Ryder’s POV
School had always been noisy, voices in hallways, lockers slamming, laughter echoing off walls, but this morning, everything felt muted. Like the world was wrapped in cotton and I was moving through it half asleep, half haunted.
Like my body was here in the present but my mind was sowhere else, far away.
Linda stuck to Ronan and like she always did.
No, tighter than usual.
She looped her arm through Ronan’s as we walked through the gates, leaned into during first period like she needed reassurance I was still there. Every break, every class change, every lunch table conversation, Linda was present. Smiling. Laughing. Touching.
It was almost too much.
I told myself not to read into it. Told myself she was just being Linda, bright, social, affectionate. But sothing about today felt off. Forced. Like she was trying to occupy a space that didn’t belong to her anymore.
My eyes kept drifting anyway.
To the empty seat.
Jade’s seat.
At the silent corner in the back.
It was impossible not to notice. She always sat there, always quiet, always present in a way that made her absence scream. By second period, I’d already checked the doorway three tis, half expecting her to walk in late with her head bowed, hair falling over her face like she didn’t want anyone to have a glance at her face.
But she never did. She never ca.
Renzo didn’t show up either.
That part unsettled even more.
Renzo never skipped school alone. Not unless sothing was wrong.
“Ryder,” Linda whispered during history, nudging my arm. “Are you even listening?”
I blinked and turned toward her. She was smiling up at , eyes bright, pen tapping lightly against her notebook. “Yeah,” I lied. “Sorry. Just... distracted.”
She pouted playfully. “You’ve been distracted all day.”
Ronan shot a look from across the aisle. A warning. I nodded slightly, telling him I’d rein it in.
But how was I supposed to?
The mate bond pulsed beneath my skin like a second heartbeat. Subtle, but constant. A pull. A question with no answer.
Where is she?
By lunchti, I’d stopped pretending to be hungry. I pushed food around my tray while Linda chatted animatedly about cheer practice, about an upcoming ga, about literally anything that didn’t matter.
I nodded. Smiled when appropriate. Laughed when expected.
Inside, my chest felt tight.
What if sothing had happened to her?
The thought lodged itself in my mind and refused to leave. Jade walking alone. Jade crying this morning, because yes, I had noticed, even if I pretended not to. The tear drop that rolled down her face after father stopped her from following her mother to help her tend to her wounds.
Ronan and I didn’t speak about it in front of Linda, but I could feel it in him too. The tension. The worry humming between us like static.
By the ti the final bell rang, the sky outside had darkened. Thick clouds rolled in low and heavy, pressing down on the school like a warning.
Linda squeezed Ronan’s arm. “I have cheerleading training,” she said brightly. “I’ll et you guys in about an hour and we’ll go ho together, okay?”
“Sure,” Ronan replied smoothly. “Don’t push yourself.”
She smiled, kissed his cheek, then leaned over to do the sa to . I stiffened for half a second before relaxing.
As she walked away with her friends, her laughter fading down the hall, the air felt.... clearer.
Ronan exhaled slowly. “Finally.”
We made our way upstairs to our lounge on the second floor.
Imdiately we entered, I drifted toward the wide windows without thinking.
Outside, the rain had started.
At first, it was light. Almost hesitant. Then it grew heavier, droplets racing each other down the glass, blurring the world beyond into streaks of gray and silver.
I stood there, hands in my pockets, watching.
There was sothing about rain that always pulled apart. The way it fell without asking permission. The way it washed everything raw and honest.
It continued to pour heavily.
Where are you, Jade?
“Stop it.”
Ronan’s voice cut through the quiet.
I didn’t turn around. “Stop what?”
“Stop moping,” he said. “Our bond as triplets, it’s stronger now. Since we took her in as our mate. I can feel every inch of your worry.”
I scoffed lightly, still staring at the rain. “I’m not worried.”
“You are,” Ronan said calmly. “And I don’t bla you. I feel it too. But you need to dial it down. Linda’s with us. She’s coming back soon. If you keep this up, she’s going to notice.”
That did make turn.
“You really do care about Linda,” I said quietly.
Ronan t my gaze without hesitation. “Of course I do.”
There was no guilt in his eyes. No doubt.
“You care about her too,” he continued. “And so does Renzo. She’s given everything to us, Ryder. It wouldn’t be fair to ditch her now just because things have changed.”
I clenched my jaw.
“So it’s not unfair to Jade?” I asked. “We thought she betrayed us. We abandoned her after she lost her father. We let everyone bully her, encouraged it. And now we know the truth. She didn’t betray us. Don’t you feel bad for her?”
Ronan’s expression softened.
“I do,” he admitted. “That’s why I wanted us to reject her. To set her free.”
“Jade doesn’t want us,” he continued. “And I don’t bla her. If I were her, I’d hate us too.”
The rain thundered against the windows now, heavy and relentless.
“The best thing we can do for her,” Ronan said, voice firm, “is stay away. Let her be. Give her so space away from us. When the ti is right, when we’re no longer under Father’s control, we’ll let her go. Give her the freedom she deserves.”
I looked back at the rain.
Freedom.
It sounded noble. Right.
But my chest still ached.
“What if sothing happens to her in the anti?” I asked quietly.
Ronan didn’t answer imdiately.
Outside, lightning flashed, illuminating the sky in stark white before plunging it back into darkness.
“I.... She’ll be fine" he finally said.
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