Damon POV

Caden found me where he always does—at the edge of the field, where the trees meet the wall and the air feels just a little less suffocating.

“They’re gone,” he said, flat and to the point.

“I know.”

“No one saw them leave. They slipped out sometime after midnight. You feel it?”

I nodded slowly. “Woke up and just… knew.”

Was I even surprised that she had left?

No, I wasn’t. It was expected that she would go with her brother after what happened.

The pull I felt towards her was even stronger now because I wanted something I couldn’t have, adding to my frustration.

Sighing to myself,...