Coby's POV
"I'll smile for the cameras, but every second I'm burning to find her."
The thought throbbed like a wound I couldn't stitch shut. The boardroom smelled of cold coffee and too much cologne. The air was sharp, too clean and too staged, like everything in my life lately. My agent sat across from me, hands folded on a thick folder of contracts. Two team executives flanked him, both wearing expressions that screamed impatience.
They were tired of me already. Tired of my excuses and tired of my name headlining for all the wrong reasons.
I leaned forward, elbows pressing the glossy wood table. My jaw was tight, my pulse steady only because I forced it there. "I need time off. Just a short break. I'll sort things out."
One of the execs, the older one with silver streaks in his hair, raised his brow like he'd been waiting for me to dig my own grave. "Time off? After missed practices, after fights caught on video? Why should we keep you?"
Because you need me, because I still win and because I can't breathe in this cage.
"Because I'll come back stronger," I said, words clipped and certain. "Give me this window and I'll put myself back together. I'll be sharper. I'll win."
The younger exec exhaled like I was already a waste of investment. My agent pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering, "Sponsors are ready to cut you loose, Coby. If we do this, it has to look good. You have to look good."
"Then I'll make it look good." My voice didn't waver, though Bryan snarled under my skin. "I'll put out a statement. I'll face the press. I'll handle it."
The executives exchanged glances, a silent conversation passing between them like smoke. One finally nodded. "One chance. Don't waste it."
I gave a stiff nod back, but inside Bryan's voice echoed. One chance for them and for us, there's only Isla.
On that day, the press room was in chaos. Cameras flashing like lightning, microphones shoved forward like weapons. I stood behind the podium in a clean suit, my hair brushed back, my face arranged into something the world would swallow. I forced a smile while my chest burned.
"I've taken time to reflect," I told the sea of reporters. "I lost focus, but I've learned from it. I'm committed to this team. I'll come back stronger than before."
A dozen questions flew at once, loud and sharp. "Winters, are the rumors true?" "Winters, are you and…" "Do you regret..."
I answered everyone short and steady. Never wavering and I'm never letting the crack show.
"Yes, I've learned." "No, I'm focused." "Yes, I'll deliver."
Each word was a blade I turned inward. My agent, lurking near the back, gave me the smallest nod when I stepped away from the podium. It was given a complete performance.
Later, headlines softened. Winters promises a comeback, focused and ready. Sponsors pulled back their threats, for now.
My girlfriend posted photos from the vacation, a cocktail in hand, smiling like she'd never heard the word "scandal." Comments gushed about how happy she looked again and how strong we were together.
The storm cooled, the noise dulled and the lie solidified.
I scrolled through it all alone, with a tight chest. Bryan's voice rumbled low. This is an illusion that she isn't the one; find our mate.
I whispered under my breath, lips barely moving. "One step at a time. If she's happy, the noise dies down. Then I can move."
The waves crashed against the shore, dark and restless. My girlfriend's laugh rang out, sharp and too bright, carried off by the wind.
"Let's do something crazy," she whispered, tugging me down the sand like the ocean was hers.
Before I could answer, her mouth was on mine, her nails clawing at my shirt, pulling fabric loose. "Here," she demanded, breath hot against my ear. "Right here."
I shoved her against the rock wall, lips pressed hard, her moan cutting through the roar of the waves. My hands yanked her shorts down, her legs wrapped around me, urgency consuming her.
"Harder," she gasped, breathless.
I gave her what she asked for, my body moving on instinct. The ocean drowned out the sounds of her cries, our movements rough and urgent, over in minutes.
She smiled after, breathless with her hair wild. "See? That's what I needed." I forced a smile back, chest hollow. Bryan stirred. This is nothing, hollow. She's not ours. After the day's sit-out, we retired inside for our dinner and to cool off.
The villa smelled of jasmine candles and expensive wine. Shadows flickered on the walls. She lay on the bed, lingerie clinging to her curves like it was painted on.
"Tonight, I want more," she whispered, voice dripping with challenge.
I tied her wrists with silk. She arched under me, daring eyes locked on mine. My mouth trailed fire down her chest, while her breath was breaking into soft gasps.
"Don't stop," she moaned, body trembling as I licked slow circles down her stomach.
I didn't stop and I just couldn't. She begged until her voice broke, then demanded more.
"Now, Coby. I want you now."
I thrust into her, hard enough to make her scream, muffled against my shoulder. Faster and deeper, her body shook against mine. She wanted it rougher and I gave it to her hot hot. She wanted to be helpless; I made her bound and helpless. She loved it.
But Bryan never stopped pacing inside. She's not the one. She'll never be the one.
Later, when she slid to her knees and took my cock into her mouth, her eyes watered as I thrust deeper. Her hands clung to me, her lips tight, but still Bryan's voice burned. This is empty. Only Isla can quiet us. I came, but no peace followed.
She curled against me, smug and satisfied. I lay staring at the ceiling, hollow.
The next morning, I pressed plane tickets into her hand.
"Another trip, luxury spa treatments. You and your friends deserve it."
Her eyes lit up like I'd just offered her the world. "Really? You're sending me?"
"Yeah," I said, forcing a small smile. "I'll be going back for my training and you, I have really missed that. I need focus and you need rest, baby. Take it."
She kissed me hard, perfume sweet and suffocating. "You're finally serious again. I knew you'd come around." She left happy, posting photos that sold the lie. The world believed again in our perfect life and I finally sat alone.
I opened the blurry photo of Isla on my phone. Hood pulled low, shadows hiding half her face, but I knew her and I'd always know her.
I traced her outline with my thumb. My chest ached. "I'll find you," I whispered.
Bryan's growl filled me, steady and relentless. No more lies, no more waiting and we hunt now.
The next day, we got prepared to depart for our various locations while she was busy on a call with her friends who would meet for their treat. I kissed her and bade goodbye to her.
I nodded, slamming my laptop shut, maps still glowing on the screen. "Hold on, Isla. I'm coming."
Isla's POV
The forest floor was damp and cold, biting through my thin blanket. My stomach twisted, food nearly gone. I crouched near a stream, filling a bottle with shaking hands.
Ava's voice whispered steadily in my mind. Keep moving. Don't stop.
"I'm trying," I whispered back, voice raw.
Nights were the worst. The cold cut deeper than Drake's chains ever had. I curled under branches, arms wrapped tight around myself, shivering until exhaustion dragged me under. Every howl in the distance froze my blood. Every crack of a twig had me holding my breath.
One night, I caught a rabbit. My hands shook as I roasted it over a weak fire. The smell made my stomach cramp with hunger. But the smoke rose too fast, too high. I doused it quickly, panic clawing me. If they saw… if anyone smelled…
I ate it half raw, choking it down, tears burning behind my eyes. Hunger didn't care and hunger won. Sometimes I heard hunters in the distance, boots crunching, voices carried by the wind. I pressed myself flat to the dirt, chest tight and breath locked in my lungs. My heart thudded so hard that I thought it would give me away. Only when silence stretched long again did I dare move.
"They're all coming," I whispered to Ava, throat tight. "Logan, Drake, Kyree and maybe even Coby." Ava's voice cut sharply. Then stay the ghost. They can't catch what they can't see.
I pulled my hood tighter, forcing my legs to keep moving. "If I can stay one step ahead, maybe I can live."
Every step was heavier than the last. My shoes were ruined, and my clothes were damp and torn. My blanket was as thin as paper; still, I walked.
Sleep was fractured, ten minutes here and twenty there. My body begged me to stop. My mind screamed not to.
At dawn, fog rolled thick, curling around trees like pale hands. My breath puffed white as I stumbled forward and my chest burned.
"If they come," I whispered to Ava, teeth chattering, "they'll find nothing but shadows."
"Good," Ava said. Let them choke on smoke. We are not theirs. We'll never be theirs."
I pulled my hood low and pressed on. Every night, I thought of freedom like it was a fire I could hold in my palms. Every night, I swore to myself: I won't be caught. Not again, not by Drake, not by Logan, not by Kyree and not even by Coby.
The forest swallowed me, step by step, until I was only a shadow moving through darker shadows.