CHAPTER THREE
KAMIL'S POV
Something was wrong with me.
That was the only explanation.
I couldn't breathe the same.
Couldn't think straight.
Couldn't exist in the same space as them without feeling like something inside me was unraveling.
Three different men.
Three different kinds of danger.
And somehow—
All of them felt like mine.
I pressed my back against my bedroom door, heart pounding like I'd just run for miles.
But I hadn't.
I'd just been standing there.
Looking at him.
Feeling it.
That pull.
That impossible, undeniable pull.
"Get it together, Kamil," I whispered to myself.
But my voice sounded weak.
Unconvincing.
Because deep down—
I already knew this wasn't something I could control.
First, it was Cole.
The way his voice wrapped around me, low and knowing, like he could see straight through every lie I told myself.
Like he already knew what I felt… and was just waiting for me to admit it.
That alone should've terrified me.
It did.
Just not enough to stop me.
Then there was Evan.
That moment at the training ground replayed in my mind over and over again.
The way his hand felt around my wrist.
The way his body pressed against mine.
The way he looked at me—
Like he was fighting himself just to keep from crossing a line we both knew we'd never come back from.
And for one reckless second—
I wanted him to lose that fight.
And then—
Yale.
I closed my eyes, my breath catching.
Because his presence felt different.
Darker.
Heavier.
Like something ancient had woken up the moment he looked at me.
"You should stay away from me."
His voice echoed in my head.
Cold.
Controlled.
Lying.
"Then why didn't you?" I whispered into the empty room.
Why didn't you walk away?
Why didn't I?
A sharp knock on my door made me jump.
"Kamil?"
Violet.
Of course.
I straightened quickly, forcing my expression into something normal before opening the door.
She leaned against the frame, studying me.
"You disappeared," she said. "Again."
"I just needed air."
The same excuse.
The same lie.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"You've been weird lately."
I forced a small laugh. "Define weird."
"Distracted. Distant. Like you're hiding something."
My chest tightened.
Because I was.
I was hiding everything.
"I'm fine," I said quickly.
Too quickly.
Violet didn't look convinced.
But she didn't push.
Not yet.
"Come back downstairs," she said. "You're missing everything."
If only she knew.
I was missing nothing.
I was feeling too much.
"I'll be there in a minute."
She hesitated.
Then nodded.
"Don't take too long."
The door closed.
And just like that—
The mask dropped.
I turned, pacing my room, running my hands through my hair.
"This isn't normal," I muttered.
It couldn't be.
You don't feel this kind of pull toward three different people.
You don't want three different people.
You don't—
A sudden sharp ache hit my chest.
I gasped, gripping the edge of my desk.
"What—"
It wasn't painful.
Not exactly.
It was something deeper.
A tug.
A call.
And then—
Flashes.
Golden eyes in the dark.
A voice I didn't recognize.
Soft. Powerful. Unyielding.
"You were never meant to choose."
I stumbled back, my heart racing.
"What was that?"
The room was silent again.
Still.
Like nothing had happened.
But something had.
I felt it.
Deep in my bones.
In my blood.
In the part of me that wasn't entirely human.
A knock echoed again.
This time—
Harder.
"Kamil."
My breath caught.
Because I knew that voice.
Yale.
"What do you want?" I called, trying to keep my voice steady.
"Open the door."
Not a request.
I hesitated.
Every instinct told me not to.
To stay away.
To lock the door and pretend I wasn't there.
But my body moved anyway.
My hand gripping the handle.
Turning it.
Opening it.
And there he was.
Closer than before.
More intense.
More dangerous.
"You shouldn't be here," I said, even as my pulse betrayed me.
"I know."
He stepped inside anyway.
Closing the door behind him.
The air shifted instantly.
Thicker.
Heavier.
"What do you want?" I asked again, softer this time.
His gaze locked onto mine.
Sharp.
Searching.
Like he was trying to figure something out.
"You feel it too," he said.
Not a question.
A statement.
I swallowed.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Another lie.
He stepped closer.
Slow.
Deliberate.
"Don't lie to me," he said quietly.
"You think I want this?" I shot back, my voice cracking slightly. "You think I asked for it?"
"For what?"
"This—" I gestured between us, my chest rising and falling "—whatever this is."
Silence.
Then—
"It's not just this," he said.
My stomach dropped.
"What do you mean?"
His jaw tightened slightly.
Like he didn't want to say it.
Like saying it would make it real.
"It's him too."
My breath caught.
"And him," he added.
Everything inside me stilled.
"You can feel it," he said, his voice lower now. "With all of us."
I didn't answer.
Because I couldn't.
Because he was right.
"That's not normal," I whispered.
"No," he agreed.
"It's not."
A pause.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
"Then what is it?" I asked.
His gaze darkened.
Something dangerous flickering beneath the surface.
"Something that's going to ruin all of us," he said.
And the worst part?
I wasn't sure I wanted to stop it.