The house had a new heartbeat. That was the only way Selene could describe it as she moved through the quiet halls, her bare feet silent on the old wood floors. Walker was in the guest room, the sound of his slow, steady breaths a tangible rhythm through the wall. Eli and Lucian were asleep, exhausted by the emotional tidal wave of the evening. Jakob… she wasn’t sure. He’d retreated to his room without a word, his door firmly shut.
She stood in the doorway of her own room, not ready to enter its familiar confines. The moonlight painted a silver path across her floor, and the cool night air whispered through the slightly open window. Her skin still hummed, not just from the memory of Caleb’s touch, but from the seismic shift of the last few hours.
Celeste was gone. Truly gone. The oppress
