Julian hadn't returned. Sibal hadn't come down. But I knew it was only a matter of time.
I spent the rest of the afternoon staring at a ledger I couldn't read, my hand trembling every time I turned a page. My lip still throbbed where Guilermo had bitten me, a hot, pulsing reminder of his claim. Mine.
It should have made me feel safe. It should have made me feel loved.
Instead, it made me feel suffocated.
By the time my shift ended, the feeling had hardened into something cold and sharp in my gut. I walked back to my apartment through the darkening streets of Oakhaven. The snow was falling again, gentle and silent, masking the rot of the town.
I didn't go inside. I couldn't. The apartment felt like a cage. The reinforced door, the wards Sibal had placed—it was all designed to keep me i
