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It was a nest. They’d made Emma a nest on a rented sailboat in the middle of the Aegean Sea. Emma backed up tight into the corner and curled into a ball, hugging her knees. Curran gave her temple a soothing stroke and turned to find me gaping down at him like a fish.

“Right, Elijah,” he said. “Let’s have a serious talk.”

NINETEEN

Emma

I NEEDED TO stop feeling like this. My awareness swam in and out of focus. One moment, I could pay attention to what was around me—night air, saltwater, glaring spotlights—and the next, everything dissolved into a sea of scents and feelings and aching desire.

It was terrifying. I couldn’t stop crying, not even when strong arms lowered me into a pile of soft cushions, sturdy walls at my back so nothing could sneak up behind me. The scent of two alphas made my head spin, almost succeeding in covering up the faint, stale scents of other random people who’d been in this space over the past weeks.

A new cramp wracked my gut, and I hunched over, clutching my knees close to my chest as a small whimper escaped. Roughened fingers stroked gently over my temple, a tantalizing brush of coolness in the midst of my sweltering heat. I tilted my head, chasing the sensation.

“Right, Elijah,” said a gruff voice in the half-forgotten cadence ofhome. “Let’s have a serious talk.”

“I need the blocker,” I said, before Elijah could draw breath to answer. “Give me the blocker,now!” I couldn’t let my control slip any further than it already had. I needed the pill that would make everything feel normal again... that would make thisstop.

Two pairs of eyes landed on me, and my chin tipped sideways, showing throat before I could stop myself. I jerked my head down, averting my eyes—my heart pounding.

“She’s too far gone,” Elijah’s voice said. His rose-and-rainwater scent wafted together with the scent of the alphas, sour with worry and stress. “There’s no way a blocker will work now.”

What... what was he saying? That couldn’t be right! He was supposed to be on my side!

“Give me the pill!” I demanded, hating the shrillness of my voice. “Give it to me!”

I choked on a sob, wrenching one arm free of its death grip on my knees with the intention of scratching my nails across Elijah’s worried face. I couldn’t do this without the pill. Icouldn’t!

A strong hand caught my wrist before I could strike out, and I snarled at the face that loomed in front of mine. The cool fingers from before returned to cup my cheek, and my snarl turned into a whimper, dying in my throat.

The face was careworn, with fine wrinkles at the edges of the eyes and mouth. A plain face... pleasant enough, but almost nondescript, with unremarkable brown hair and brown eyes. There was nothing nondescript about the scent, though. It was the rich scent of an antique chest in the family attic, opened for the first time in decades to reveal its fascinating secrets. Amber and myrrh, exotic and addictive. I swayed forward, desperate to scent him again.

“Emma.”

My name in that familiar East London drawl tipped me back into coherence. I stared, probably gaping at him like a fish. His thumb smoothed over my cheekbone, smearing tears. A name floated up.Curran.

Curran and... and Onyx had come to rescue us from the yacht before my uncle could do anything terrible to us.Moreterrible. So, this must be their boat, with its cushions and blankets on the floor of the cabin, and two reassuring scents threaded through the air.

“S-sorry,” I whispered, clenching my fingers so my nails weren’t curved out like talons, ready to rip and tear.

Control. I had to keepcontrol.