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His hand cradles my cheek, warm and solid, and then his mouth covers mine – slower, deeper. Where Blaise was spark, Xar is flame. Controlled. Consuming. His tongue slides against mine with devastating precision, and I feel my knees go weak, my fingers fisting in his coat just to stay upright.

There’s nothing chaste about this kiss – it’s a promise, aclaim, and my body responds before my brain can catch up. Mythighs press together instinctively, heat coiling low and tight in my belly.

By the time he pulls away, my breath’s coming in shallow bursts, and I’m clinging to him like I might fall apart if I let go.

But then?—

A sharp cramp slices through me, sudden and brutal.

I cry out, stumbling, doubling over.

“Evie?” Blaise’s voice is panicked. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“I—my stomach—” I gasp. “It hurts?—”

Xar scoops me into his arms like it’s nothing, his voice already sharp with command. “Back inside. Now.”

Blaise’s hand is on my back, warm and steady, guiding us. “I knew it. Iknewshe wasn’t wearing a real coat.”

“Not the time, Blaise.”

They carry me inside, voices a blur, warmth rushing to meet us as the door slams shut behind us. Dane appears in the hallway, eyes widening the second he sees me in Xar’s arms.

“What happened?”

“Cramp hit her hard,” Blaise says, already stripping off his coat and tossing it aside. “She doubled over – looked like her whole system just short-circuited.”

“She needs the nest,” Xar says, shifting me gently in his hold.

But Dane shakes his head, already moving ahead of us. “Not yet. The paint’s still fresh. I aired it out all day but the fumes are going to be too strong for her – too sharp. It’ll upset her system, especially with how sensitive she’s about to become.”

“Then where?” Blaise asks, voice taut.

“The lounge,” Dane says. “For now. The old nest will have to do until tomorrow. I’ll keep the windows open all night and it’ll be good to go first thing.”

Xar changes direction without hesitation, carrying me back into the lounge and lowering me into the makeshift nest – thepile of pillows and blankets we threw together days ago. It’s not perfect, not even close, but right now it feels like the only safe place in the world.

The minute I’m down, all three of them drop to the floor around me, their presence wrapping around me like a wall of impenetrable safety and comfort. I can feel their scents deepen, soften, trying to soothe me.

“We’ve got you,” Dane murmurs, pressing the back of his fingers to my cheek.

“We’re here,” Xar adds, voice low and solid as he removes my boots and rain mac.

Blaise doesn’t say anything – he just threads his fingers through mine, his grip tight and grounding.

And as another cramp begins to build, I close my eyes and try to remember how to breathe.

EVIANA

The first spike hits like a lightning strike, sudden and consuming. One second, I’m sleeping in the middle of the makeshift nest we built in the lounge, surrounded by plush blankets and soft pillows and my delicious alphas, and the next, I’m gasping, my body overheating from the inside out. My vision blurs. My skin prickles.

No. No, no, no.

Panic claws up my throat. I wasneversupposed to have a heat. Grams basically forbade it. Forbade? Forbode? Forbidded it?

Fuck. Even that can’t distract me from the pain.

I crawl out of the nest, unable to drag myself to a standing position, ready to bolt – where, I don’t know. Away. Anywhere.But as soon as I move, a firm hand wraps around my ankle and pulls me backward.