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CHAPTER NINETEEN

NOVA

I ’m such a fucking bitch. Callum was looking for reassurance, and I gave him nothing. I got tongue-tied and panicked. As soon as he’s out of the shower, I’ll tell him how I really feel.

Tai approaches the bed on silent feet and stops in front of me.

I slowly raise my head to meet his eyes, taking in his tanned abs and tattoos. There’s a small lamp on the nightstand, and it paints his chiseled muscles in a soft glow. His hair is still wet on account of him wanting to preserve his magic, and it occasionally drips onto his skin in thin rivulets.

“Nova,” he whispers, his thumb and index finger finding my chin.

“Mm?” I hum.

“Do you like him?”

I open my mouth to speak, then close it again, unsure how to answer. Yes, I really do like him. But I also really like Tai. I’m beginning to understand why my mom and sister have so many mates of their own.

“You can be honest with me.” He drops my chin and takes a step back to give me some space.

I sigh. “Yeah, I do.” I fidget with the little rubber glove I pilfered from the hospital, blow air into it, then let it fly across the room. Meeting his eyes again, I catch his amused stare. “But I like you, too.” More than I’m willing to admit.

He sits down on the bed beside me, his weight causing the mattress to dip, and me to lean into him. Neither of us moves. He takes my hand in his, intertwining our fingers. “I know you do, and I like you, too. But …” He trails off, eyes drifting to the bathroom door where the sound of running water can be heard. “Humans aren’t known to share.”

I startle, head snapping to his. “You’d share me?”

Tai’s lips curve into a soft smile, his thumb rubbing gentle circles on the back of my hand. "If it meant I could be with you, then yes, I’d share you." He brings our joined hands to his mouth before seeming to remember he can’t kiss me. Whether that means he can’t kiss me on my lips or anywhere else remains to be seen. He drops them into his lap. "But the real question is, would he share you with me?"

My heart flutters wildly in my chest at the thought. Being with both of them, not having to choose ... It's a tempting idea.

But Tai is right. Most humans aren't wired that way.

“How will we convince him?”

His brow furrows in thought. "We'll have to ease him into the idea gradually." He shifts on the bed to face me more fully, his eyes filled with sincerity. "I don't want to pressure him or make him uncomfortable. But if we can show him how much we both care for you, and that this arrangement could work ..."

I grin at him. “It’d be a great way to keep your reserves up.” Because, while I can’t kiss Tai, I can definitely kiss Callum, and that always seems to give his magic a boost. And we can do other things, too.

He chuckles, his large palm cupping my cheek. His eyes lock on my lips. “Fuck, I want to kiss you.”

Shoving the irritation away that he’s bound by that stupid fucking fae deal, I grin at him. “That all you want?” My eyes trail to where his erection tents his towel.

His expression heats as he follows my gaze. “Clearly not.”

“How’s your magic doing now?” I smirk.

He swallows. “Near empty, so we should probably do something about that.”

I lean in closer, my breath mingling with his. “I think you’re right. We definitely need to recharge you.”

We fall back onto the bed, and he pins me, settling between my thighs. Both of our towels are intact, but I can feel all of him. “Fuck, I don’t think I can even suck on your neck or do half of the other things I want to do to you.”

“Like?” I lick my lips, glancing behind us to ensure I can still hear the shower going.

“Tasting every inch of your skin. Kissing a path down your neck to your breasts. Laving your nipples with my tongue until you’re writhing beneath me.”

I let out a soft moan at his words, my body already aching for his lips. “Don’t stop there. Tell me more.”

He groans, pressing his hard length against my core. Even through the layers of terrycloth, I can feel how much he wants this. Wants me. "I want to kiss my way down your stomach, dip my tongue into your navel, and keep going lower. I want to spread your thighs wide and bury my face between your legs, licking and sucking until you’re trembling and crying out my name.”

His words paint vivid images in my mind, sending delicious jolts of pleasure straight to my core. I rock my hips against him, desperate for more heat, more friction.

“You like the sound of that?”

I nod, lost to the lust.

“Use your words.”

“Yes, please,” I whimper.

His large hands skim down my sides to the edge of my towel. With a single tug, it falls open, exposing my naked body to his heated gaze. His eyes rake over me hungrily, drinking in every inch of my bared skin. "Gods, you're so beautiful," he breathes, voice rough with desire. Reverent fingers trace the curves of my breasts, circling my peaked nipples. I arch into his touch with a gasp.

He dips his head, dragging his tongue around the dip of my stomach, being careful not to touch me with his lips.

"Lower," I breathe.

The bathroom door swings open, steam curling out as Callum steps into the room, towel slung low on his hips. Water beads on his skin, sliding over the hard lines of his muscles. His red hair is a damp, unruly mess, but it’s the way his expression drops the moment he sees Tai and me that sets my chest alight with panic.

"Ach, sorry," he mutters, the words clipped, his accent sharper than usual. His stare darts between us—Tai leaning over my naked body, too close for anything to be explained away, and me still frozen beneath him. The hurt on his face feels like a noose around my throat, cutting off the words I need to say.

Callum’s jaw clenches, an unsettled look in his eyes—Betrayal? Disgust?—before he turns, yanking open his bag and shoving a tartan blanket inside it.

Tai hops off me, running a hand through his dark hair.

“Wait,” I blurt, scrambling to sit up, my voice thin and strained as I secure the towel around me. “It’s not—this isn’t what it looks like.”

He doesn’t even pause, his movements brisk, mechanical, as he pulls on his jeans. The fabric sticks to his wet skin, but he doesn’t seem to care. His shirt is on in a heartbeat, and then he’s grabbing his boots, lacing them with a force that feels like punishment.

“Callum, stop. Please,” I plead, the tremor in my voice betraying the ache lodged deep in my chest. I shoot Tai a look, but he’s as still as a statue, his eyes locked on the Scot like he’s bracing for a fight that isn’t coming.

“Ye don’t need tae explain,” Callum says, his tone cool as he shoves his arms into his jacket. His movements are a little too jerky, a little too precise. “I’ll leave ye tae it.”

“It’s not what you think!” I slide off the bed, my bare feet hitting the floor as I move toward him, my pulse roaring in my ears. “We weren’t?—”

He slings his bag over his shoulder, cutting me off. “Doesnae matter. I’ll see ye later, aye?”

And then he’s out the door, the click of it shutting behind him final, deafening, like he’s sucked all the joy out of the room.

The silence he leaves behind is unbearable. I whirl on Tai, fists clenched at my sides. “Why didn’t you stop him?”

He doesn’t answer. He just stares at me, his mouth a tight line, and that’s when I feel it—the sharp twist of something wild and untamed deep in my chest. It claws at me, threatening to burst free, and I stumble back, clutching at my ribs.

“Nova?” I barely hear him over the blood pounding in my ears.

The room tilts, the edges blurring as heat rushes through me, searing, and unbearable, as though fire courses in my veins. My knees buckle, and I catch myself on the edge of the bed, my breathing ragged. My skin prickles, and a low, guttural sound escapes my throat before I can stop it.

“Nova.” Tai’s hand is on my shoulder now, but I shove him away, the motion instinctive and rougher than I intended.

“It hurts,” I choke out, curling in on myself as the wildness inside me surges. My vision sharpens and shifts, and for the briefest moment, everything smells too strong—Tai’s soap, the damp fabric of the towels, the trace of Callum’s scent still lingering in the room.

I stumble into the bed, and my fingers curl into the bedsheets, nails elongating into sharp points that tear through the fabric. A scream builds in my throat, but what emerges is a guttural howl as I hear snap, snap, snap.

Agony rips through my body, the movement jerky. I can only shake my head, words beyond me as pain wracks my body.

“Shit.” Tai steps back, his hands raised in surrender. “Listen to me. You’re shifting.”

“No.” My voice cracks as another wave of heat crashes over me, my limbs trembling. “I can’t—this isn’t?—”

“You need to breathe.” He exhales slowly, his shoulders squared, feet planted like he’s ready to wait me out. “Focus on me. Just breathe.”

But I can’t. I try to do as he says, but each breath feels like fire in my lungs. The wildness inside me is growing, spreading through every part of me. I can feel it in my bones, in my blood, in my very soul.

The pressure builds and builds until something snaps, and the room is flooded with the sound of ripping fabric, and my own raw scream. Bones shift and crack, realigning themselves into new, unnatural shapes.

And then everything goes black.