JAY'S POV — WHEN CONSCIOUSNESS RETURNS WRONG
Pain came first.
Not loud—
dull, throbbing, insistent. Like someone had driven a nail into my skull and left it there.
I groaned.
The sound echoed.
That's when I knew I wasn't home.
My eyes fluttered open slowly, light stabbing behind my temples. Concrete ceiling. Rusted beams. Hanging wires swaying slightly like they were breathing.
A warehouse.
My wrists burned.
I looked down.
Rope.
Thick. Tight. Crude knots digging into my skin. Same with my ankles. I was seated on a chair—metal, cold—even through the uniform.
"Okay," I whispered hoarsely. "Not ideal."
I swallowed. My mouth tasted like metal.
I tested my hands subtly.
The rope didn't give.
A shadow moved.
I froze.
Footsteps. Unhurried. Confident.
Someone stepped into view.
A man—mid-twenties, maybe older. Dark clothes. Calm posture. Smile that didn't belong anywhere good.
He crouched in front of me like we were about to have a conversation over coffee.
"Well," he said lightly. "You're awake earlier than expected."
"Who the hell are you," I snapped, even as my head screamed in protest.
He chuckled. "Straight to business. I like that."
I glared. "Untie me."
His smile widened. "Oh? And what happens after that?"
"I show you hell," I said without hesitation.
Something flickered in his eyes.
Interest.
He laughed properly this time. "You're his favorite for a reason."
My stomach dropped.
"…His?"
He stood, circling me slowly. "You don't remember much after the party, do you?"
I clenched my jaw. "Stop talking like you know me."
"Oh, I don't," he said. "But I know him."
He stopped in front of me again. "Keifer."
My breath caught despite myself.
"What about him?" I demanded.
Ram tilted his head. "You really don't know."
I lunged forward as much as the ropes allowed. "You touch him, and I swear—"
He laughed again. "Relax. This isn't about hurting you."
That was worse.
"This," he said casually, tapping my cheek with two fingers, "is about watching him break."
Rage burned through the fog.
I twisted my wrists harder this time, ignoring the pain. The rope scraped. One knot—looser than the rest.
Ram noticed too late.
"Oh," he said. "You're fun."
I worked faster now—heart hammering, fingers numb but stubborn. The knot slipped. Just a little.
Ram stepped closer. "Careful. You don't want—"
The warehouse door slammed open.
Hard.
Metal shrieked.
Footsteps—fast, controlled, lethal.
Ram froze.
I looked up—
And saw Keifer.
He stood framed in the doorway like the world had sharpened around him. Jacket off. Jaw tight. Eyes locked on me first—just long enough to confirm I was alive.
Then his gaze shifted to Ram.
And something ancient woke up in it.
"Step away from her," Keifer said quietly.
Ram straightened, amused again. "You're right on time."
Keifer didn't blink. "Untie her."
Ram spread his hands. "Or what?"
Keifer moved.
Not fast.
Certain.
Cin and Yuri appeared behind him, flanking. Rory circled wide. Edrix's voice crackled faintly from somewhere unseen.
Ram's smile thinned.
"This isn't how this ends," he said.
Keifer stopped an inch from him.
"Yes," he replied coldly. "It is."
Ram glanced at me one last time. "You really have no idea how much power you have, do you?"
Keifer grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into a pillar.
The impact rang through the warehouse.
"Don't look at her," Keifer said. "Ever again."
Cin was already cutting my ropes.
"Jay," he said gently. "Stay with me."
The chair tipped forward as my restraints fell away. My legs nearly gave out—but strong hands caught me.
Keifer.
His grip was firm. Grounding. Real.
"You're safe," he said under his breath. "I've got you."
For the first time since waking—
I believed it.
And somewhere behind us, Ram laughed.
Low.
Promising.
This wasn't over.
Not even close.
Everything exploded at once.
Shouting. Footsteps. Metal hitting concrete.
Section E poured into the warehouse like a breach—Cin swinging first, Yuri already mid-fight, Felix and David tackling someone twice their size. Rory moved like a ghost, precise and silent. Edrix shouted coordinates from somewhere behind cover.Others fought....
Ram's men came from everywhere.
Too many.
The air turned violent.
Keifer had Ram pinned—forearm to throat, fury vibrating through him. Ram coughed, laughed anyway.
"You think this ends with me on the floor?" he rasped.
Then he moved.
Fast. Dirty.
He slammed his heel into Keifer's knee, twisted free, and before anyone could stop him—
He grabbed me.
Hard.
My back hit the wall. My head snapped sideways as he dragged me through a side door, into a smaller room—office maybe, bare bulb swinging overhead.
"LET GO," I screamed.
He didn't.
Pain exploded behind my eyes as he shoved me forward. I hit the edge of a table—hard—then the floor.
White noise filled my skull.
"Stay down," Ram snarled.
Wrong choice.
I kicked.
Caught his knee.
He stumbled.
I was up before the dizziness could win, slamming my fist into his jaw. He reeled, but he fought back—wild, vicious. We crashed into shelves. Wood splintered. He grabbed my hair; I drove my elbow into his ribs.
He grunted.
I didn't stop.
Adrenaline drowned everything.
I struck again—throat, chest, jaw. He went down on one knee.
Then the door burst open.
Keifer.
He didn't speak.
He just hit Ram.
Once. Twice. Again.
Each punch was pure fury—years of hatred unloaded in seconds. Ram's head snapped back. Blood sprayed the wall—not mine, not his problem anymore.
Then more of Ram's men rushed in.
Everything fractured.
I turned, grabbed one by the collar, slammed his head into the wall. Another came at me—I ducked, swept his legs, dropped him hard.
Someone shouted my name.
I spun—
And saw it.
A knife.
In a man's hand.
Aimed at Keifer's back.
Time slowed.
Keifer didn't see it.
I didn't think.
I moved.
I stepped between them.
The blade hit me low—sharp, hot, final.
Pain ripped through my stomach like fire.
I gasped.
The world tilted.
The man froze, eyes wide.
Keifer turned—
And everything in his face shattered.
"JAY—"
He caught me as my legs gave out. The room blurred, sound muffled like I was underwater.
Keifer roared.
It wasn't a sound I'd ever heard before.
Cin tackled the man with the knife. Yuri slammed another into the ground. Felix blocked the door. Ram tried to crawl away.
Keifer didn't let him.
He laid me down gently—too gently for the chaos around us.
"Stay with me," he said, hands shaking as he pressed down where I was bleeding. "Don't you dare close your eyes."
I tried to smile.
"Guess… I remembered something after all," I whispered.
His eyes burned. "Don't. Talk."
Sirens wailed somewhere far off.
Ram was screaming now.
Keifer didn't hear him.
He was staring at me like the world had narrowed down to one impossible truth—
I had stepped in front of the blade meant for him.
And nothing about this war was theoretical anymore.
Because blood had been drawn.
And it was mine....