CHAPTER 91; A MAN WHO REFUSED TO BREAKEthan's Pov;The world came back to me in pieces.A ceiling made of rotten wood.The smell of dust and dried blood.Cold air biting at the edges of my skin.And pain deep, sharp, crawling through every inch of me like something alive.But none of it mattered.Because the first thing I recognized was the weight of a hand wrapped around mine.Warm.Trembling.Desperate.Yvonne.I didn’t open my eyes right away. I listened. Breathing. Footsteps. Aiden muttered under his breath as he cleaned another knife. The old cabin creaked every time the wind moved through the trees.Something was out there.Hunting us.I forced my fingers to curl around Yvonne’s hand. Weak, but solid enough that she felt it.Her breath hitched instantly.“Ethan?” she whispered.I opened my eyes.Slowly. Painfully.Her face came into focus tired, streaked with dirt and tears, but still beautiful in a way that made my chest hurt more than the wounds.“You’re still here,” I said.

CHAPTER 93; The Man in the DarkEthan's Pov;The gun clicked again.A clean, sharp metallic sound that sliced straight through the trees and into my spine.Sally froze beside me, her breath catching in a tiny gasp.I didn’t move.Fear never helped anyone.I kept my voice steady, low.Controlled.“Show yourself.”Leaves rustled to my right.A shadow separated from the darkness.At first, I thought it was one of the wounded men who made it back…but this man walked with purpose.Not limping.Not shaken.Too calm.A predator, not prey.He stepped into the faint moonlight that cut through the clearing.Tall.Broad-shouldered.Wearing black tactical gear clean, unhurt, confident.Not a grunt.Not a disposable soldier.Someone higher.He pointed the gun directly at my chest.“You’re a difficult man to kill,” he said.His voice was smooth.Too smooth.Could’ve belonged to a surgeon.Or a lawyer.Or a hitman who liked his job too much.Behind me, I heard Yvonne open the cabin door just a crac

CHAPTER 95; The Weight of a ChoiceEthan's Pov;Derrick lay unconscious at my feet, blood dripping slowly from the wound on the side of his head. His breathing was shallow but steady. Too steady for someone who deserved to be bleeding out.Aiden stood a few feet behind me, arms crossed, jaw tight. His eyes flicked between me and the body on the ground. Yvonne hovered at my side, her hand inches from my arm like she wanted to touch me but wasn’t sure if I’d let her.The forest was silent.Too silent.A silence that only existed after violence.I stared down at Derrick.Every piece of me burned my ribs, my shoulder, my legs but the cold inside me won against all of it. Ice settled somewhere deep in my chest, the kind that only formed when you looked at someone who had tried to ruin everything you had left.Aiden broke the quiet first.“What’s the plan?”He didn’t ask gently.He asked like he expected the answer to be ugly.I wiped blood from my cheek with the back of my hand. “We take h

CHAPTER 97; The Monster He Made Me BecomeEthan's Pov;Derrick stepped out of the trees like he owned the night.Hands in his pockets.Smile too wide.Too calm.He didn’t even look at the dead man at my feet, just stepped around him the way someone avoids a puddle they don’t want on their shoes.“Ethan,” he breathed, voice polished like nothing in his life had ever gone wrong. “I swear, seeing you like this almost brings tears to my eyes.”I didn’t move.The pain in my side sharpened, pulsing like a second heartbeat, but I held his gaze.I wasn’t giving him the satisfaction of seeing me falter.Behind me, the cabin door creaked open again. I didn’t turn, but I knew Yvonne was there.Watching.Shaking.Praying I didn’t collapse.Derrick’s eyes flicked toward the door and lingered.His smile deepened.“Still protecting her?” he asked softly. “Even now?”I didn’t answer.He chuckled. “You always were predictable when your heart got involved.”That word.Heart.It felt foreign coming from

CHAPTER 99; Take Me InsteadEthan's Pov;The gunshot cracked through the clearing like lightning splitting the sky.I didn’t think so.Didn’t plan.Didn’t breathe.I shoved Yvonne back with everything I had left.The bullet hit me before she even screamed.A white-hot punch tore through my side, sharp enough to rip the world in half. My legs buckled. The ground rushed up toward me.I hit the dirt on one knee, vision exploding into sparks.Yvonne shrieked my name behind me.Aiden cursed loudly.Derrick laughed broken, manic, metallic from where Aiden had pinned him.And the new shooter stepped fully into view.He was huge and bigger than the others.Thicker neck.Arms like tree trunks.A face carved out of stone.No hesitation.No fear.A professional.He reloaded without looking at me fast, smooth, and practiced.I forced myself upright.One inch.Then another.Pain clawed upward, but I didn’t let it take me down.I stood between him and Yvonne because there was no universe where I di