Chapter 26
TWENTY-SIX
SOL
I should leave.
The thought comes back as I sit in the dark, watching her sleep. But this time it doesn’t even pretend to sound reasonable.
Her breathing is shallow again. Too fast. Her body shifts restlessly, knees drawing in like she’s chasing relief she can’t name.
Heat rolls off her in waves I can feel from the chair. She whimpers softly, curling tighter into the sheets, chasing something she doesn’t have enough strength to understand yet.
My chest tightens.
My eyes go back to her neck.
The bite hasn’t improved. If anything, it looks worse.
I know that mark. I know the exact pressure. The way my jaw locked when instinct took over. The moment I told myself it didn’t matter because she was a beta.
She is a beta.
She has to be.
My phone is already in my hand before I let myself think better of it.
Beta Bait opens with a soft glow, lighting the room just enough to feel obscene. I don’t hesitate typing the username.
TidalDominance: You okay?
The message sends.
I stare at the screen.
Nothing happens.
Then—
A soft buzz cuts through the room.
Not my phone.
Hers.
My head snaps up.
Her phone lights on the bedside table, screen glowing faintly in the dark.
Beta Bait: You have a new message from TidalDominance. Log in to continue the chase.
The words blur.
My stomach drops so hard it feels like the floor tilts beneath me.
No.
No, no, no.
That shouldn’t be possible. She shouldn’t—
She stirs faintly, a broken sound slipping from her throat, and I freeze, heart hammering, waiting to see if she wakes.
She doesn’t.
Okay.
Think.
I repeat what I told myself before: She’s sick. That’s the variable. Maybe her body’s overloaded. That’s why the bite hasn’t healed properly. The sickness is stopping the mark from closing. Not the other way around. That has to be it. Because the alternative—
A smaller voice pushes through.
What if she’s not a beta?
Ice floods my veins. I shove the thought down hard. Ruthlessly. No.
Registries don’t get that wrong. Systems exist for a reason. She wouldn’t be on the app if she wasn’t verified. She’s a beta. She has to be.
But my eyes won’t leave the mark on her neck.
And my chest won’t stop tightening like my body already knows the truth—
Even if I refuse to say it out loud.