Page 65 of Devoted

I wanted Zeke to be mine. For us to explore this connection which was unlike anything I’d felt before. To see if our chemistry was as blazing hot in real life as it had been over the phone. Tounderstand if Zeke truly meant what he said about my mental health not bothering him.

Or if the reality would send him running, the same way it did everyone else.

I shouldn’t even have been thinking about this now. I needed to focus on the damage that might’ve been done. And calling the police—I hadn’t actually done it earlier, too scared the intruders would hear me.

Despite what Micah and Zeke had said, I couldn’t bring myself to step outside my bedroom door. I’d worked so hard to make this my safe space, and tonight had ruined that.

I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get the feeling of safety back. Not here, at least. How could I, when I couldn’t even bring myself to walk down the stairs?

Like he could sense me starting to spiral, Zeke slipped his hand into mine. “Come on, let’s go check this out together.”

Together.Somehow, Zekehad managed to stem the tide of my anxiety so that only a trickle was able to break free. With him at my side everything felt…easier. Who knew, maybe I’d be able to find a way to keep him there.

‘That’ll never happen.’

Zeke’s hand tightened around mine. It gave me the confidence to counter the thought.

It might not. But I’m going to give it a shot anyway.

It took another stab.

‘You’ll end up heartbroken. You’ll never know love again.’

Zeke smiled at me encouragingly, his thumb sweeping over the back of my hand.

Maybe. But I’m never going to know love at all if I let you win.

For the first time in years, there was no response.

14

Ezekiel

There were so many thoughts swirling around in my mind, but they all centred around the same theme.

Sam was my mate.

And he was frightened.

Rightly so. From what I knew about him, his home was his sanctuary, the place he retreated to when the world became too much.

It wasn’t that any longer. What was more, this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. It made me want to take him back to the compound, where nothing and no one could ever threaten his peace again.

Knowing what he’d told me about touch grounding him, I held his hand firmly. When we walked down the stairs, I went a step ahead of him, keeping my grip on him.

I hadn’t taken in much of the house when I’d burst inside. My focus had been on getting to Sam. I glanced around it now, not wanting to take my attention off him for long. It was small but homely. We were in his living room, surrounded by two sofas and a coffee table. A TV was on the wall with a games console beneath it. Beside that was another door that seemed to lead to the kitchen.

Sam exhaled beside me. “It looks fine. Better than fine, actually. I can’t remember the last time it looked this tidy.”

I wasn’t surprised—the Seraphim were excellent at making a location look as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. It was a necessary skill given how often we were called in to cover up supe activity. “If anything isn’t where it’s supposed to be, just say and I’ll fix it.”

“It’s fine,” Sam said quietly. “Honestly, I’m so grateful.”

He looked towards the kitchen and paled. “They broke a window.”

“Yes.” I remembered the sound of the glass smashing vividly. With my supe senses, I’d had no problem hearing it even over the phone. “It will have been cleared up though. I imagine they will have covered the window with some boxes or whatever they could find. I can have someone out first thing in the morning though when…”

My voice trailed off when I realised Sam hadn’t moved. He was still staring, swaying slightly on the spot. “Sam?”

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