The officers, weary and eager to be done with the whole ordeal, exchanged glances. The younger one scribbled in his notepad, while the older gave a perfunctory nod. "It happens," he said. "We'll keep an eye out, ma'am, but chances are it was just some kids, like you said. These things rarely escalate."
Nelly gave them a tight smile, one that didn't reach her eyes. She adjusted Adelita against her chest.
Mark, still holding May, turned to protest, but the officers were already heading back to their cruiser. Their lights dimmed, the engines roared to life, and within minutes they were gone, leaving the driveway cloaked once more in uneasy silence.
"I'll take a shower and head directly to bed." Nelly said wearily. She offered May a quick, reassuring smile before disappearing into the house with Adelita balanced in her arms.
Mark, however, wasn't ready to let go of the unease bubbling inside him. He turned sharply to May, his eyes searching her face as though the truth would be written there if she just held still long enough. "What happened?"
May swallowed hard, her body trembling from the memory of Kingsley's presence only hours ago. "He was here," she whispered. "Kingsley. I don't know what Nelly said to him, but…he left." Saying the name out loud again sent a chill through her, as though uttering it might call him back from the shadows.
Mark's brows pulled together. "So where did you go? Why didn't you call me? Or come over? May, I live two houses away from you. Two. And instead you vanish into the night without a word."
Her lips trembled. "I wasn't thinking." She wanted to scream that her mind hadn't been hers to control.
"But you were thinking clearly enough that the first person you ran to was Kade."
"No," she protested quickly, shaking her head. "I didn't even know where we were going. Miss Nelly just asked me to get in the car."
Mark's gaze flicked toward the house, toward the space where Kade had vanished minutes earlier with his bag slung over his shoulder and his indifference. Of course. Kade had been Nelly's first call, not him. The realization stung.
He tried to steady his breathing, but the bitter taste of jealousy lingered on his tongue. "What's his plan?" he asked finally.
May shook her head helplessly. "Mark, I don't know. I don't know anything." Her hands fluttered helplessly at her sides. "I am not being told anything. I didn't even know the name of the place we went to find him. I feel like…" She stopped. "I feel like an observer. Like my life is being moved around on a chessboard and I'm just the piece no one explains the rules to."
Tears bubbled up despite her best effort to stay strong. "I haven't had a bath, I haven't had any sleep since last night. I…" She covered her face with her hands as the sobs finally forced their way out, raw and unrestrained.
Mark reached for her instinctively, his arms wrapping around her shoulders, pulling her against his chest. "Hey, hey, it's alright," he murmured, though the edge of resentment still clung to his tone. He wanted to comfort her, but every word she spoke reminded him that he wasn't the one she turned to in her fear—that another man, a stronger man, had filled that role.
And though May let herself collapse into his embrace, the image of Kade's steady gaze lingered at the edges of her mind. He hadn't said a word, hadn't even looked back at her when he entered the house—but she felt him everywhere.
"It's okay… it's okay. Get some rest." Mark smoothed a hand down May's trembling arm, his thumb grazing her wrist in a touch meant to soothe. "I'll go inform my parents you are okay. Mum has been worried out of her mind."
May's throat was too tight for words, so she whispered the only thing she could manage. "Thank you, Mark."
"It's okay," he repeated softly, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head, lingering there for a moment. "I'll see you in the morning." He held her a beat longer, reluctant to let go, reluctant to leave her in a house where another man's presence loomed like a shadow in the hallway. Finally, he stepped away, his footsteps fading until the night swallowed him whole.
May closed the door slowly, her fingers lingering on the handle as though keeping it shut could keep the chaos of the world out. But when she turned, reality greeted her in shards—literal shards scattered across the floor, glittering under the dim light. The jagged edges mocked her, reminders of how easily her life had been shattered with Kingsley's return.
She forced herself into motion, opening the closet with hands that wouldn't stop shaking. She pulled out a broom and dustpan, the simple domestic tools suddenly feeling absurdly small against the enormity of the storm crashing through her life. Next, she reached for the bucket, carried it to the sink, and filled it with water.
Her body trembled violently as she began sweeping, each scratch of the broom against the floor scraping against her nerves. Tears blurred her vision, yet she kept working, because if she stopped moving, she'd collapse. Her sobs broke free in jagged gasps. She pressed her lips together, trying to quiet herself, but the sound of her pain filled the house anyway.
She wouldn't escape him. No matter how far she ran, Kingsley would always find her. He was the kind of darkness that lingered even in daylight. And now—now she had dragged others into the mess. Miss Nelly. Adelita. Mark. Even Kade.
Kade stood behind her. His dark eyes tracked every shudder of her shoulders, every tremor in her hands, every sob that slipped through her lips.
He wanted to reach for her. His fingers twitched with the urge to touch, to gather her against him, to whisper that Kingsley was nothing but a mosquito—a pest he could squash in a single hand. The thought of her fear, of her tears, stoked the fire in his chest until it burned like an inferno. His wolf clawed inside him, demanding he take her in his arms and swear that nothing would ever harm her again.