Romance

  Jacob&#39;s Perspective
  My girl was back.
  The words echoed in my mind like a tremor of pure sweetness, making my hands tremble slightly on the wheel. It wasn&#39;t fear. It was a dizzying, weightless joy, the kind that made me feel like if this rustbucket of a pickup decided to take flight, I&#39;d just ride it out with a grin plastered on my face.
  Celena had forgiven me.
  She&#39;d actually said it. She&#39;d looked right at me with those eyes, stripped of all their defensive edges, and said those words in a voice soft enough to break my heart. It wasn&#39;t a dream. The celebratory honks and whistles from Lily&#39;s SUV behind us were proof enough. Dave and that lunatic twin Jim were probably still hollering.
  And that kiss. God above, that kiss.
  I could still taste the salt—hers or mine?—and feel the profound shift as she finally, completely relaxed into my embrace. The tr

  Lily&#39;s Perspective
  The chaotic glow of emergency lights and the rising black smudge of smoke on the interstate grew smaller and smaller in the distance, finally swallowed by the rolling horizon. Xavier guided the SUV down an exit ramp, turning onto a narrow country road lined with overgrown weeds and sprawling oak trees. The world went abruptly quiet, the silence filled only by the steady shush of tires on asphalt and the subdued breathing of the five of us.
  Silence settled over the cabin like a heavy, damp blanket.
  My knuckles ached, bone-white from gripping the steering wheel. The order to turn around and retreat had come from my mouth, but each word had felt like a barbed hook being dragged from my throat.
  I knew it was right… we’d had no real choice. I was the leader of this team. The safety of everyone in this vehicle, the very survival of our entire pack, rested on my

  Celena&#39;s Perspective
  The pickup truck ate up the highway, its engine growling, the scenery outside blurring into streaks of color. Wind whipped through the half-open window, tangling my hair and carrying Jacob&#39;s familiar scent—pine, sweat, and that uniquely warm, wild essence that was his alone.
  I drew a deep breath, filling my lungs with it. Suddenly, a feeling I hadn&#39;t experienced in a very long time rose within me, like a dormant spring beginning to flow once more.
  Back then—when I was observed like a lab rat in Karl&#39;s basement—Brett had been like a brother, my first taste of familial warmth. But Jacob, after my escape… he had replaced Brett, becoming something even more essential. Jacob was the one who could read my silences, who offered his jacket when I shivered, who sat with me through the night, listening to my incoherent ramblings after a nightmare until 

Jacob&#39;s Perspective
  My girl was back.
  The words echoed in my mind like a tremor of pure sweetness, making my hands tremble slightly on the wheel. It wasn&#39;t fear. It was a dizzying, weightless joy, the kind that made me feel like if this rustbucket of a pickup decided to take flight, I&#39;d just ride it out with a grin plastered on my face.
  Celena had forgiven me.
  She&#39;d actually said it. She&#39;d looked right at me with those eyes, stripped of all their defensive edges, and said those words in a voice soft enough to break my heart. It wasn&#39;t a dream. The celebratory honks and whistles from Lily&#39;s SUV behind us were proof enough. Dave and that lunatic twin Jim were probably still hollering.
  And that kiss. God above, that kiss.
  I could still taste the salt—hers or mine?—and feel the profound shift as she finally, completely relaxed into my embrace. The trust in that surrender was everything. And beneath it all, thrumming back to life like a reconnec

Chapter 235