Easton POV:
The amusement park was a sensory nightmare.
"Easton! Look at this!" Kelly squealed.
My chest had ached for three weeks. A dull, hollow throb. The pills didn't work.
My Inner Wolf was silent. Not calm-catatonic.
We walked past a gift shop. Plush unicorns.
Memory hit me. Brooke, two years ago, staring at a window like this. Her eyes lighting up, then dimming as she remembered she wasn't allowed to ask for things.
"I want them," I said.
"The bear?"
"No. The unicorns. All of them."
I bought fifty stuffed unicorns. I didn't know why. A desperate, clawing need.
In the car, I checked my phone. "Wife".
I tried the Mind-Link .
Usually, I felt a wall. Resistance.
Now... Void. Infinite darkness. The bond wasn't blocked. It was gone.
Panic spiked.
"Easton, listen to me!" Kelly whined. "I want to go to Le Pierre ."
I looked at her. Makeup caked like plaster. Scent like chemical roses.
"Fine," I muttered.
I put the phone away. I should delete her number.
My thumb hovered. Trembling. I couldn't do it.
