Chapter 10 Fallout

1:23 a.m. - The Shack

The group had made it back.

Barely.

Luca was asleep on the couch, a pistol under his arm. Cameron had locked every door. Jaxon stood outside, keeping watch.

And inside, the air was still electric - not with fear anymore, but with everything unspoken.

Mira sat on the floor by the fire, hair damp, a blanket slipping off her shoulder.

Ivy walked past, heading to the kitchen... and stopped.

Their eyes met.

Neither spoke.

But the heat between them said enough.

Ivy & Mira

"I thought they were going to take you," Ivy whispered.

"They tried," Mira said, voice trembling. "But I kept thinking... you'd come for me."

Ivy dropped to her knees in front of her.

"I would've burned the place down."

"You already burn me," Mira murmured.

Then she leaned in - hesitant.

Ivy didn't pull away.

Their kiss was slow, almost shy, but full of pressure long denied. Ivy's hand slid along Mira's jaw, fingers slipping into her hair, guiding her closer.

Mira pulled her into her lap, breath growing ragged. Their bodies fit together like puzzle pieces.

The fire crackled beside them, their lips tasting of smoke and fear.

But also of something deeper.

Of want.

Of need.

Of home.

Lena & Cameron

Lena sat on the rooftop, legs dangling over the edge, staring at the sea in the distance.

Cameron joined her without a word, two glasses of cheap whiskey in hand.

He passed her one. She drank it in a single swallow.

"Still want to hunt them?" he asked.

Lena's eyes glittered. "I want to tear them apart."

He smiled faintly. "God, you're beautiful when you're dangerous."

She turned to him. "You think I'm beautiful?"

"I think you're fire in human skin," he murmured, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. "And every time I get near you, I burn."

She leaned closer.

"This time," Lena whispered, "don't pull away."

He didn't.

Their kiss was rougher, needier. Her fingers dug into his shirt as he laid her back on the slanted roof, mouths moving like they were starving.

The wind blew. The sea hissed. But they only heard each other - lips, breaths, hearts.

They didn't make love.

They crashed into it.

Jaxon

Jaxon didn't sleep.

He stood by the door, shirt off, sweat drying on his skin as he watched the moonlight spill across the porch.

He had kissed Lena.

Then she kissed Cameron.

It shouldn't hurt.

But it did.

And then-

A soft sound behind him.

He turned.

Lena.

Wrapped in a blanket, her eyes glowing.

She stepped toward him without speaking, placed her fingers gently against his chest.

"I saw you watching," she whispered.

"You kissed him."

"I needed to feel something," she breathed. "I still do."

Jaxon gritted his teeth. "You're playing us both."

She tilted her head. "Or maybe I'm the one being played."

He grabbed her wrist. "Say it."

"That I want you?" she asked, stepping closer.

She brushed her lips over his collarbone.

"I do."

Then she kissed him - softer than before, slower, full of guilt and wanting.

And for once, Jaxon let himself feel.

Luca

Luca opened his eyes.

Alone in the dark.

He heard the kisses.

The whispers.

The lies.

And he smiled.

Because no one had asked how he survived.

No one asked how he found them.

And no one knew...

He wasn't here to save them.

He was here to finish what Viktor started.