Chapter 94: Colder Than Absence

The cold.

That's the first thing I feel.

The sheet is warm against my bare skin, but beside me… there's nothing. No warmth, no breath against my neck, no weight on the mattress.

I frown slightly, still half-asleep, my muscles aching from the night before.

A night marked by his imprint.

His body. His hands. His lips.

His silence.

I shift slightly, reaching out to where he should be.

The sheet is cold.

I blink, my heart beating faster.

He's gone.

My stomach tightens.

I sit up slowly, my throat tight, my gaze wandering around the room.

His clothes are gone.

The door is slightly ajar, letting in a sliver of pale light.

A shiver runs through me.

The fever of the night was just a mirage.

I think back to his hands, the way he touched me, possessed me as if it were vital. As if he could reclaim something through me.

But it wasn't forgiveness.

It was a final claim.