Chapter 84
Chapter 84
There’s a funny thing about lying.
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People think the worst part is being caught, but that’s not true. The real hell is watching someone you love do it to your face and pretending you don’t see it.
It’s the way their eyes flicker–just for a second–the way their breath catches, the way they say your name just a little too carefully. But mostly, it’s the way they look at you afterward. It looks as though they’re begging you to believe them, even when they know you shouldn’t.
That’s the look Enoch is giving me now.
“No,” he says, fast and sure. “No one could ever look like you.”
He doesn’t hesitate, but his jaw tenses. A tiny, barely–there movement, but I catch it because I know him. His grip on me tightens, fingers pressing against my waist as if anchoring me in place. Then he kisses me, hard and claiming, though he can shove the words down my throat and make me swallow them whole.
I let him.
Because what else am I supposed to do? Call him a liar to his face? Demand answers I already know he won’t give me?
Instead, I smile–fake and easy. I let my fingers skim along his shoulders, curling behind his neck as if nothing’s wrong.
But I feel it. The crack.
A jagged little fracture in the illusion I let myself believe.
Across the room, Brooke is watching. Her gaze slides from me to Enoch, then back again, smug and knowing. I know she thinks she just watched a glass shatter and is waiting to see how long I’ll pretend the pieces aren’t slicing into me.
I hold her stare for a second longer than I should, then look away.
Because no matter how much my stomach knots, no matter how much I want to grab Enoch and demand the truth, I can’t afford to fall apart.
Not now.
So I let him lead. Let the music guide us. Let the warmth of his hands fool me into thinking I can be happy, just for a moment. But my mind is already somewhere else.
By the time we get home, I’ve made up my mind.
I’m done waiting for the truth to be handed to me. If I want it, I’ll have to take it.
**
The second I step inside my apartment, I kick off my heels, toss my bag onto the couch, and scrub a hand down my face. My head is a mess, my heart even worse.
Zoe’s voice echoes in my mind. Tread carefully, Taryn. Liam’s not the kind of boss you can charm your way around.
Yeah, no shit. Liam Calloway isn’t just my boss–he’s the kind of man who sees everything. The kind who gives you a task with just enough rope to either prove yourself or hang yourself with. And he gave me one hell of an assignment.
Write about Enoch.
30 Mar
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Chapter 84
His fears. His past. The controversies surrounding him.
Make him look good.
The words feel heavy.
I sink into the chair, open my laptop, and stare at the blank document which I’d say holds the answer to my entire life.
Enoch Blackwell. Lycan King. The man who barely escaped death and came back stronger.
My fingers hover over the keyboard.
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I should know what to write. I’ve seen him at his best. I’ve seen him at his worst. I’ve seen him when the weight of the world was on his shoulders and when he dropped it all just to look at me like I was the only thing keeping him breathing.
And yet, the words won’t come.
Because no matter how much I try to push it down, there’s something gnawing at the edges of my mind.
The photograph at the archive.
A girl who looks just a little too much like me.
I exhale sharply, flex my fingers, and force my focus back to the screen.
This isn’t about me.
This is about my job.
If I want to find out the truth about my parents–about where I came from, what happened to them, why I ended up in Riverstone to begin with–I need to keep this job. I need Liam to trust me. And that means doing exactly what he asked.
No second–guessing. No hesitating.
I start typing.
The soft chime of my phone barely makes a sound. But to me, it might as well be a gunshot.
I glance at the screen, pulse tightening.
Incoming call: Gamma Abel.
I hesitate. The shower is still running. Steam curls from beneath the bathroom door, muffling everything but the steady rush of water. Enoch won’t hear.
I swipe to answer. “Yeah?”
“Taryn.” Abel’s voice is steady, but there’s an edge to it. Something cautious. “You alright?”
I force a dry chuckle. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
He doesn’t laugh. Doesn’t feed into my deflection. “You tell me.”
I rub at my temple. Of course he sees through me. Abel always does.
“I’m fine,” I mutter. “We’re leaving tomorrow.”
Silence stretches. Then-“That was fast.”
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Chapter 84
Fast.
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Funny, because five days in the Maldives with Enoch felt anything but fast. It felt like something stolen. Temporary. A dream so fragile I knew better than to hold onto it too tightly.
Abel exhales. “The pack is restless. People are talking. His absence–your absence–it’s not sitting right. The Elders are circling like vultures.”
I shut my eyes. Of course they are. They’ve been waiting for Enoch to falter, to give them a reason to sink their teeth in.
“Just…” Abel hesitates. Then his voice dips, quiet but firm. “Make sure you know what you’re doing.”
A cold, hollow feeling creeps into my chest.
I don’t.
Not really.
But I won’t say that.
Instead, I lift my chin and steady my voice. “I always do.”
Abel doesn’t call me on the lie. He just sighs. “Take care of yourself, Taryn.”
The line clicks dead.
I drop my phone onto the mattress, exhaling hard.
The shower shuts off.
My heart jerks.
I snap my laptop shut just as the bathroom door swings open, steam spilling into the room.
Enoch steps out, a towel slung low around his hips, hair damp and curling at the edges. His skin gleams under the golden light, broad shoulders flexing as he rakes a hand through his hair.
His eyes flick to my laptop.
Then to me.
A slow, creeping awareness settles in his expression.
But before I can react, he moves.
The mattress dips as he settles behind me, his heat pressing into
my
back.
His arms circle my waist, slow and deliberate.
“You think too much.” His voice is a low murmur against my skin, lips grazing my shoulder.
A shiver rolls down my spine. Not from the cold. From the way his words sink in, velvet and possessive. As if he knows I’m hiding something.
He’s waiting for me to break.
His fingers slide lower, splaying against my stomach, pulling me closer. “Sleep.”
I can’t.
11:35 Sun, 30 Mar
Chapter 84
But I don’t say that.
Instead, I let him pull me under the covers, his scent wrapping around me, his breath warm at my ear.
We leave the Maldives the next morning.
Five days.
That’s all I allowed.
Now it’s over.
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The jet hums softly beneath us, the steady vibration seeping into my skin as I lean against the plush leather seat. Outside, the sky is endless, the deep blue stretching forever.
I should feel relieved.
I don’t.
My phone dings.
I glance down.
Liam: How’s it going? When are you coming back?
A shadow falls over me.
I don’t need to look up.
I feel him.
The shift in the air, the sudden, crackling tension.
I lift my gaze.
Enoch stands over me, watching.
No–watching my screen.
Something dark unfurls in his golden eyes.
His fingers twitch at his side. His jaw locks.
Then-
He reaches for my phone.
I yank it back. “Enoch-”
His head tilts. The muscle in his jaw ticks.
The air inside the cabin thickens, slow and suffocating.
Possessive.
Predatory.
The jet door seals shut.
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Chapter 84
There’s nowhere to run.
AD
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