Avyaane’s POV

I was still there, breath still coming in heavy gulps, body stillsore with the pursuit and the failure burning in my chest.

The night skytowered over me, vast and indifferent. What Chadsaid felt heavy, like another prison stuck to my skin.

"You belong to us."

No.

I wouldn’t allow those wordsto linger.

I turned my head to look back at him; he was still looking — eyes unreadable, a mixture of satisfaction andsomething darker.

Amusement? Expectation?

I said I ...