Chapter 7

—Nolan's POV—

The day had barely begun, but I already wanted it to end.

I couldn't focus — not on my notes, not on the hallway chatter, not even on Zade's dumb jokes. That note still sat heavy in my mind, each word replaying like a warning I was too stupid to understand.

And then I heard it.

Something crashing. A scream. The sound of something slamming hard against a wall.

Then a name.

My name.

I froze.

"Nolan—!"

"Get back—he's not calming down—"

"He's asking for Dr. Vale—somebody get him!"

I didn't wait for permission.

My legs moved before I could think, cutting through the chaos down the hall until I reached Room 13.

The door was already half-open. I pushed it wider — and stopped cold.

It looked like a warzone. The mattress was flipped, a chair shattered in the corner, broken glass glittered across the floor. Two nurses stood back, helpless. Mira had a small cut on her arm. And in the middle of it all—

Wild. Bleeding. Screaming.

Varek.

Breathless, hair disheveled like a storm had passed through him. His fists were clenched, chest rising and falling like he couldn't breathe.

He turned—and saw me.

And just like that… he stopped.

"Nolan," he said, like a prayer and a curse all at once.

I stepped closer carefully, hands up. "It's okay. I'm here."

Everyone else stood frozen by the door, too afraid to intervene. But he kept his eyes on me. Only me.

Something in me… broke.

My hand moved on its own — trembling, unsure, but honest. I reached out and gently touched his face. Just to ground him. Just to make sure he didn't hurt himself.

His skin was cold. Tense.

But he didn't pull away.

He leaned into it — the man who just seconds ago was unhinged, dangerous — now completely still.

For me.

I didn't understand it. My mind was full of alarms, but my body… trusted him. For that moment, I just wanted him calm. Safe.

The others stared like they couldn't believe it.

His entire body sagged, like I was the gravity pulling him back to earth.

"Varek," I said softly, like calming a stray animal. "Hey. Look at me. You're safe, okay? Just breathe."

He stared at me.

And then he smiled.

Not relief. Not gratitude.

It was a slow, crooked smirk — dark, knowing, wrong.

Like he had gotten exactly what he wanted.

I blinked, caught off guard. My hands froze.

He tilted his head slightly — just slightly — eyes drifting over my shoulder, toward the doorway.

I didn't have to turn to know who stood behind me.

Zade.

And then Varek looked back at me.

The smile vanished. He whimpered, shook his head, curled in on himself like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

It was only a few seconds.

But I saw it.

He wanted me to.

I knelt beside him, carefully placing a hand on his back. "It's alright," I whispered, more to myself than him.

He leaned into the touch like he'd been starving for it.

But I couldn't stop thinking about it.

That smile.

It wasn't madness.

It was satisfaction.

I stood there, more shaken than I'd ever been.

Not because of the outburst.

But because I didn't pull my hand away.

------------------------------------------

— Varek's POV —

I warned him.

I gave him a chance.

But he still came here—with him.

Laughing. Side by side. Like he wasn't already mine.

That was all it took.

One smile. One second too long standing too close.

And I saw red.

I could hear the nurses shouting. Something about containment. Protocol. None of it mattered. Nothing mattered except that Nolan wasn't here. He wasn't with me.

So I broke the chair. Knocked over the bed. Threw things until they called him.

I screamed.

Not out of pain. Not out of fear.

But to summon him.

And it worked.

And when he walked through that door—

God, he looked beautiful.

Worried. Breathless. Eyes darting around the mess I made like he was still searching for the patient in danger, not realizing he was the reason the storm existed.

He called my name. Softly. Like it meant something.

And I felt it.

The pull.

He knelt beside me, reached out — and I knew I had him.

I smiled.

Not for the nurses.

Not for him.

But for Nolan.

Because I saw it — the flicker in his eyes. The way his hands paused. He noticed.

Good.

I wanted him to.

Let him wonder why I stopped the moment he came in. Let him question the smile. Let it haunt him.

If pain is the only way to keep him close…

Then so be it.