"Jess, are you okay?" Kyle asks this time, his voice low, unsure.
Still, Jess doesn't respond.
No...no, it couldn't be miraculous. It doesn't make sense. He didn't sleet with Tanner. There was no moment, no lapse, no confusion, no memory lost. And yet... this child. Tanner's. Not Eryx's. Tanner's. How?
The question claws at the inside of his skull, scratching, digging until it feels like it'll bleed.
When the car finally stops in front of Tanner's private home, everything looks the same.
But the first thing that hits isn't nostalgia. It's pain. The memory of that day Tanner walked in with Charlotte, brushed him aside like he was nothing, introduced him like a pity case. Just an omega I saved from the woods.
He clenches his jaw and shoves the thought away. No. Not again. This was supposed to be a new start. He agreed to try. He agreed to let the past stay buried. So why is it clawing its way out now?
