Perhaps it’s time for a change.

Is that even possible?

Zay turns toward me in the doorway and cocks a brow at me. “You coming?”

I pause for a second before putting one foot in front of the other, heading toward him, hoping I’m going in the direction toward something different.

Only time will tell.

9

HUNTER

I’m trying not to get pissed, but I am. I’m so pissed off for reasons that, deep down, I know aren’t justifiable. But that doesn’t make me feel any better.

“What are you doing?” I ask Jax the moment we get to my room and I close the door. “Seriously, she’s not even officially moved in with us and you’re already kissing her? Which, FYI, is totally unlike you.” I squint at his eyes. “Are you really that drunk?”

Jax fidgets with a leather band on his wrist, something I know he uses to hide the scars of his internal pain. “Honestly, I knew exactly what I was doing when I kissed her.” He begins to pace the room, crossing and uncrossing his arms. “I just feel this connection to her that’s so intense.” He rakes his fingers roughly through his hair then pauses, flicking his gaze to me. “While I’m being honest, I feel like I should tell you that I kissed her earlier when you left us in her bedroom alone.”

“You … what?” I’m having an extremely difficult time processing what he’s saying. Not that I don’t get it. I, too, felt that connection with Raven the moment I laid eyes on her and have thought about kissing her many times. But that’s me, and this is Jax. Jax, who has issues with intimate stuff. It’s why he’s never been in a relationship for long. We actually had to bribe Cassandra, this girl he used to date, because she discovered how deep his issues ran, and if she told the wrong person, this badass image we worked so hard to create would be destroyed.

“I’m sorry.” Exhaling shakily, he meets my gaze. “I really don’t know what the hell is wrong with me. I know this isn’t like me. Usually, when I even so much as think about kissing someone, I freak the hell out.” His breathing starts to quicken as he veers toward a panic attack.

“Dude, relax.” I place a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t let those thoughts mess with your head. You’ve worked too hard to let it all collapse.” I give his shoulder a squeeze. “Don’t let them retake control of you.”

By them, I mean the demons that fill our pasts. The people who were supposed to raise us, who ended up trying to ruin us. The monsters that marked our flesh.

Jax and I have similar pasts. Just like Zay. It’s how we bonded. We’ve been through shit together that has created this unbreakable connection between the three of us.

“I’m sorry.” Jaxon takes another breath then looks up at me again. His eyes are teary, but he quickly wipes them with his fingers.