Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Wyn

My breath is caught in the back of my throat as Lucas turns and sees Gabriel standing in the bathroom doorway.

“Hey,” Gabriel says.

Silence.

And that silence is so profound, you could hear an ant scurry across the floor.

Lucas steps forward, and I wish to God I could see his face. But he’s turned away from me. “Gabriel?” he whispers, disbelieving. “What the fuck?”

Reaching out, Lucas touches his cousin’s face. The movement is hesitant like he’s half-expecting Gabriel to vanish under his fingertips. When it’s clear, he’s actually flesh and bone, Lucas shakes his head. “How is this possible?”

Gabriel laughs and stumbles back like he’s uncomfortable with Lucas’ sudden burst of emotion. “I uh…” He shakes his head and glances down. “I don’t know. I woke up in a hospital bed two months ago with a head injury, and no memory of what happened or who I was…”

Lucas glances back at me. “Did you know about this?”

“He showed up this morning,” I say, leaving out the bit about Gabriel finding me in his bedroom. The last thing I want to do right now is incite Gabriel’s anger all over again.

Lucas looks back at his cousin. “This is insane,” he says, pulling back again. “This is fucking wild. What’d your mom say when she saw you?”

“I haven’t…” Gabriel pushes out a breath. “I don’t remember anyone—” His gaze flicks to me “—except for Wyn. I know she’s my girlfriend, and that’s about it. Everything else is a blank.”

Lucas takes a step back. “You remember me, right?”

Another thick moment of silence before Gabriel shakes his head. “I don’t. The doctors say it may take a while for my memory to return if it ever does.” His gaze fixes on Lucas. “But I do have one question…”

“Yeah, shoot.”

“Why was my girl in your room last night?” He shoves his hand into his pocket and pulls out the necklace Lucas slid over my head yesterday. The necklace signifies his claim on me. “And why was she wearing this? ”

Lucas flicks his chin at the necklace. “Do you even know what that is?”

Gabriel glances down at it, his brows pinched, like he’s trying to conjure up the memory. “I know it’s not just a trinket,” he answers. “I know it means she’s been claimed—but when I try to remember why, or how, there’s nothing. Just a black void where that information once was.”

Lucas takes the necklace from Gabriel’s hand. “Don’t worry about it, Cuz. We need to call your mom, and get you to a doctor.”

Gabriel takes a step back, his eyes narrowing, almost like he suspects Lucas is trying to trick him or something. “I’ve seen plenty of doctors.”

“The police, then. Dude, they think someone killed you.”

Lucas stops just short of telling Gabriel that the police think it was him.

Gabriel’s gaze travels over Lucas’ shoulder and lands on me. “I’m not going anywhere without her .”

Lucas half-turns and follows Gabriel’s gaze, those crazy blue eyes focusing on me. I feel trapped, pinned down by that stare. I can see it in his eyes that he wants to tell Gabriel about what’s happened between us, that Lucas now considers me his possession—but he can’t. He’s always given deference to Gabriel. Now I know why—guilt over what happened when they were teenagers.

But now I’m stuck between two guys who have a claim on me—both very public claims. Everyone knows I was Gabriel’s girlfriend before the incident. And just last night, Lucas pronounced me his consort in front of the entire Burning Crown membership.

Goddamn, how did things get so unbelievably fucked?

And what’s worse, there’s nothing I can do to unfuck it. Not yet, at least. I can hardly even wrap my head around the fact that Gabriel is alive, let alone how to untangle this mess with Lucas.

“Yeah,” I say, still in a daze. “Um, I’ll call Gabriel’s mom on the way to the police station. Maybe she can meet us there.”

Lucas nods, then looks back at his cousin. I get the sense that he’s still trying to figure out how this is even possible.

“Wait.” I glance at my broken door. “I can’t leave with my door like that.”

Lucas pulls his phone out, and texts someone, his thumbs flying over the screen furiously. There’s a ping, and he types out a response, then shoves his phone back into his pocket. “Okay, someone will be here in five to replace it. He said he could use the same locks. Let’s go.”

Wow, okay.

Lucas drives, Gabriel in the front passenger seat with me stuffed into the tiny back seat. As we speed toward the Sherrif’s Station, I open my phone to call Gabriel’s mom, then realize I don't have her phone number.

“Gabriel, what’s your mom’s number?”

As soon as the words leave my mouth, I realize how dumb that question is. Gabriel has amnesia, right? He doesn’t even remember who his mom is, let alone her phone number.

Lucas pulls his phone out, unlocks it with his thumbprint, and passes it back to me. “You’ll find her number in my contacts.”

Grabbing his phone, I scroll through his contacts until I find Gabriel’s mom, then I tap her number before I can chicken out. This is major news, obviously, and I’m not sure I’m the right one to deliver it—especially since I don’t have any real answers—but here we are.

The phone rings several times before going to voicemail. “Um, hi, Ms. Martelle, this is Wyn. Please call me back as soon as possible. I need to speak with you urgently.” Then I give her my phone number and hang up, my heart pounding in my chest.

Lucas is speeding, so we get to the Sheriff’s Station in under ten minutes. He pulls into the parking lot and parks in a spot that’s not even a real parking spot, but Lucas doesn’t seem to care. It’s right in front of the building.

Once inside, we approach the reception desk and ask for Detective Nawar. After a few tense minutes, Nawar saunters into the waiting area. His gaze immediately lands on Gabriel, and like Lucas and me, he looks confused as fuck.

A dead guy standing in your waiting area is a lot to take in. So, yeah, his reaction is understandable.

“Gabriel Martelle?” Detective Nawar asks, stepping forward. He squints like he’s afraid his eyes are playing tricks on him.

“Yeah, I guess,” Gabriel says with a shrug.

“He appeared this morning with just scraps of memory,” Lucas supplies.

Nawar’s critical gaze flicks over Gabriel. “Why don’t we find a room and try to sort some of this out.”

Gabriel’s panicked gaze darts to me. “I want Wyn with me.”

Nawar shakes his head. “I’d prefer to speak with you alone.”

“It’s okay,” I say, placing a reassuring hand on Gabriel’s arm. “Lucas and I will wait here while you chat with the detective. You don’t remember much, so I’m sure it won’t take long.” I turn to Nawar. “His mom doesn’t know he’s alive. We tried calling her on the way over, but she didn’t answer.”

Nawar nods stiffly. “I’ll send an officer over to the house.”

“She’s in the process of moving, so the house might be empty,” Lucas adds. “But she’s not actually leaving town until next week.”

Nawar nods. “Got it.”

I flash Gabriel a stiff smile. “You’ll be okay. Just answer his questions as honestly as possible. Don’t stress about not remembering everything.”

With a hesitant nod and one last glance at me, he follows Nawar down the hallway to the interrogation rooms. I’m sure the detective has a million questions, and I don’t know, maybe he can get more information out of Gabriel than Lucas or I did. He’s trained to get answers out of people, right?

I swallow as I watch Gabriel disappear down the hall, and then I turn and lower myself into the nearest plastic chair, prepared to wait. Lucas follows me, but he holds his hand out to me instead of sitting down. I stare at his hand for a second, then look up at him, flashing him a questioning look.

“He could be in there a while. Let’s get some fresh air,” he says.

I take his hand, but my gaze darts nervously to the guy behind the reception desk. “Uh, are we allowed to leave?”

Lucas shrugs one shoulder and then pulls me along after him. As we pass the reception desk, Lucas says, “Yo, we’ll be down at the beach. My name is Lucas West, and Nawar has my phone number if he needs one of us.”

The guy nods and scribbles Lucas’ name down. “Noted. Thanks.”

About half a block down the street, there’s a little park. It has a dirt path and weather-beaten wooden stairs that lead down to the beach. Lucas holds my hand the whole way, which feels…oddly intimate. I’m thankful for it, though. His strong hand is an anchor in the chaos that’s swirling inside my head. It’s grounding and makes me feel safe, but I know that feeling is just an illusion. Everything with Lucas is an illusion.

And Lucas is many things, but safe isn’t one of them. Not for me.

The morning is cool, the wind blowing gently as we pick a spot and sit down next to each other on the sand. We sit there like that for a while, quietly, just looking out at the crashing waves—trying to absorb everything that’s happened. The air is briny, and I pull it into my lungs, allowing it to calm me.

I glance over at Lucas, who looks lost in thought. He has his knees pulled up, his arms resting on them, hands clasped. “So, um, how are you feeling about all this?”

My voice pulls him out of whatever daze he’s in, and he turns his head to look at me. “I, um…” He pushes out a breath. “I can’t believe he’s here. I can’t believe it’s real. There’s a part of me that’s scared this is all just a really vivid dream.”

“So, uh…you didn’t know about this?” That seems obvious given his reaction, but there’s so much that still doesn’t make sense. I found all the stalker’s clothes in Lucas’ closet—which would mean he’s been helping Gabriel this whole time. As I suspected, by the way.

His brows pinch together like he’s offended by my question. “You saw him just now. He doesn’t even know who the fuck I am.” There’s an edge of pain in his voice that softens something inside me. “How could I be helping him?”

Just a couple of months ago, Gabriel was his best friend—and now he doesn’t even know who Lucas is. That’s got to hurt. We like to think our deepest relationships can withstand anything, even something like memory loss. But that’s not always the reality, and that sucks.

I’m itching to ask Lucas about all the stalker shit I found in his closet last night, but he’s reeling right now, and I can already tell he’s close to losing it. That’s not a great recipe for truthfulness–and that’s what I want. The truth.

But not asking is so damn hard. I have so many questions. Was Lucas my stalker? Was Gabriel my stalker with Lucas just helping him? Were both Lucas and Gabriel stalking me independently? Were they tag-teaming it? Ugh .

Swallowing back all my questions, I nod. “What do you think happened? I mean, someone died that night. There was a body on those tracks with Gabriel’s wallet and phone.”

He tears his gaze away from me, so he can look back at the ocean. “I have no fucking clue.”

Do I believe him, though? I get the sense he’s not telling me something…but I’m a serial over-analyzer, so it could be that. Or it could be my gut telling me that nothing is as it seems around here.

I lean back on the palms of my hands. “So what does this mean for us ?”

Not that there is an us , but he did make me his consort last night, and that’s a big deal in our world. Maybe with Gabriel showing up, Lucas can just…choose someone else to be his consort? That would be the most obvious solution. Why does that thought make me want to puke, though? Like, why?

Ugh, I’m so damn confused. I never asked to be his consort. I didn’t want it. I fought tooth and nail against it, but…also the thought of him picking some other chick makes me feel angry and anxious.

Lucas looks down at me, his expression blank. “Technically, you belong to Gabriel,” he says flatly. “He claimed you over a year ago.”

He’s referring to a random society rule that’s barely used nowadays. According to the bylaws, any male member of the Burning Crown can lay claim to a Deb by simply announcing his intention at an official event. If there’s no objection by the girl, or anyone else, then it’s a done deal. That’s it. It’s like the Preference Ceremony but for the common folk. It’s more chill, and less ceremonial, but just as binding.

And the only way out for the Deb is if the guy “releases” her…or dies, or in extreme situations, a tribunal can be called. The rule is so unbelievably restrictive and barbaric that no one ever uses it.

Except Gabriel did. Kinda.

A few days after we started dating, he announced his “claim” on me at a Burning Crown event. But it was a joke. Everyone—including me—was laughing. He was making fun of the ridiculousness of it.

“You and I both know Gabriel never really claimed me,” I say. “It was a joke.”

“Oh, he claimed you, Wyn,” Lucas says. “And he knew what he was doing. He made it seem like a joke, so you wouldn’t object. I know how his brain works. But the reality is, he announced his intention at an official event, in front of everyone.” He pauses. “An event I just happened to arrive late to. Do you think that was a coincidence?”

I press my lips together and shake my head. He’s not seriously going to hold me to a century-old rule, is he?

“You saw Gabriel back there.” He looks back at the ocean like the weight of what he’s about to say is too much. “There’s no way he’ll release you, Wyn.”

I shake my head. This is unbelievable. “So, what, you’re just going to choose another consort, then? Or go crawling back to Ava? I hope she tells you to go fuck yourself.”

I know she won’t, though. No sane girl would reject what Lucas has to offer. Except for me, I guess. But I’ve never said I was sane.

His white shirt is pulled tight against his back, and I can see his muscles tense. He lifts his chin, and a tic starts in his jaw. My question clearly makes him uncomfortable. I doubt he’s even thought about the whole consort thing or what that means with Gabriel coming back.

“You’re my consort until I select someone else,” he says quietly, his voice hardly rising above the sound of the crashing waves. “Until then, you’ll hold the position in title only.”

In title only. Translation: Lucas will go back to ignoring me.

Fuck , I don’t know what’s worse—being Lucas’ sole obsession, or not existing in his world at all.

No, I do know which is worse.

Entering a room and Lucas’ eyes never meeting mine—that’s the worst feeling on the planet.

“Before Gabriel died, or left, or whatever… he and I were in a really bad place.” I’ve already hinted at this in some of our other conversations, but I’ve never admitted it to him. “and…I broke up with him that day.”

I never told Lucas that, because I knew it would just give him more reason to blame me for Gabriel’s “death.” And what good would that do? I already blamed myself every fucking day. I didn’t need Lucas adding to the soul-crushing guilt I already felt.

“You belong with him, Wyn.”

But when he looks over at me, I see something in his eyes. He doesn’t believe that statement any more than I do…