A Surprise Homecoming and a Bold First

I hurled my face into the pillow and screamed. The cotton muffled my rage, but it did nothing to silence the turmoil inside me. Jaxon Ryder. My bond. The man who'd promised to kill me.

"I'll kill her, Rhys."

His words echoed in my head, cutting deeper with each repetition. How could fate be so cruel? How could the universe decide that psychopath and I belonged together?

"Hazel?" Silas's voice came from behind me. "Are you okay?"

I lifted my head from the pillow and turned to face him. After the disaster with Jax, we'd been escorted back to my room. Sage had declared the seering complete for now, though her cryptic comments about "more threads to follow" left me uneasy.

"Do I look okay?" I snapped, then immediately regretted it. "Sorry. This isn't your fault."

Silas sat beside me on the bed, his weight shifting the mattress. "It's understandable. Today was... intense."