Kat had just disappeared down the hall, Koda balanced on her hip, syrup-sticky and giggling like the world hadn’t ever tried to break him. I watched them go, the sound of his laughter echoing off the walls like a promise I wasn’t sure I deserved.
I leaned back into the couch, arms stretched across the worn leather, letting the silence settle. It wasn’t heavy—not yet. Just thick enough to make me think.
She was trying. Hell, we all were. But watching her with Koda, seeing the way she softened around him, the way she steadied when Jace was near... it made something shift in me. Something I hadn’t let myself name.
I wanted this. Not just the chaos, not just the club. I wanted her. I wanted them.
Koda, with his sticky fingers and wild curls, had already carved out a space in my chest I did
