WILLA

"But I’m not," I tried to joke, but the words fell flat.

Verah squeezed me even tighter, her body shaking with fresh sobs. "Don’t say that."

"Sorry," I muttered into her shoulder.

She cried for another long minute, her raw, hiccuping sobs the only sound filling the hospital room. When the tears finally slowed, she pulled back, wiping at her messy face.

"Why would you scare me like that?!" she demanded, scowling through puffy eyes.

"It wasn’t my intention," I said softly.

"Yeah, well, it wasn’t yours," she replied bitterly. "It was because of him, and I hope he rots in prison!"

I let out a weak laugh, but it died quickly as her words sank in.

I frowned. "What do you mean by prison?"

"He’s arrested. Attempted manslaughter or whatever they charged him with," she said, voice dripping with disgust.

What?

I stared at her, stunned. That was the last thing I expected to hear.

"Why?" I asked, my frown deepening.

"Why what?" Verah shot back.

"He’s arrested... I don’t see why they needed to do that..."

Verah let out a disbelieving scoff. She took a step back, glaring at me. "I get that the mate bond makes people say and do crazy shit, but he tried to kill you!"

"Well, I’m alive," I pointed out.

"Were you waiting to actually die before it counted?" Verah shot back, sarcasm sharp in her voice.

"But—"

"I don’t care what he is to you or how you feel about him," she cut in. "He fucked up. He should stay there." She muttered under her breath, "Of course, his father will probably get him out eventually."

For the second time today, guilt twisted in my gut. Even if Dash probably deserved it. I didn’t want him to go to prison. That was too extreme.

"Baby!"

My head snapped toward the door at Whitney’s voice. She and Steven stood there, eyes wide with concern and uncertainty.

I saw the raw fear twisting across their faces, and the guilt I’d been carrying over Dash being in prison suddenly dissolved.

They were probably feeling the worst right now. I was their only child. That fear was more than valid.

"See you later," Verah said quickly. She grabbed Lance’s hand.

He looked reluctant to leave, but she tugged him toward the door. The rest of the boys followed, nodding respectfully at Whitney and Steven as they filed out. Kol was the last to go, his gaze lingering on me before the door clicked shut.

The moment he was gone, Whitney rushed forward and pulled me into a fierce hug. Her whole body trembled against mine.

"Oh, baby," she whispered.

"I’m fine, Mom," I murmured into her shoulder.

"Yes, you are," she said, her voice cracking as she stroked my hair over and over. "Of course you’re fine, sweetheart."

I stayed in her warm embrace for a long moment, letting her soft reassurances wash over me, until she finally pulled back.

"How are you?" Steven asked, his eyes carefully scanning me from head to toe.

"Other than wearing this ugly hospital gown, I think I’m okay," I said with a soft laugh, tugging at the plain blue fabric.

The corner of Steven’s mouth twitched into a small smile. The heavy tension in the room seemed to ease.

Whitney guided me back to the bed and gently pushed me down to sit. She settled beside me, her fingers lacing tightly with mine.

Silence stretched between us for a beat. Whitney broke it first.

"I thought you died, Elyse," she said quietly.

She turned to face me fully, and for the first time I really looked at her. Her eyes were red and sunken, clearly from hours of crying. Fresh tear tracks still glistened on her cheeks.

Her voice shook as she continued. "You weren’t breathing. Everything failed. I thought... I thought..."

"I’m breathing now," I assured her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. She sniffled, nodding, then let out a deep, shaky breath.

She released my fingers only to wrap her arm around my waist, pulling me closer. I leaned into her warmth and rested my head against her shoulder.

Steven dragged the chair closest to the bed and sat down, watching me carefully.

"Will you tell us what happened?" he asked, hope threading through his tone.

I flushed and looked away from his steady gaze.

Tell them?

Where would I even start?

Maybe from the beginning — when Dash warned me not to join the game. Or the part where I was actually enjoying it after he stripped down to his leopard-print boxers and shirt in front of everyone. He’d twerked because the alternative was getting tossed into the pool.

I still didn’t understand why he hadn’t just taken the pool. He accepted every dare like an idiot.

Of course, he had warned me not to push it further. I’d ignored him, too busy relishing his embarrassment to realize it would soon be my turn.

"Elyse," Steven said, gently pulling my attention back.

"It was just a silly dare," I mumbled, cheeks burning hotter. "I’d rather not go into the details of how it happened."

I stared at Steven, my expression serious. "But I don’t think Dash would have wanted to hurt me..."

"He had every intention of killing you," Whitney cut in, her voice thick with upset. "And you shouldn’t be defending him right now."

"I’m not defending him..."

She pulled back from me, eyes blazing.

"Then what do you call ’I don’t think Dash would have wanted to hurt me’?" She mimicked my tone mockingly before her voice sharpened. "He threw you in and stood there watching while you drowned!"

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. Whitney shot to her feet, pointing her index finger at me.

"No more words about that boy," she said firmly. "I don’t care about the bond between you two. He’s going to face charges..."

"Mom!" I exclaimed.

Whitney ignored me, anger still radiating off her. "Secondly, you will stay away from him."

"I... why?" I asked, irritation rising.

"Because I am your mother, Elyse, and you will do as I say!" She growled.