POV RUBY
The first thing I felt was the cold. It wasn't the refined, filtered chill of the manor, but a raw, industrial cold that seeped through the thin walls of the warehouse and settled into the marrow of my bones. I opened my eyes to the sight of a cracked concrete ceiling and a single, unshaded lightbulb that swung gently in the draft. For a heartbeat, the "Old Guest" was silent, and I was just Ruby Lane, a girl waking up in a place that smelled of rust and spent adrenaline.
Then, I felt the weight.
Nevan was still beside me on the thin mattress, his arm draped heavily across my waist as if even in sleep, he was anchoring me to the earth. His breathing was deep and rhythmic, the only steady sound in the cavernous silence of the loft. I stayed perfectly still, watching the way the d
