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“You’re not fine. I’m the world’s biggest moron.” Rory tapped my back in awkward pats. “I should never have let you in here. What was I thinking? I never think.”

“Rory.” I lifted my head. “I’m okay. It’s mostly just my chest again.” Just my chest again. Just this demonic ice creeping through my veins until I was like that woman, dead on a table .

Rory bit his lip. “Listen, when we get back… please tell Seb you waited outside? He’ll properly murder me if he finds out you had a panic attack.”

“This isn’t a panic attack!”

Well, I was sort of panicking, to be fair.

“Take your pictures and notes and let’s wrap this up,” said DI Maxwell, though not unkindly.

I remained seated for the rest, as Rory busied himself around the body, he and Maxwell making snide comments at each other like it was a sport.

“For fuck’s sake, will you back off?” Rory snapped, typing furiously on his phone. “I swear to god, if you lean any closer…”

“This is my case. I want to see what you’re writing.”

“No, this is a Killigrew Street matter. You’re just…”

A silence stretched between them, and I wanted to sink into the wall.

“Wow.” Maxwell stepped away, shaking his head. “I can’t believe you.”

“Stay the hell out of my head!”

I blinked. Huh?

“It’s hard when you’re shouting abuse at me. Pet cop? Really? After everything I do for Killigrew Street?”

Holy shit. I fought the urge to apologise to this random guy on behalf of Rory.

Maxwell’s face darkened. “You know what? Fuck you. After all my hard work, after the risks I take for you , this is how you treat me? I’ve had enough of your—”

“My what?” Rory stepped closer, tilting his chin up. “Come on, say it.”

“Your childish attitude.” Maxwell’s voice dropped dangerously low. “Your complete disregard for protocol. Your inability to follow even the most basic—”

“Oh, that’s rich coming from you!” Rory jabbed a finger at Maxwell’s chest. “Mr By The Book until it suits you not to be.”

“That was over a year ago now! I’ve already apologised. There’s nothing else I can do. But that whole situation was completely different! ”

“Different how?” Rory’s laugh was bitter. “Because you got to play the good little copper? Because you got to prove your loyalty to your precious force?”

“I did what I had to do to protect—”

“To protect what? Your precious badge?” Rory’s voice rose. “While we were locked up like animals during a full moon?”

I eyed the door, just ten paces away. Perhaps now would be a great time to actually wait outside. The morgue felt smaller by the second, the fluorescent lights harsh against their angry faces.

“You broke into a secure facility!” Maxwell’s composure cracked. “What was I supposed to do?”

“Your job was to protect our secret!” Rory’s hands balled into fists. “Instead, you chose to protect your reputation.”

“You know that I—”

“Stop!” Rory’s snarl was laced with emotion that wasn’t entirely anger. “Just… stop. I can’t deal with your excuses right now.”

I watched them bicker like it was an increasingly aggressive tennis match, my head swivelling between the two. The tension crackled, so thick you could cut it with a knife.

“Fine!” Rory shoved his phone in his pocket. “I’ll email it all to you later. Happy?”

“Ecstatic,” Maxwell deadpanned.

We left through the same back entrance, Rory practically vibrating with rage. The moment we were out of earshot, he exploded.

“That absolute wanker!” He paced in tight circles, running both hands through his already chaotic hair.

“Can you actually believe him? The nerve of that self-righteous prick, going on about proper procedure when he—” Rory cut himself off with a sound that was distinctly inhuman, and I flinched.

Was he about to wolf out on me? “He arrested both me and another shifter. Threw us in a holding cell during a full moon, of all fucking things. Ruined our investigation, just to make himself look good at the station. ”

“Hey.” I caught his arm, the muscles under my fingers coiled tight as springs.

I stumbled back at the sound that ripped from Rory’s throat—a deep, rumbling growl that sent every survival instinct in my body into overdrive. My heart leapt into my throat as his eyes flashed, something wild and decidedly not human flickering across his face.

“Shit, sorry.” Rory’s expression softened instantly, the anger draining away. He ran a hand through his hair again, messing it up even further. “I didn’t mean to… Sometimes I forget how new you are to all this.”

New? As in, yesterday?

My pulse gradually slowed as we walked back to his car in awkward silence. The moment we rounded the corner, Rory stopped dead.

“Oh, fucking great.” He yanked a parking ticket from under his windscreen wiper, threw it on the ground, and kicked the front tyre with enough force to make the whole car rock. “Don’t tell Seb.”

He and I were quickly amassing a long list of things I wouldn’t tell Sebastián about.

As we climbed into the Cortina, my chest twinged.

I pressed my palm against my sternum, where the ice-cold sensation had thankfully started to fade.

For now. The marks on that woman’s body…

Would that happen to me? Was I going to end up on a metal slab while Rory and Detective Maxwell argued over my corpse?

My phone buzzed in my pocket, making me jump. I pulled it out, my stomach doing an odd little somersault when I saw Sebastián’s name on the screen.

Sebastián

Just heard you were at the police station. I sincerely hope you weren’t caught in the crossfire between our resident wolf pup and 'Detective Dickface’s' eternal feud. Their sexual tension gives me migraines.

I snorted, then quickly tried to hide it as a cough when the wolf in question glanced over from the driver’s seat. I stared at the message, finding my heart curiously pounding at the surprisingly friendly, conspiratorial tone.

I’m fine. Though I think I now understand why you pinch your nose so much.

The reply was instant:

They’re like children. Extremely dangerous, supernatural children with access to firearms and magical abilities.

I bit my lip to stop from grinning. What could I say to make the conversation continue?

For entertainment purposes, of course. It could be a long car ride, after all.

That detective seems… intense.

That’s one word for it. I prefer 'human embodiment of a Monday morning.'

A laugh escaped before I could stop it.

“What’s so funny?” The driver’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“Umm…” I shoved my phone away, probably a touch too quickly. “Just a friend.”

He didn’t look convinced. My phone buzzed again. I couldn’t resist immediately checking it.

Don’t let our puppy drive too recklessly. That car is held together with prayers and duct tape.

I glanced at the dashboard, which did indeed have several strips of silver tape holding various bits in place.

Too late. NGL we’ve already broken about 15 traffic laws.

Sebastián

NGL? But wonderful. I do so enjoy dealing with the police paperwork.

The sarcasm practically dripped through the screen. Before I could reply, another message popped up:

Stay safe. And Flynn? Next time Rory takes you to see a dead body? Please message me first so I can murder him myself.

Heat crept up my neck. Right. Of course he’d heard about that too.

My mind drifted back to that cold, clinical room, to those frost-like patterns that had spread across her chest like a poisoned spider’s web.

A map of my future, laid out in crystalline lines across someone else’s skin.

The image of my own body, grey and hollow on that metal slab, threatened to drag me under again.

Then I remembered the fierce grit in Sebastián’s eyes when he’d promised to help me, the way his jaw had set with unwavering resolve. A thread of warmth unfurled beneath my ribs at the memory, chasing away the lingering chill.

I could picture him now, probably sitting at some fancy, organised desk he had, straightening his tie with those precise fingers as he fired off these messages.

Something magnetic pulled me back towards Killigrew Street Hotel.

Back to that steady gaze, that resolute promise.

Because whatever this curse was trying to do to me, surely Sebastián’s determination burned hotter than any demon’s ice.