It wasn’t the sunlight streaming through open curtains that woke me, but Beta Drake’s gruff baritone. His voice drowned out the steady thud of Asher’s heart which was right below where my head was resting.

‘Lola, are you with Asher right now?’

My spine protested angrily as I rolled off Asher’s chest, which I had been sprawled across seconds ago, and plopped down on the floor. The last thing I remembered was being wrapped in his arms, letting his warmth and strength flow into me as I told him how Breyona almost died.

I didn’t want to tell him what I’d done. There wasn’t a single part of me that regretted it, not once I saw the look of pure relief in Giovanni’s eyes and knew how close he had been to snapping, but I was still ashamed and horrified. There was no telling what or who they would take.

Instead of saying the words out loud, I let Asher relive every agonizing second through our bond. Every