Page 86 of Scavenger's Oath

I search his face, confused.

His expression is too intense. Too focused for a man who just spent himself. His eyes are still wild. Mind still somewhere darker.

His eyes follow his hand as it slides to my throat and trails down between my breasts possessively.

“Myles?” I pant, hands resting on his tattooed chest as uncertainty creeps into me.

“I’m the only one that should ever be inside you,” he mutters. But his voice is…off. As if he’s not even talking to me. “The only one who gets to claim you. They think they can touch you… steal you… they’re wrong. I’ll show them.”

I blink up at him, still trying to catch my breath. “What—"

He leans away, reaching for something nearby. I see the glint of metal before I understand what it is.The knife.

“Myles…” My brows knit, panic seeping into my voice. “What are you doing?”

His grip on it tightens, eyes lost and obsessed. “They need to fucking know. They need toseeit. Andyouneed the reminder. You said you were mine. Now I’m just making it permanent.” His tone is eerily calm, like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

“Wha—what do you mean?” My eyes search his frantically. Butterflies churn my stomach. Not the fun kind—infected, sickly things that make me want to throw up.

The same knife he just made me moan with is now flipped, the blade facing me instead of its rounded handle.

“I’m carving it into you,” he says, matter-of-factly. “My name. Right here.” His hand slides across my ribcage to my upper stomach.

My breath cuts out. Cold dread washing over me, rooting into my chest like ice.

“No,” I squeak, fingers going numb as I scramble backward. “No, Myles, you… P-p-please. Put it down!” My heart pounds so loud I can barely hear myself speak as I scramble to my feet and back away toward the door.

Thelockeddoor!

But he’s already moving, lunging for me as I turn to bolt. He catches me by the ankle and drags me back down. I scream as Ihit the floor hard, twisting, trying to kick free.

“Stop!” I shriek, panic searing my throat. “Myles, stop. Stop! Please, don’t do this!”

He’s trying to pin me with his weight again. Trying to calm me as I fight. But the knife is still in his hand, the edge flashing as he holds it too close to my skin.

We just shared something beautiful. Was it not the same for him?

Boots sound on the stairs as my heart hammers.

So I scream louder, thrash harder, clawing at whatever I can as I buck against him. “Get off me!”

He growls low, trying to keep me still. “You don’t get to run from this. Not after what you did.”

A bang echoes from outside the door.

“Ivy?!” It’s Zane’s voice, alarmed. “Where is she?”

“Ivy?” Phoenix shouts as the handle of the door rattles. “Myles, open this fucking door!”

“Get out of the way,” Zane barks.

The wood splinters with a crash.

Everything happens so fast I can barely process it. Phoenix’s body flies over me as he tackles Myles like a battering ram.

They hit the floor hard. A shout. A grunt. The knife flies from his hand, skittering under the bed. Phoenix locks him in a brutal hold, one arm around his throat, the other pinning Myles’s arm behind his back, legs tangling. Leaving Myles writhing but trapped.

“What the fuck are you doing!” Phoenix’s voice rumbles with pure rage.