Page 78 of A Rift in the House of Bruin

“Well, well. I gotta say, I didn’t think you’d actually pull it off,” an unknown male said above me. “Stand up!” he barked.

Slowly, I got to my feet. Jase stood in front of me. His expression was blank. Guarded. There weren’t just one, but two guards waiting. They clearly knew exactly where we’d be. And worse—they were completely uninterested in Jase.

“It wasn’t easy,” he said quietly.

It wasn’t easy? The world tilted. My thoughts reeled as the truth slammed into me with devastating force.

“Jase?” My voice was barely a whisper. I stared at him, searching his face—pleading silently for answers.

He simply looked away, refusing to make eye contact, dismissing me.

No. No, this couldn’t be real. He wouldn’t… he couldn’t have. Not after everything. Not after what we’d shared. The long nights. The trust. The bond we’d started to build.

But the guards weren’t guessing. They were waiting. And Jase hadn’t been caught.

He’d delivered me.

The guards moved in, each one grabbing an arm with force. “Johan’s waiting,” one muttered. “He wants her in her old room.”

There was no point in resisting. No one would defend me here. Not even the male I’d trusted. Jase had walked me straight into the dragon’s lair and laid me at its feet.

And the worst part?

I’d walked in willingly

The sweet, intoxicating scent of her still clung to the walls of the shelter we’d been sharing.

But she was gone.

The hollowness in my chest confirmed it. I’d always felt the pieces of my soul that didn’t belong to me, but now that we’d sealed our bond, now that we’d given ourselves to each other, I recognize the strands that wove us together. And I could feel her slipping away from me.

I pinched the bridge of my nose to dull the gnawing ache in my skull as I watched Lucius lose his head.

“He fucking took her against her will!” he shouted, tearing through the room.

“You don’t know that for certain,” Luca countered. Ever the optimist.

“You’ve seen the way he’s been acting—his stories don’t add up,” Lucius barked.

“You said the two of you have some kind of mental connection. Can’t you reach out to her?” Luca asked.

“I don’t know how it works,” Lucius snapped. “I’ve tried. Either she’s too far, or he’s done something to her.”

“Or maybe she’s just blocking you out. You are kind of a prick most of the time.”

I held my breath, waiting for Lucius to start throwing fists. But he just glared, rage dancing in his eyes.

“She would have left a note. She would have told me!” He grabbed a chair, the only piece of furniture we had in the room, and slammed it to the floor. It shattered instantly, pieces of wood scattering across the shelter.

Lucius hadn’t always had such a short fuse and a foul temper. Life had molded the sweet boy I once knew into a barely-contained fury. A blessing and a curse of being the youngest son. He was allowed to wear his emotions plainly while I had to keep mine always under wraps.

I stroked my beard, watching the spectacle as I carefully weighed my next words. I’d learned at a very early age that words held great power, and it was ill-advised to speak before knowing your heart. At the moment, mine was torn.

Lucius had been quick to pass judgment, grasping for any excuse to accuse Jase of the ultimate betrayal. It was true—his accounts never quite lined up, and odd occurrences seemed to trail in his wake. Now I had to decide if I’d been blind to them all along? Or had Lucius’s paranoia clouded my judgment?

Being the eldest gave me a different perspective and a crushing sense of responsibility for them. I couldn’t bring myself to believe Jase was capable of betraying us.

“She didn’t even bring her pack,” Lucius growled, chucking her still-full bag at me. “He took her by force. And I swear to the Divine, Nico, I will kill him when we find him.”

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