EZRA
I hated this. Every second, every touch, every forced moan that left my lips…it all made me want to throw up. Lucius was trying to be Malachai, but he could never be him. The way he touched me, the way he held me, the way he whispered things I wished I could unhear, none of it was real. None of it was right. He was just a cheap, twisted imitation, forcing himself into a role he had no right to play.
Every time he moved inside me, pretending he was gentle, pretending he was considerate, I wanted to claw his skin off. My body betrayed me, responding with gasps and shudders I despised. I hated it. Hated how he was trying to mimic the way Malachai touched me. Hated how my body reacted against my will. Hated him.
When he kissed my shoulder, I flinched. When he whispered my name, I shut my eyes and imagined Malachai instead. But the scent was wrong. The warmth was wrong. The feeling was wrong. It was all so painfully wrong.
Lucius noticed. He always did. He was never dumb, never oblivious. And yet, instead of forcing me, he kept up this act. This ridiculous charade that he could somehow replace Malachai.
"Ezra," he whispered against my skin.
I clenched my teeth. "Don't say my name."
He only sighed, but for once, there was no anger in him. No rage. No violence. Just something quiet. Something I didn't want to understand.
**********
The next day, he walked in with a man I had never seen before. The stranger was dressed sharply, with glasses perched on his nose and a bag in his hand. A doctor.
Lucius' voice was softer than usual. "Ezra, this is Dr. Vaughn. He's here to help you walk again."
My breath caught in my throat.
"What?"
Lucius stepped closer, eyes searching mine. "Your knees… after what happened, they're healing. The forceful impact caused a case of orthokinesis realignment, meaning everything is shifting back into place" My knees….my legs….i could move them again?. I could… I could walk?.
Dr. Vaughn knelt beside me, adjusting his glasses. "Your recovery won't be immediate, but with the right exercises and patience, you'll be on your feet again. The trauma was severe, but your body is resilient."
My heart pounded.
I could run.
I could run back to Malachai.
Lucius smiled, and for a second, I saw something genuine there…something that made my stomach churn. He thought this was his way in. His way to get me to love him. To replace Malachai.
But he could never replace him.
Because once I could walk again, I was leaving. I was going back to the man I belonged to. Back to the man who owned my heart.
Lucius had made a mistake. A grave, irreversible mistake. He had given me the one thing that would ensure my escape.
I was going to walk again.
And I was going to run back to Malachai.