Chapter 14

The weight of three intense gazes bore down on me as I sat at the dining table, my mind spinning with their outlandish proposal. Share me? Like I was some possession to be passed around? Heat crept up my neck, a mixture of embarrassment and indignation burning beneath my skin.

Jean still stood by the kitchen doorway, arms crossed with a satisfied smirk that made me want to scream. The knowledge that she had been listening to this entire humiliating conversation only intensified my discomfort.

"I need a minute," I said finally, pushing my coffee away. "This is... a lot to process."

"Of course," Devin said gently, while Ara nodded with understanding.

Barry, however, continued to stare at me with those intense eyes, his jaw clenched tight. "You've had time," he said tersely. "It's a simple question. Yes or no?"

"Barry," Ara warned, but his brother ignored him.

The pressure was suffocating. Jean watching me with cruel amusement, Barry demanding an immediate answer, Devin and Ara analyzing my every expression—it was too much. My chest tightened, breaths coming in quick, shallow bursts as anxiety clawed its way through me.

"I can't do this," I blurted out, rising abruptly from my chair. "Not like this, not with an audience, not with ultimatums."

"So that's a no," Barry said flatly.

"I didn't say that," I countered, but the words sounded weak even to my own ears. "I just need space to think without being pressured."

Jean chuckled, the sound dripping with malice. "Oh, honey, you don't need to soften the blow. We all heard what you really meant."

"I didn't ask for your interpretation," I snapped at her.

"She's right though, isn't she?" Barry pushed, standing up now too. "All this talk about 'needing space' and 'being pressured'—those are just pretty ways of saying no."

"Barry, stop," Devin interjected. "You're making this worse."

"Am I?" Barry challenged, his voice rising. "Or am I just cutting through the bullshit? She thinks we're freaks. Just listen to how she talks about our bond—like it's some twisted, sick arrangement."

"That's not what I—" I tried to interject, but Jean cut me off.

"She called it 'insane' and 'twisted,' if I recall correctly," she said, examining her manicured nails with feigned disinterest. "Hardly the words of someone who's considering acceptance."

"See?" Barry gestured toward Jean. "Even she can see it."

"She's deliberately twisting my words!" I protested, panic rising in my throat. "I'm just overwhelmed. You can't expect me to immediately embrace something so... unconventional."

"Unconventional," Jean repeated with a sneer. "Another pretty word for 'abnormal.' For 'wrong.'"

Barry's face darkened, and for a moment, I could have sworn I saw a flash of gold in his eyes—a trick of the light, surely. "I knew this would happen," he growled. "I told you both she'd reject us once she knew the truth."

"Barry, I'm not rejecting anyone," I insisted, desperate now. "I just need time—"

"Time," he spat the word like it was poison. "Time to what? Find a way to let us down gently? Pretend you didn't look disgusted at the very thought of being with all of us?"

"That's enough!" Ara stepped between us, his back to me as he faced his brother. "You're letting your emotions cloud your judgment."

"And you're letting your dick cloud yours!" Barry roared, slamming his fist against the wall with such force that a nearby picture frame crashed to the floor, glass shattering across the hardwood.

The sudden violence made me flinch, stepping backward until I bumped against the sideboard. Jean's satisfied expression only fueled my growing distress.

"You see, Lina," she said silkily, "this is what they're really like when they don't get their way. Wild. Uncontrollable. Dangerous."

Barry's chest heaved with rapid breaths, his hands clenched into white-knuckled fists at his sides. When he looked at me again, those golden flecks danced in his irises, giving him an almost feral appearance.

"You think we're monsters," he said, his voice now eerily calm. "Don't you?"

"No, I—"

"Don't lie to me!" he roared, and this time I was certain—his eyes flashed gold for a split second, sending a jolt of primal fear through my system.

"Barry, you need to calm down," Ara said firmly, his stance widening as if preparing for a physical confrontation. "You're losing control."

"Control?" Barry laughed, a harsh, bitter sound. "Why bother? She sees us as animals anyway."

Before anyone could respond, he spun on his heel and stormed toward the door, shoving past Jean with such force that she stumbled against the wall.

"Barry!" Devin called after him, but his brother was already wrenching the door open.

"Let him go," Jean said smugly. "Let him run off like the beast he is."

The door slammed with such violence that the windows rattled in their frames. Through the dining room window, I watched as Barry sprinted across the manicured lawn, heading straight for the dense foliage of Ken Jungle.

"Dammit," Ara muttered, running a hand through his hair. "This is bad."

"We need to go after him," Devin said, already moving toward the door.

Guilt crashed over me in overwhelming waves. This was my fault. If I'd handled it differently, been clearer, been braver...

"I'll go," I said suddenly, surprising even myself.

Both brothers turned to look at me with identical expressions of alarm.

"Absolutely not," Ara said firmly. "It's not safe."

"He's upset because of me," I insisted. "I should be the one to explain, to make this right."

Jean laughed, a cold, cutting sound. "How noble. The little human wants to chase the big bad wolf into the woods."

"This isn't your responsibility, Lina," Devin said gently. "Barry has always had trouble controlling his temper."

"But I'm the reason he's upset right now," I countered, already moving toward the door. "I need to fix this."

Before they could stop me, I dashed out the door and sprinted across the lawn toward the jungle's edge. The transition from sunlight to shadow was jarring as I plunged between the trees. The temperature dropped, and birds scattered from branches overhead, startled by my sudden intrusion.

"Barry!" I called, scanning the dense foliage. "Barry, please! I want to talk!"

Only the rustling leaves answered. I pushed deeper into the jungle, following broken twigs and disturbed vegetation. The canopy thickened overhead, filtering the morning light into a dim green glow.

"Barry! I didn't mean what Jean implied. Please, let me explain!"

With each step, the jungle grew denser, the paths more confusing. After what felt like an hour, I stopped, my heart sinking as I realized I'd lost not only Barry's trail but also my sense of direction. Every tree looked identical, every path indistinguishable from the last.

"Hello?" I called, my voice smaller now. "Anyone?"

Panic fluttered in my chest as I turned in a slow circle, trying to spot anything familiar. The jungle had fallen unnaturally quiet, as if the wildlife itself was holding its breath.

A twig snapped somewhere to my left. I whirled around, heart pounding. "Barry? Is that you?"

Silence answered me, heavy and oppressive. Then another twig snapped, closer this time.

"Ara? Devin?" My voice cracked with fear. "This isn't funny."

A low, rumbling growl raised the hair on the back of my neck. It wasn't like any sound I'd heard during my work with animals at FaunaSphere. This was deeper, more powerful—almost primeval.

I held my breath, slowly turning toward the sound. At first, there was nothing but shadows and leaves. Then, movement caught my eye.

From between two broad-trunked trees, a massive wolf emerged. Its fur was midnight black, its shoulders reaching almost to my waist. But what froze me in place were its eyes—a brilliant, luminous gold that seemed to glow in the dim jungle light.

The wolf took one step toward me, then another, its massive paws silent on the forest floor. There was something disturbingly intelligent in its gaze, something almost... familiar.