Page 133 of Pack Frenzy
I want to tell her to stop, but my jaw’s too tight to trust my voice.
Eli drops into the armchair, tablet already open, fingers moving through the Nexus portal like he can file the night into neat little boxes.
“We’ll submit before midnight,” he mutters. His tone is steady, but his free hand flexes against his thigh—pissed, just buried deeper.
I take the spot beside Jess, close enough that our knees almost touch. She needs room, but she also needs to feel we’re here, that none of us are going anywhere.
Behind the couch, Cassian paces, boots keeping a steady rhythm that winds him tighter each lap.
When Eli swears under his breath, something about the form auto-filling wrong, Jess flinches, a quick, sharp inhale that grinds against my teeth. She’s still scared. Still shaking. And Blake’s smug face won’t leave my head.
“Hey.” My voice comes out rougher than I want. Her eyes flick up, wide and wet. “You fought back. You made him bleed.”
Her lip trembles. “I shouldn’t have...what if Nexus…”
“Stop. He put his hands on you. That’s on him. You don’t apologize for that.”
Cassian halts, fists curling before he forces them open. He drops onto the other side of the couch, elbows braced on his knees, close enough that she’s bracketed between us.
“We got you out,” he says quietly. “And if he tries again, we’ll do worse than embarrass him.”
Eli still doesn’t look up, but keeps typing. “Next time,” he says, “punch him harder. Bastard deserves it.”
“Next time,” I echo, letting her hear the promise in it, “we don’t let him get that close.”
Jess exhales with a small, shaky breath she’s been holding since the parking lot. She leans into my shoulder.
The air conditioner kicks on, a low hum that fills the silence. Cassian drapes an arm across the back of the couch, touching her shoulder, and she edges closer anyway. She knows where the safe spots are—with all of us.
Eli flips on the TV to drown out the tension. A movie menu loops, and he scrolls until he lands on some old monster flick. “This time, no monsters.”
Cassian snorts, dragging a hand down his face. “Speak for yourself.”
Jess’s mouth twitches. It’s not quite a smile, but it’s the first crack in the tension since Blake.
“I’ll make popcorn,” Eli says, pushing to his feet. He disappears into the kitchen, and somehow the popcorn comes out perfect—no burnt pieces, no un-popped kernels.
I bring out an armful of water bottles and sodas. The blue glow from the screen spreads across the room as we eat.
“They’ll come after me for this, won’t they? Nexus?” Jess asks, glancing at each of us.
Eli shakes his head before I can answer. “You defended yourself. We requested the Security log every frame from the feed before we left.”
“Still.” Her fingers twist the fabric, and she stares down at her mermaid skirt. “Blake knows people. He’ll spin it.”
Cassian huffs—low, dangerous. “Let him try.”
I hook a finger under her chin until she meets my eyes. “We’re not letting Nexus distort this. Or you.” The truth steadies something in her; she nods once, and her shoulders drop a fraction.
For a few breaths, the only background noise is the movie—some hammer-fist hero stalking the woods—and the hum of the air conditioning.
“Did you find anything?” she asks after a moment. “About my friends?” Her voice lifts, a trace of hope. “Or Eli,” she smiles at him weakly, “...about my sister?”
Eli’s gaze meets mine over her head. He doesn’t need to say it.
“Not yet,” I tell her. “But we’re not done looking.”
She nods, mouth tightening like she expected that. “Okay.” A heartbeat later, softer: “Thank you.”
