11. Celina #3
At the edge of the set, she turned to face Osias, rising on her toes to press a quick kiss to his lips. “Thank you for telling me about Rennick.”
His blue eyes searched her face. “Are you sure you’re ready for this scene? We could ask them to postpone—“
“No.” The word came out sharper than she’d intended. “I need to finish this.”
She could see him fighting the urge to argue, his protective instincts warring with his respect for her autonomy. Finally, he nodded, though tension still radiated from every line of his body.
“I’ll be watching,” he said simply.
Celina made her way to where Braxton waited beside the platform, his green eyes bright with the focused energy that always preceded their more challenging scenes.
The prop car had been positioned to simulate the aftermath of a crash, its door hanging open and one wheel suspended over the platform’s edge.
“Ready for this?” Braxton asked, flashing his trademark smile.
She nodded, though her stomach churned with more than pre-scene nerves. The revelation about Rennick had left her feeling off-balance, questioning everything she thought she knew about the people in her life.
Focus, she told herself as they climbed the ladder to the platform. Just get through this scene.
The director called for quiet on the set, and Celina positioned herself halfway out of the prop car, her legs dangling over the edge of the platform.
The ground looked much farther away than ten feet from this angle, but she pushed down her unease.
She’d done more dangerous stunts before, and Braxton was a professional.
“Action!”
Celina let herself slip further out of the car, her character’s desperation and fear bleeding through as she called for help. Braxton’s hands found her arms, his grip strong and sure as he began pulling her back toward safety.
But then something went wrong.
Instead of hauling her fully into the car, Braxton’s grip loosened. Celina felt herself slipping, his hands no longer supporting her weight, and panic flooded her system as she began to fall.
She screamed—not as her character, but as herself, pure terror ripping from her throat as the ground rushed up to meet her.
Strong arms caught her before impact, the familiar scent of cedar and spice enveloping her as Osias absorbed the force of her fall. They tumbled to the ground together, his body cushioning hers as they rolled across the concrete floor.
For a moment, the set was completely silent except for the sound of her ragged breathing. Then chaos erupted as crew members rushed forward, the director shouting questions, and Braxton scrambled down from the platform with wide, shocked eyes.
“What the hell happened?” Osias’s voice cut through the noise like a blade as he helped Celina to her feet, his hands running over her arms and shoulders checking for injuries.
Braxton approached with his hands raised, his expression a perfect mask of confused innocence. “I don’t know, man. My grip just slipped. It all happened so fast.”
“Bullshit.” Osias stepped toward his stepbrother, and Celina could practically see the predator rising to the surface. “You’ve done a dozen scenes like this.”
“Accidents happen,” Braxton said, but there was a flicker of something in his eyes that didn’t match his words.
Celina watched the exchange with growing unease. The way Braxton had let go hadn’t felt like an accident. It had felt deliberate.
But why would he want to hurt her?
Osias looked ready to throw a punch, his entire body coiled with barely contained fury. The air around him seemed to shimmer with heat, and Celina realized his lion was dangerously close to the surface.
“Osias, please,” she said, stepping between the two men before the situation could escalate further. “I’m okay. Let’s just go home.”
For a moment, she thought he might ignore her intervention. His blue eyes had flared to molten gold, and every instinct was clearly screaming at him to defend his mate. But finally, he stepped back, his control reasserting itself through sheer force of will.
“This isn’t over,” he said quietly, the words carrying a promise.
Then Osias took her hand and guided her away from the set, past the concerned crew members and toward the parking lot where his Ferrari waited. Celina didn’t look back, but she could feel eyes watching their retreat.
Once they were in the car, her phone buzzed with an incoming text. Rennick’s name flashed on the screen, and her stomach clenched as she read his message: Celina, you need to get away from Osias. He’s dangerous.
She stared at the words, her mind reeling. After everything she’d just learned about Rennick’s true nature, after thirty years of manipulation disguised as protection, he had the audacity to warn her away from the one person who’d never tried to control her.
She deleted the message without responding and turned her phone face down in her lap. Whatever game Rennick was playing, whatever web of lies and manipulation he’d been weaving around her life, she was done being a pawn in it.