Chapter 154

Lake POV

I woke up alone again.

The bed beside me was cold, the sheets undisturbed. Ramon hadn’t slept here last night. Again. That made it five nights in a row that he’d claimed he needed to work late, that he’d fallen asleep at his desk, that he hadn’t wanted to disturb me by coming to bed in the early morning hours.

Five nights of excuses that we both knew were lies.

I lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, trying to push down the panic that had become my constant companion. Something was desperately wrong with Ramon, and I had no idea what it was or how to fix it. He was pulling away from me so completely that sometimes I wondered if our bond was even real anymore, or if I’d imagined the whole thing.

But no—I could still feel him through the bond. Could feel his distress, his guilt, his self-loathing. Could feel the way he flinched every time I got too close, the way his mind screamed *stay away* even as his lips said he loved me.