Chapter 6

• “Do you ever feel like you're suffocating?” I asked, staring out the window, watching the sun dip below the horizon. The words slipped out before I could stop them, an uncomfortable honesty that I didn’t know how to rein in.
• Lowan’s voice came from behind me, his footsteps heavy on the hardwood floor as he approached. “You’re not suffocating.”
• I didn’t turn to look at him. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to, but the silence between us was a comfort, a barrier I needed. For once, I didn’t want to face him, not when everything I was feeling was starting to feel like too much.
• “You don’t get it,” I whispered. “You can’t. No one can.”
• A long silence followed. I could feel his eyes on me, burning into my skin as if trying to unravel the layers of me that I kept hidden, even from myself. He was so close, and yet there was an ocean between us—one that I couldn’t seem to cross, no matter how much I wanted to.
• “Tell me what’s going on with you,” Lowan said finally, his voice quiet but insistent. There was an edge to his words, a kind of plea I hadn’t expected.
• I turned slightly, meeting his eyes. There was something different in them now, something deeper than before. Something darker, perhaps, but also… familiar.
• “I don’t know,” I admitted. “I feel like I’m waiting for something. Something that’s about to happen and I don’t know how to stop it.”
• Lowan stepped closer, his hand brushing mine as he placed it on the back of the couch. His touch was warm, but it didn’t calm the storm inside me. If anything, it made it worse.
• “I don’t want you to go through this alone,” he said, his voice thick with unspoken promises.
• I felt a flicker of hope rise within me, quickly snuffed out by the reality of my situation. Lowan was my anchor, but the tide was pulling me away from him, and I was losing my grip. The Kings—Lowan’s brothers—had a way of making everything more complicated. They were always there, hovering in the background like shadows that I couldn’t escape. Their presence was a constant reminder that I wasn’t truly free.
• My birthday was drawing closer, and with it, the feeling that I was running out of time. The weight of it all pressed down on me, suffocating me with its inevitability.
• “Do you ever wish you could just leave all of this behind?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
• Lowan was quiet for a long moment, the air between us thick with tension. Then, finally, he spoke.
• “I’ve thought about it,” he admitted. “But running away wouldn’t solve anything, Ava. Not for either of us.”
• His words should have reassured me, but instead, they made the knot in my chest tighten. I couldn’t tell if he was speaking out of genuine concern or if he had something else on his mind—something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
• I shook my head, pushing away the dark thoughts that threatened to consume me. “It’s not about running away,” I said softly. “It’s about… surviving. About not losing myself in all of this.”
• The truth was, I was afraid. Afraid of the power the Kings held over me, afraid of the future that loomed just beyond my birthday, when everything would change. I couldn’t explain it, but there was a sense of impending doom, a feeling that the moment I turned nineteen, my life would be out of my hands.
• I didn’t belong to myself anymore. I belonged to them.
• Lowan stepped closer, his fingers grazing the back of my neck, sending a jolt of warmth through me. I felt his breath against my ear as he spoke.
• “I’m not going anywhere, Ava,” he murmured. “You don’t have to go through this alone. Not when I’m here.”
• But as much as I wanted to believe him, I couldn’t. I couldn’t let myself get too close. Not when I knew how this would end. Not when I knew what the Kings were capable of.
• “I wish I could believe you,” I whispered, pulling away from him. “But I don’t know if I can anymore.”
• Lowan’s face softened, and for a moment, I saw a flicker of something I hadn’t expected—a vulnerability. But it was gone in an instant, replaced by the cold, calculated expression he usually wore.
• “I know you’re scared,” he said softly. “But you don’t have to be. You’re stronger than you think.”
• I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. Not when everything inside me was screaming that I was powerless.
• I turned away from him, facing the window once again, trying to make sense of the chaos inside my mind. But it was hard to focus on anything when the sound of footsteps echoed in the hallway. Heavy, purposeful footsteps that I knew all too well.
• The Kings.
• My breath caught in my throat as I felt the familiar presence of them surround me. They had a way of showing up when I least expected it, and somehow, their presence always seemed to drain the air from the room. They were like a storm, unpredictable and destructive, and I had no idea how much longer I could keep up the façade of indifference.
• “Lowan,” I whispered, my voice barely audible, but he was already stepping back. I didn’t know how he knew, but he did. He always did.
• The door to the living room opened, and the four of them filed in like soldiers—Lowan’s brothers: Rogan, Mayor, Crown, and Lowan himself. I could feel the weight of their gazes on me, cold and calculating, as if they were trying to read the very thoughts in my mind. They always had that way about them—always able to make me feel like I was the prey, and they were the predators.
• “What are you doing here?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady, though it cracked under the weight of their presence.
• Rogan was the first to speak. “We’re here to make sure you’re ready.”
• I bristled at his words. Ready? For what?
• “Ready for what?” I asked, my voice sharper than I intended.
• Rogan smirked, his eyes glinting with something dark. “For your birthday, of course. You can’t escape it.”
• I felt a chill run through me at his words. I couldn’t escape it. No matter what I did, no matter how far I tried to run, my fate was sealed.
• Crown stepped forward, his expression unreadable, but his eyes locked on mine in a way that sent a shiver down my spine. “You won’t be alone, Ava,” he said softly, almost too softly. “We’ll be there for you.”
• I couldn’t meet his gaze. Not now. Not when everything was crashing down around me.
• And then, before I could say anything else, they were gone. The Kings vanished into the night as quickly as they’d come, leaving me in the silence of their absence. But I could feel the weight of their words hanging in the air.
• I turned to Lowan, but he was already gone, slipping out the door before I could reach him.
• And suddenly, I was alone. Completely alone.
• But the feeling of the mark—the pull, the tingling sensation that had started in my wrist—was stronger now than ever before.
• I couldn’t escape. No matter how hard I tried.
• And the truth was, I wasn’t sure I wanted to anymore.