Eve
My stomach dropped.
Not from fear.
Not this fucking time.
But from the sick realization that I could not call Rhea.
Not now.
Not after I'd forced her to rest, to heal, to retreat deep into the marrow of my bones where the pain couldn't touch her anymore. I'd told her I needed to learn to survive without leaning on others—on her.
And this?
This was the price of that vow.
"You hear that heartbeat?" one of them whispered with a wet grin, his face too close to mine. "She's scared. I like them scared."
Another chuckled as he pried my jaw open, fingers thick and calloused. "Open wide, sweetheart. Don't fight it. There had been a rumour that some mutts have been sneaking through the border. We just gotta check.
I didn't scream.
I bit down.
Hard.
He howled, staggering back with blood pouring from his hand.
That was my moment.
