Ethan knew something was wrong before Dana's confused text ever reached his phone. It started as a low, gnawing unease settling into his chest sometime around six fifteen, a wrongness he couldn't name but recognized instantly as connected to the bond humming beneath his skin, usually a warm, steady presence and now suddenly, terrifyingly silent.
He was already dialing Lily's number when Dana's message came through.
Hey, is Lily okay? She never showed up and isn't answering texts. Also she told me this morning she wasn't free today, so I'm confused why she said she was hanging out with me?
The phone slipped from Ethan's hand, adrenaline flooding his system with a violence that made his vision briefly sharpen into predatory clarity, every human pretense dropping away in an instant. She'd
