Tangled Hearts.

~Chapter 23~

~Raelyn~

~March 21st, 2023~

Look, Colby and I had sex all the time. Like, all the time. We were basically on a just because it's Tuesday kind of schedule. Once or twice a week, minimum. Reckless? Absolutely. But we were convinced I couldn't get pregnant. Like, clinically certain. So naturally, we said screw protection—literally—and went about our business.

But it wasn't just about sex. I loved him. Genuinely, maddeningly, can't-function-when-he's-not-around kind of love. I hadn't seen him in a couple of weeks because school was turning us into two caffeinated zombies sprinting through different buildings at all hours. I missed him. Missed his laugh, his smell, even the way he never put the freaking cap back on the toothpaste.

So there I was, a peaceful Saturday night, plopped on my bed with my guitar, strumming through the chorus of a song I was writing called The Déjà Blues—because yes, I am dramatic and moody, and yes, I was going through Colby withdrawal like a Victorian widow with consumption—when someone knocked on the front door.

Which was weird. Because Blake was staying the night at Riley's, and I knew it wasn't Colby. He had plans with the guys. They were probably playing Xbox and screaming at each other about who stole whose kill or whatever it is boys do when left unsupervised.

I paused, confused, fingers still resting on my guitar strings. Then I set it on the stand, climbed off the bed, and tiptoed out of my room like someone in a horror movie who should know better than to check the creepy noise.

~Colby~

I was going insane. Full feral. Pacing my room like a wolf about to break through the drywall.

My heart was jackhammering in my chest, my skin felt like it was buzzing, and every cell in my body was screaming one name: Raelyn. It wasn't just my sex drive—though yeah, that was climbing the walls too—but this was deeper. Primal. Borderline spiritual. I hadn't seen her in days, and that absence felt like it was physically dismantling me from the inside out.

I needed her.

Now.

So I sprinted down the stairs of the trap house like my ass was on fire. I was halfway out the door when Sam intercepted me like an overprotective mom.

"Yo, dude, what's going on?" he asked, stepping in front of me like I was about to rob a bank barefoot.

"I don't know," I blurted, breathless. "I just—I need to see Raelyn. Right now. It's like... like I'm crawling out of my skin without her. I can't explain it."

Sam's eyebrows did a little worried dance. "Okay. Slow down. You're spiraling. Could be time to mark her."

I froze. "Mark her?"

"You're practically vibrating. Your wolf's losing it. If you're feeling that strong of a pull, it's probably the bond ramping up. You should talk to her. But don't force it—only if you're ready."

I nodded once, tight and desperate. "Yeah. No. You're right. I—I gotta go."

"Be safe," he called after me, like I was heading into war. Which, honestly, it felt like I was.

I yanked my keys off the hook, peeled out of the driveway like I was racing the devil, and floored it all the way to Rae's place, every red light testing my last thread of patience.

When I got there, I didn't knock politely.

I pounded.

And when she opened the door—