Chapter 78 - Nothing Asked, Everything Given
Chapter 78 - Nothing Asked, Everything Given
Jaquelyn
She felt Evren’s breathing stutter, the anger in his eyes cracking into something raw, humiliated, and exposed. He realized he’d been the only one to feel it first — that the bond had screamed that truth at him alone. The weight of that truth pulsed between them, ugly and undeniable, binding them even as it threatened to tear them apart. Jaquelyn’s own breath felt hot in her chest, her fingers curling once before she forced them straight, eyes locked on his. The silence in the room felt alive, listening, waiting for one of them to break.
The slap had showed her something else too — a glimmer of what lurked beneath all that snarling defiance, something older and unspoken, the bond between them pulling taut like it wanted to be seen. It unsettled her, but she recognized it.
She drew in a slow breath, voice low but slicing through the silence. "Don't you dare spit outrage at me for what you already knew. Don't act like you're the only one who didn't choose this."
She waved her hand vaguely, indicating all the unwilling participants in the room. "None of us did."
Ezekial crossed his arms and hummed low. Coren muttered something that sounded like "Damn straight."
She turned back to the angry man. " I won't carry your shame for you. This bond is ugly, it's violent, it's ours. So be honest for once. If you want to fight me, fight me. If you want to leave, leave. Stop pretending you don't want this while you snarl at me."
She took a step back, voice hardening, "Choose now. Because I'm not going to soften any of this for you." She gestured sharply to the others watching at the edges, "Any of you."
Her eyes burned with something that wasn't just fury but command, her voice pulling the whole room into it, like she was daring any of them to argue, the ultimatum ringing out so no one could pretend not to hear.
Evren’s chest rose and fell in a rough, uneven rhythm. For a moment it looked like he might snarl back, but he caught himself, jaw working as he bit down on whatever furious retort almost escaped. His eyes stayed locked on hers, the anger still there but leashed, pacing inside him like a big cat forced to heel. When he finally spoke, his voice was lower, ragged around the edges. "Fine. You want truth? You have it. I didn't want this. I still don't. But I won't lie about feeling it." He shifted his weight, the movement tense and restless, but he didn't step closer. He didn't leave either.
Jaquelyn's mouth twisted, eyes narrowing. “Stop acting like I tricked you. I didn’t choose this. None of us did, the cosmos decided we needed to be connected.”
The words hung there between them, heavy as stone. Jaquelyn didn’t move, and neither did he. The hush in the room thickened, even the air seeming to press in. Topher shifted uneasily, Coren frowned but said nothing, and Thorne watched from above, unreadable. No one dared speak. She held Evren’s gaze, refusing to give him an inch, letting the silence stretch, crackle, demand. It wasn’t peace, but it wasn’t war either — it was the breath held before deciding which way to go.
Finally, Jaquelyn exhaled, the tension easing by inches. "We're not done with this," she warned quietly, voice tight with the promise of more words — and maybe more fights — later. But she turned her head slightly, acknowledging the others. "We have bigger problems tonight than tearing each other apart. So decide if you're in or out." She looked back at Evren, not softening but steady. "I won't force you. But I'm not going to run from this."
Evren’s jaw worked but he didn’t answer immediately. He glanced away, breathing hard, the muscles in his neck flexing like he was fighting the urge to lash out. When his gaze returned to her it was still fierce, but there was something weary in it too. "I'm not leaving," he finally muttered. "But don't expect me to be grateful about it." The admission fell into the room like a challenge and a concession all at once, leaving the air brittle with tension.
Jaquelyn's head snapped up at that. "Grateful?" she repeated, voice rising, raw. "Grateful? Grateful?"
She let out a short, ugly laugh that cracked on the last syllable. Her eyes burned hot as she glared at Evren. "Do you think I asked for this? You think I wanted to be the hub of a godsdamned wheel?"
Her breath hitched, voice cracking as tears welled. "I didn't ask for any of you. I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't want to be a leader or a focal point or anything!"
She coughed once, breath ragged, shaking her head. "I didn't even want to be turned. I almost died because someone — " She swung her gaze to Topher, eyes glistening and accusing. " — damn near killed me and Ezekial turned me to save me."
She shook her head again, voice cracking. "And now I'm this. This thing that all of you are bound to whether you want it or not."
Her amber eyes darkened, rage and sadness filling them. Through the bond they all felt it — the tenuous grip she had on everything, how hard she was trying to keep it from them, how much she hurt. Jaquelyn hadn't had any time to actually absorb the fact that she'd been turned, she hadn't had any time to mourn her former life.
Her hands balled into fists. Every breath was ragged, shoulders trembling with the effort to stay upright. She felt the bond's weight pressing in on her chest, each heartbeat loud with fear, anger, and something brittle that might have been grief. She didn't try to hide any of it anymore, letting the raw sting of salt slip free as tears streaked her cheeks. Her vision blurred, but she kept her eyes on Evren, refusing to look away even as her whole body shook with ugly, guttural sobs. The silence in the room wrapped around her like a shroud, pressing every watching presence tighter, holding them all in that moment of shared, unavoidable truth.
Her voice was wrecked and small as she broke in front of them all. "So don't you dare talk to me about grateful."