Then I go inside.
Trying not to think about how nothing feels quite the same anymore.
BETA BAIT
Beta Bait:Exciting news, Beta.TidalDominancehas reviewed your chase! Log on now to see what he had to say…
FOURTEEN
SOL
I don’t remember decidingto leave.
One second I’m standing on her porch with dirt under my nails and something tight and ugly in my chest, and the next I’m striding away like the ground’s on fire beneath my boots.
I don’t look back.
If I do, I might see it properly.
The air’s sharp with salt and leftover rain, the storm already a memory. Gulls wheel overhead like nothing happened. Like the beach wasn’t feral just hours ago.
Bullshit.
I head for the shoreline, letting the sand drag at my steps, letting the wind bite at my face. I need movement. Distance. Something loud enough to drown out the wrongness crawling under my skin.
I shouldn’t be thinking about her.
About the way she moved slower than usual. About the way she didn’t argue when I grabbed the heavier pots. About the way the scent hit meafterI’d already seen the mark.
Not fresh.
Not angry.
Just…there.
Could’ve been anything.
A bruise. A scrape. A clumsy kiss from some idiot who didn’t know when to stop.
My jaw tightens.
I reach the water and stop, staring out at the calm stretch of sea. It looks harmless now. Gentle. Like it couldn’t tear someone apart if it wanted to.
I rake a hand through my hair and exhale hard.
I’m reading into it.
That’s all this is.
She wouldn’t even be on the app if she wasn’t a beta. Registries don’t fuck that up. Filters are strict. Verified. Locked down.
And I didn’tclaimher.
I didn’t.
I bite down on the inside of my cheek, grounding myself in the sting.
Just teeth. Just skin. Just heat and adrenaline and a night that went too far.