Perry's POV
Time slowed to a crawl, each second stretching into eternity as the unthinkable unfolded before me. I'd lived through countless nightmares, witnessed horrors that would shatter lesser minds, but nothing—absolutely nothing—had prepared me for this.
This wasn't some fevered dream I could wake from. This was reality, cold and merciless and final.
I watched Phoebe deliberately press her throat against Marco's razor-sharp claws, her eyes meeting mine with absolute resolve. No fear. No hesitation. Just love—devastating, sacrificial love that would destroy us both.
Marco recoiled in pure shock, never anticipating her desperate gambit. His instinctive jerk dragged those lethal claws deeper, tearing through flesh and muscle with a wet, horrific sound that would haunt me forever.
