Page 137 of Without a Trace
The screen door creaked behind me.
Rhett stepped out, running a hand through his mess of curls. No grin. No smartass remark.
“It’s not in the metal, Scar,” Rhett added, voice lower now, no trace of teasing. “It’s in you.”
Alden finally moved, slow and heavy as he stepped forward. His gaze flicked to my bracelet before settling on me.
He looked at me. Then at the others. “Maybe we should start from the beginning.”
I crossed my arms. “Please do. Because right now it sounds like we’re talking about some kind of sex curse.”
Zeke huffed out a breath but didn’t argue.
“We’ve felt it for years,” Alden said, voice even. “Low burn. Always there. Especially when we—” He stopped himself. “—when things got intense.”
Trace ran a hand through his hair, fingers shaking. “We didn’t think it was real.”
I stared at him, then Zeke, then Trace and Rhett like they’d lost their minds. “I’m sorry—are you saying this is real? Like… actual magic?” I laughed once, sharp and humorless. “What's next? We’re doing blood rituals and glowing tattoos now?”
No one answered.
Zeke exhaled hard and ran his hand down his face. “It’s a bond.”
I blinked. “A what.”
“You heard him,” Alden said quietly. “It’s old. Rare. Not supposed to happen like this. Not between three people.”
His shoulders stiffened, but he didn’t turn.
“You’re serious?” A hollow laugh scraped out of me. “You want to throw in a prophecy while were at it?”
I stepped closer, porch boards groaning beneath my feet. The bay shimmered just beyond the railing—quiet and endless. I contemplated diving in headfirst. Letting the salt water swallow me whole. Anything would make more sense than this.
Still, no one spoke.
Until Zeke muttered, “It wasn’t supposed to seal. They knew the risks.”
The words landed like a slap.
My heart skidded. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
He finally turned—face unreadable, mouth a hard line. “It’s not personal.”
“You sure about that?”
“I’m just saying,” he said, low and restrained. “This kind of bond doesn’t just happen. It’s not random. It’s ancient. Tied to bloodlines, legacies, choices made a long time ago.”
I turned back toward them, every breath shaky and furious. “So what—you’ve all just known? Known something was wrong with me this whole time and didn’t say a word?”
“It’s not wrong,” Alden said, stepping closer. “It’s powerful.”
“But dangerous,” Zeke added, sharp.
I stared at them. “You bonded to me—and now you’re saying I’m dangerous?”
Trace stepped forward, slow. “We didn’t know it would be real. We felt things—we thought it was nothing. Thought it would pass. The mark burned, sure. During sex it—” He broke off, looking away.
Zeke dragged his hand down his face again. “There was an agreement. You could flirt. Feel. Want. But you weren’t supposed to seal it.”
