EMBER’S POV

And there it is. The thing under all of it.

Because Nathaniel isn’t just his beta.

They’ve fought every fight together, been there for each other through every chapter, and now, he would be damning all that.

He would be losing his brother.

I pull him in. I wrap my arms around him tight and press my face into his chest and hold on, and I feel him fold around me, his chin dropping to the top of my head, his arms banding tight like I’m the only solid thing in the room.

“It hurts because you love him,” I say into his chest. “That’s the whole answer,...