Hunter.
His jaw clenched so tight his teeth ached.
Bram had hoped that Gael’s obsession with this particular hunter was just a fleeting lapse in judgment but it didn’t seem that way, didn’t it?
He closed his eyes, focusing. Beneath the scent of blood, of machine oil and damp metal, Gael’s trail lingered. It was faint but there.
Bram’s fingers curled into fists.What are you doing, Gael?
Every instinct screamed at him to report back, to give Beric the cold, hard truth: Gael had gone rogue.
But something held him back. A hesitation he couldn’t quite name. He and Gael had never truly gotten along.
Bram found Gael arrogant, insufferable even. They clashed as naturally as fire and ice.
Yet despite all of that, Gael was essential. After losing Gabriel, the nest was already teetering on the brink of instability.
Another loss, especially someone of Gael's rank and strength, would send ripples of weakness through the entire nest.
It wouldn't just be another warrior lost; it would be a public crack in the nest’s armor.
A sign of vulnerability the other nests or even rogue vampires would exploit.
Bram clenched his jaw. He didn’t care about Gael’s fate on a personal level, but he cared about the nest’s survival.
Their power had to be absolute, unquestionable. Losing Gael now wasn’t just a risk. It was a threat to everything they’d built.
And no matter how much Gael infuriated him, Bram knew they couldn't afford that kind of fracture.
Bram exited the train. He moved deeper into the station, his sharp eyes picking out the signs no human would notice.
Scuffed footprints, faint smears of blood.
Gael’s scent was a thread of cold steel and shadow. And the hunter’s was of warmth and salt and something maddeningly alive.
His lip curled. He tracked them through the station. The faintest trace of their presence lingered in the air, like an echo left behind by a passing storm.
They’d been here, not long ago. He could feel it, taste it. He closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm down.
His mind raced as he pieced the signs together, each one confirming a thought he hadn’t wanted to acknowledge.
Gael wasn’t just toying with this hunter. No, that would’ve been too simple. He was protecting him.
Bram’s teeth ground together as he followed the faint trail, each step feeling heavier. Gael wasn’t treating this like some passing fancy or distraction.
He was dragging this hunter along with him, like some prized possession, guarded and cherished.
This wasn’t a fleeting obsession. This was something deeper, something that twisted the very nature of what Gael was.
Attachment.
The realization hit him like a physical blow, and it made his stomach churn, a bitter, uncomfortable knot tightening inside.
Gael who always so ruthless and so detached, had gone and made a connection.
Bram's eyes flicked to the empty station platform, the shadows now swallowing the once-bustling space.
His fingers twitched, a violent urge clawing at the back of his mind. He couldn’t let this happen.
