Chapter 252: Not this Time

~ ZEV ~

The first thing Zev thought when he gained consciousness, even before he opened his eyes, was that Sasha had to be alive, because if she wasn't, Zev wouldn't have woken.

He sighed with relief. But it didn't last long.

Because as his body and mind sought her, naturally, thoughtlessly, like she was breath, reaching out and searching for her presence, her warmth, the echo of her heart, there was… nothing. Nothing but a gaping hole in his chest where awareness of her should have been. An aching, burning wound where he should have felt full and warm.

Zev sucked in a painful breath.

When he opened his eyes it was to find his brother sitting in a chair next to his bed, head in his hands, fingers splayed through his black hair so it fell in chunks, like fat spiders over the backs of his hands.

Rage. Red, hot rage.