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I leaned against Black’s side, and I felt others with us again.

I pressed into him, feeling so much relief he was there. I felt my light merge into his, the relief on him where he wound into me. I wished I could climb into his lap, but every time I tried, someone grabbed my arms and yanked me off his legs.

White fingers gripped the chain between my cuffs, holding me where I was.

I felt it anger Black.

I felt Black not liking them having their hands on me.

I felt Black not liking me sitting next to them.

…When I pulled back next, I was still in the car.

Or another car, maybe. Maybe a truck.

I couldn’t see. Everything was pitch dark.

I felt Black next to me.

I felt other people there, around both of us.

I heard more people breathing.

Half of those people might have been asleep, but a few breathed too hard, panicking, afraid of where we were. Slowly the lights rose. I wondered if we’d been in a tunnel. I wondered if someone had put a bag over my head then taken it off.

On one side of me, a cold hand gripped mine.

I looked over and saw Nick there, his vampire eyes blood red as he stared in fury at whoever sat across from him. He snarled… like an animal… and I flinched back, unable to help it. I’d never seen so much rage in his eyes before, so much unbridled rage at whoever he stared at. I felt it bother Black that I was holding Nick’s hand…

It’s okay. It’s okay now. He’s Nick again, remember?

But Black couldn’t hear that.

Or maybe that wasn’t what bothered him.

You said he was a good kisser,he growled in my mind.You liked how he kissed.

Black––

But Black wasn’t rational right then.

He wanted to kill him.

He wanted to kill all of them.

He didn’t feel safe. To Black, none of this felt safe.

I didn’t feel safe.

Meanwhile, Nick continued to growl at whoever sat across from him. If they didn’t have him chained, if he hadn’t had the chain around his throat, his arms bound to mine, he would have ripped apart whoever sat across from him, but he couldn’t move.

He couldn’t move.

…I blinked, and everything was dark.

* * *

Aceiling stretched overhead.