FINNIAN
The moonlight painted everything silver.
I hovered above the maze, my wings barely moving. The night air was cold against my face, but I did not feel it. My eyes were fixed on the paths below. On the hedges. On the shadows moving between them.
Jayce had found her.
Of course he had. Jayce always found what he wanted first. He always took. He always claimed. He never asked. He never waited.
I watched from above as he cornered her in the dead end. I watched him kiss her forehead. Her nose. Her lips. I watched his hands slide into her hair like he owned her.
My chest tightened.
Jealousy.
I did not like the feeling. It was hot. Ugly. It made me want to fly down and push him away. It made me want to grab her for myself.
But I did not move.
I waited.
Jayce finally pulled back. He said something to her—I could not hear the words—and then he stepped into the shadows and disappeared.
She was alone.
I descended.
My wings made no sound. My feet touched the ground like falling leaves. I stood at the end of the path and watched her.
She stumbled out of the dead end. Her hands were shaking. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Then she tried to fix her hair, pushing the dark strands away from her face.
She did not see me.
She never saw me. I was the quiet one. The one who watched from the corners. The one who spoke很少 and observed everything.
I cleared my throat.
She spun around. Her eyes went wide. Her face went pale. Her lips parted in a small gasp.
"You," she whispered.
I stepped closer. My silver wings folded against my back. My boots made soft sounds on the stone path, but in the silence of the maze, they sounded like drums.
"Me," I said.
She backed away. Her shoulders hit the hedge. The white flowers trembled behind her.
"What do you want?" she asked. Her voice was shaking.
I did not answer. I kept walking toward her. Slow. Steady. Each step brought me closer. Each step made her press harder against the hedge.
My wolf stirred inside me.
Claim her, he growled. Mark her. Take her. Now.
I ignored him.
I stopped when I was close enough to touch her. I looked down at her face. At her scared eyes. At her trembling lips. At the tear tracks still wet on her cheeks.
"Jayce is rough," I said. My voice came out flat. Cold. "I am not."
She said nothing.
I reached out and took her hand.
Her fingers were cold. They trembled in mine. I wrapped my hand around hers and held on. I did not let go.
"Come with me."
I did not wait for an answer. I pulled her gently down the path. Around the corner. Through a gap in the hedges that opened into a small clearing I had found years ago.
A stone bench sat in the center. White flowers grew along the edges. The moonlight poured down like silver water, turning everything soft and pale.
I sat her down.
She looked up at me. Her brown eyes were confused. Scared. Curious.
"What are you—" she started.
I knelt in front of her.
Her breath caught. Her hands gripped the edge of the bench.
I took her chin in my fingers. Gently. Carefully. I tilted her face up toward the moonlight.
"I have been waiting for you my whole life," I said.
Her lips parted. No words came out.
I kissed her.
Slow. Deep. Romantic.
My hands did not wander. They stayed on her face, her chin, her jaw. I did not grab her hair. I did not pull her closer. I did not push her against the bench.
I simply kissed her like she was something precious. Something fragile. Something worth protecting.
She did not resist.
Her hands came up and rested on my shoulders. Her fingers curled into the fabric of my shirt. She kissed me back.
My heart beat faster. My wolf paced inside me, snarling, wanting more. But I did not rush. I did not push. I just kissed her until she forgot to breathe.
When I finally pulled back, her eyes were dazed. Her lips were wet. Her cheeks were flushed. She stared at me like she had never seen me before.
"Why?" she whispered.
"Why what?"
"Why are you being gentle? Jayce was rough. Darlington will probably be... I do not know what Darlington will be. But you..." She swallowed. "You are different."
"I know."
"Why?"
I looked at her for a long moment. Her face. Her lips. Her eyes.
"Because someone has to be," I said.
She blinked. "What does that mean?"
"It means Jayce will chase you. He will tease you. He will drive you crazy. Darlington will protect you. He will keep you safe. He will hold you when you cry." I paused. "And I will watch."
"Watch?"
"I watch everything. I see everything. I know when you are lying. I know when you are scared. I know when you want something but are too afraid to ask."
Her face went red. "I do not—"
"You do," I interrupted. "You wanted Jayce to kiss you longer. You wanted him to stay. You wanted him to hold you instead of leaving you alone in the dead end."
She did not deny it.
I reached up and touched her cheek. My thumb brushed away a tear I had not noticed.
"I will not leave you alone," I said. "Not tonight. Not ever."
Her eyes searched my face. "You do not even know me."
"I know enough."
"What do you know?"
I leaned closer. My lips brushed her ear. "I know that you are scared. I know that you are lonely. I know that you pretend to be strong but you cry yourself to sleep at night."
She shivered.
I pulled back and looked at her.
"Better than Jayce?" I asked.
She blinked. "What?"
"Was that better than Jayce's kiss?"
She stared at me. Her lips parted. Closed. Parted again.
"I... I do not know," she finally said.
I almost smiled. Almost.
"That is okay," I said. "You do not have to decide tonight."
I stood up. My knees cracked. I had been kneeling too long.
She looked up at me from the bench. Her hands were still gripping the edge. Her hair was still messy. Her lips were still wet.
"Stay here," I said. "Darlington will come soon. He will want his turn."
"What about you?"
I looked down at her. "I will be watching."
I stepped back into the shadows at the edge of the clearing. I folded my wings and leaned against the hedge. I crossed my arms over my chest.
She could still see me. I was not hiding. I was just... waiting.
She stared at me for a long moment. Then she turned her face toward the moon and let out a slow breath.
Neither of us spoke.
The night was quiet. The flowers glowed. And somewhere in the maze, Darlington was searching for us.
But for now, it was just me and her.
And that was enough.