Page 166 of Knot Your Fated M.U.S.E.

"Can I join you?" The request bursts forth with pure enthusiasm. "Would you teach me how to bake and cook? I've always wanted to learn!"

The image forms instantly – Nyx in an apron, flour on her cheek as she learns family recipes passed down through generations. My chest tightens with unexpected emotion at how perfectly she fits into this dream I hadn't even known I harbored.

I also try not to think of the “other” things we could do, especially with her in an apron…bent over…a flour mess all over the table…

"Of course, I'll teach you," I assure her, warmth spreading through my chest at her obvious joy. I have to tune back to the present or else my thoughts will spiral into wild dirty things.

I can’t hold off a hard-on until the others return."Everything my grandmother taught me, every secret recipe and special technique."

Her squeal of happiness precedes the gentle press of her lips against my forehead. The gesture carries such genuine affection it steals my breath completely.

"What was that for?" I manage to ask, though part of me already knows the answer.

"I'm proud of you," she says simply. "For facing what you feared and conquering it. For opening this piece of your past instead of letting it stay locked away forever."

Our eyes meet, the moment stretching between us filled with something that transcends mere designation dynamics. This connection we're building, layer by careful layer, feels more profound than any instant attraction or biological imperative.

The shrill beep of my alarm breaks the spell, reminding me of medication waiting downstairs.

"I'll be back," I promise, reluctant to end this moment but knowing the treatment's importance for potential future plans.

The basement's cool air wraps around me as I roll up to my desk, multiple monitors casting blue light across the space.

A quick check of the security feeds confirms what I expected – Atlas and Kieran took one of the vans, their tracking signal already miles away. Dante's signature shows up closer, the matte black car stationary at a nearby gas station.

Probably filling up after their last mission.

My hand finds the new prescription bottle with practiced ease. Just one tablet, but it represents so much possibility. The doctors seemed genuinely optimistic about this treatment regimen, suggesting it might actually reverse the degenerative effects rather than just slowing them.

Water washes the pill down as my mind drifts to the faster solution they'd mentioned – an injection similar to what I used during missions, but refined.

Instead of granting temporary mobility followed by crippling pain, it supposedly offers permanent improvement. But that requires approval from higher authorities, mountains of paperwork, and endless waiting.

Quickly checking the address of my Grandma’s bakery, I quickly survey the general space, noticing its being used for a medical corp, but it doesn’t bother or worry me. Those can easily be moved and bought when money is involved.

I secure everything with methodical precision, double-checking monitors before heading to the elevator. The gentle hum of machinery accompanies my ascent, a sound so familiar I barely notice it anymore.

But something feels off as the doors slide open to the main floor.

The world tilts suddenly, reality spiraling like a carnival ride gone wrong. My vision blurs at the edges, turning the familiar hallway into a twisted tunnel.

What the fuck?

My heart begins to race as panic builds, each beat feeling too fast, too hard against my ribs.

"No, no, no," I mutter, jamming my hand between the elevator doors before they can close. The emergency button glows red under my trembling fingers as I press it, muscle memory guiding me to activate the distress signal on my wheelchair next.

"Vale?" Nyx's voice carries from the end of the hall, confusion quickly morphing into terror as she processes my condition.

Her eyes widen with recognition of a genuine emergency, feet already moving toward me with desperate speed.

I want to stop her, to ease the panic I see spreading across her features. My body betrays me as I try to rise from the chair, legs refusing to cooperate as the world continues its sickening spin. Gravity shifts without warning, the floor rushing up to meet me with brutal force.

But the impact never comes.

Instead, I'm falling through endless space, reality fracturing around me like shattered glass. Each heartbeat thunders in my ears, too fast, too erratic, each pulse carrying fear of being the last.

Nyx's voice reaches me through growing darkness, my name torn from her throat with pure desperation.

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