her is a needle to my brainstem.
A raw, pained whine at the back of her throat.
A raspy, broken scream.
