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Holy fuck. His whole demeanor had changed. His hung head low, and he looked up at me. “Liam, this isn’t you.” I backed straight into the door and then turned away, not wanting to get stuck.

“Of course, it is. Don’t you want me to be the type that rips your panties off? Who dives inside you again and again until you come around me?” He stopped as I continued to arc my way around the room. “Norah?”

“Stop,” I said. “You’re not him. Where’s Liam?”

He lunged for me, and I yelled. “No!”

The door to the room flew open. Randy burst inside. He stopped once he saw what state we were in, but I hurried toward him. “It’s not Liam.”

Randy shoved me behind him. Liam’s body trembled, and the serpent familiar moved off his face. It coiled around his neck and down to the arm where it stayed before.

Liam sucked in a breath. “I-I’m sorry.”

Just from the way his voice was, I could tell it was really Liam. I came out from behind Randy and moved toward him, but Liam skirted around me, grabbing his clothes as he went. “I’m so sorry, Norah.”

He ran from the room.

“Liam?” I called after him, but he didn’t answer.

Randy pulled me close. “It’s okay.” We looked at the empty doorway, Randy rubbing small circles into my back. He swallowed and then kissed the top of my head. “I’m staying with you tonight.” He pushed the door closed and locked it before calling both Travis and Gabe, telling them what happened.

I made my way to the bed and sat, pulling the comforter around me. “He’s losing the battle. We have to do something, Randy.”

“I know.” His hands dove into his short hair. He reached out for me, then laid down on the bed, pulling me with him. “We will. He just needs to take a breather.”

I agreed, but what we didn’t say was that neither one of us had any idea what to do once he’d taken that breather. He needed to calm down now, but the familiar was still on him, doing these things to him. I was two seconds away from calling a priest to do an exorcism. Anything to get Liam back.

A knock on the door sounded. I tried to spring up, but two tree stump hands held me down. “Just let me get it, would you?”

I waited for him to ease out of the bed and then approach the door with caution. “Guys, it’s Travis,” a voice called out.

Randy’s shoulders relaxed.

“And Gabe,” Gabe called out, his British accent piercing right to my soul.

Randy pulled the door open, and they both piled in. Travis took one look at me and then glanced away toward the opposite wall. “Is there ever a time when you’re wearing clothes?”

I smirked, caught off guard by his statement. “Not usually when I’m in my own bedroom.” I found my tanktop on the floor and pulled it on and then slipped the rest of me under the blankets. “I’m decent now. You’re welcome.”

“Well, just so you two know,” Gabe started as he moved into the room. “You can’t call and say Liam’s gone bonkers and then hole off in your room by yourselves because then it just makes me feel bad. And unwanted.” He prowled toward me. “You don’t want to make me feel unwanted, do you, Love?”

I smiled and pulled him down to give him a loud smack on the lips. “Of course, not.”

“We actually thought it would be better if we were all in the same place tonight,” Travis said. “In case Liam…changes again.”

“Travis thought that.” Gabe shrugged. “I was just worried I was going to miss out on some fun and I really did feel unwanted.”

Randy shook his head. “Just whatever with you two.”

“And,” Travis said again, eyeing both Randy and me. “I think it’s time the rest of us were let in on what you two have going on?”

Gabe’s forehead wrinkled. “What they have going on?”

“Football’s not everything, Mate,” Travis said, mimicking Gabe’s accent. “There are other problems going on in the world too.”

Gabe frowned, and I scooted over on the bed to give him some room. He plopped down, and I snuggled into him, squeezing his side to let him know it was okay. He was allowed to act as if we had a life outside of what was happening. If he wanted to watch football, he could watch football.

“So?” Travis asked, continuing to press us. “Maybe start from the beginning on what’s going on.”