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Ever

E ver have one of those dreams where you’re falling, but jerk awake right before you die? Fun fact, it’s way more awkward when you’re naked. And sleeping on the edge of the bed.

Thankfully, the blanket around my waist keeps me from falling off completely as I catch my breath, futilely trying to hold onto my dream as it slips through my fingers like sand.

Once I've regained my bearings, I glance down to find Myles’s hand still cupping my breast while he snores away beside me, completely oblivious to my near death experience.

“Men,” I chuckle, carefully extracting myself from the puppy pile.

Knowing damn well I won’t be getting back to sleep, I silently get dressed, using the dim lighting of the aquarium to keep from stubbing my toes on the furniture.

Since I can’t sleep, I may as well head down and get some work done.

I make sure to leave not one, but four notes of where I’m going, one slapped to each of my guys’ chests.

After all we’ve been through, it’s the least I can do to keep them from freaking out short of shaking one awake.

Tugging on my leggings, I search for a solid minute for my shirt before I give up and accept that it’s lost forever. Myles’s, on the other hand, is a worthy sacrifice I shamelessly steal.

Careful of my footsteps, I creep from the room, closing the door softly behind me.

The hallways are ensconced in shadows, only the faint moonlight from the occasional window illuminating enough of the darkness to keep me from tripping and breaking my neck.

Fishing out my phone, I use the flashlight to guide my way around turn after turn, up and down several marble staircases until I’m completely and utterly lost.

I’m just about ready to accept defeat and call one of the guys to come find me when I see a faint light up ahead from a cracked door and breathe an internal sigh of relief. Somebody is awake and can point me in the right direction of the workshop.

As I get closer, a soft, feminine voice has me slowing to a stop.

“You’re lying.”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I saw it myself. Walking down the street with his pregnant mate looking happy as a clam. I think it’s time you accept that he moved on while we were searching for him… so we need to forget him as well,” Dane says with sympathy that rings false even from here.

A soft whimper has me inching forward, seeing Sophia for the first time in the flesh. Pillows prop her up in bed as silent tears track down her alarmingly thin face.

“I know, I know,” he soothes, wrapping her in a hug. “But you don’t need him; you never have. You have me. ”

“Cyrus always said finding his fated mate was his dream,” she says, sniffling. “But if he didn’t realize you saved me from the fire… of course he moved on. Did you tell him you were my mate and we’ve been searching for him?”

Dane makes a sympathetic noise. “I did. And he told me never to contact him or his mate again. That poor woman, not realizing she’s a consolation prize. But if that’s the life he chose, we have to respect it. Put Cyrus and Mercy Ridge behind us for good.”

A sinking sense of foreboding forms in the pit of my stomach.

As I take a nervous step back, I crash into a hard body. “Bennett.” Thank goodness. “Can you show me how to get back to-” I yelp as he grips my upper arm like his fingers are made of iron, hard and unflinching as I try and fail to wrench my arm free.

All my struggling has Dane stepping out of the room and snapping the door shut quickly behind him. “Ever? I thought I told you the west wing was off limits.”

“I was just… looking for Bennet and got turned around.” I glance at the creepy butler over my shoulder. “The guys and I need to run into town in the morning for a few things and was hoping you could arrange a car?”

Like usual, he doesn’t utter a word. Dane’s face hardens. “Anything you need, Bennet will get. Make a list.”

“They’re,” I scramble for a plausible excuse, the tension in the room mounting to suffocating levels. “Things that Myles and I need to pick out ourselves. See firsthand how they fit together, get a feel of the metal.”

He sighs wearily. “You should have stayed in your room. Bennet? If you would, please.”

I buck against him, but there’s no breaking Bennet’s hold before his fist comes down on my temple and everything goes dark.