Jake POV:
My head felt like it was in a vice. Being near Audrey always triggered these migraines, like a warning bell I couldn't find.
I was in the suite with Jada when the smell hit.
Not Jada’s perfume. Something acrid. Chemical burns. And beneath it... ozone.
"What is that?" I stood up.
"Audrey probably burned dinner. She's useless in the kitchen," Jada said, scrolling through her feed. She was wearing a moonstone necklace I didn't recognize.
"I'm checking."
I followed the scent to the private residence. The door was locked. I kicked it in.
The bathroom door was ajar. Steam and smoke billowed out.
Audrey was hunched over the sink, frantically scrubbing her face and chest. The water in the basin was turning pink and grey. Her skin was angry, red, and blistering.
On the floor, a pile of towels was smoldering, the chemical reaction eating through the fabric.
"What the hell are you doing?" I roared.
Audrey spun around. Half her face was a ruin.
"Jake," she gasped. "The boys... the water guns... it was acid..."
"Liar!" I shouted, the accusation hitting a nerve. "My boys are seven! They were playing! You're burning... what is this? Voodoo? Are you casting spells in here?"
I looked at the smoldering towels. In the mess, I saw the corner of a photograph. Us. Italy. She was destroying the evidence of the past? Or using it for a hex?
"No, please, it burns," she sobbed, reaching for the water.
"Stop acting!" I grabbed her arm. Her skin was fever-hot. "You're hurting yourself to frame my children. That is sick, Audrey."
I dragged her out. She stumbled, dead weight.
"Where are you taking me?"
"Cooling off period."
I hauled her to the basement containment unit. The Silver Cage.
I threw her in. She hit the metal floor and screamed.
"No! Jake! The silver! It stops the healing!" She scrambled away from the bars, clutching her melting face.
"That's the point," I said coldly. "You don't get to heal until you tell the truth. Who put you up to this? Who are you working for?"
"No one!" she wailed.
I hit the button. The cage walls began to contract.
"Confess!"
She curled into a ball, shaking violently. The Wolfsbane was still active, fighting the silver's suppression, tearing her apart at a cellular level.
Then, a whisper. Not spoken, but projected. A Mind-Link.
*Elliot... please...*
The name hit me like a shovel to the chest.
*Elliot.*
A flash of memory. A beach. A man with eyes like a winter storm handing me a drink. *She's the jewel, Jake. Don't drop her.*
"Stop," I whispered.
I slammed the emergency stop.
Audrey was unconscious.
Why did that name make my blood run cold? And why did hearing her call for another man hurt more than the migraine?
