Feral.
Unmoving.
“I’m not walking away from this,” I say.
My voice doesn’t shake.
That’s new.
Something shifts instantly. Not relief. Not quite.
Something sharper.
More dangerous.
Kai’s jaw tightens. Koa’s fingers flex against the sofa. Finn’s posture adjusts just slightly—like he’s bracing without meaning to.
Sol doesn’t move at all.
He just watches me.
“I felt it before the terrace,” I continue, quieter now, but no less certain. “That’s why it hit like it did. Not because of the bet.”
I swallow.
“Because it was already there.”
The admission lands heavier than I expect.
“With you,” I say, looking at Kai. “When you push me and I push back – and I hate that I don’t want you to stop.”
His breath catches, subtle but there.
“With you,” I say to Koa, softer. “When I kissed you and it didn’t feel like a game. It felt…right.”
His fingers tighten slightly against the fabric beneath him.
“With you,” I say, turning to Finn. “Before I knew any of this. I missed you. I just didn’t understand why.”
Something cracks, just for a second, before he locks it down again.
“And with you,” I finish, looking back at Sol. “When you bit me. When you bled for me. When you refused to leave.”
The space between us feels smaller now. Thicker. Like the air itself is reacting.
“I don’t think this is recoil,” I say quietly. “Or sickness. Or something that needs fixing.”
No one interrupts.
No one looks away.
“I think it’s all of you.”
Silence drops hard and fast.
It’s Finn who breaks it.
“We didn’t tell you,” he says carefully.