Tessa's feet moved instinctively across the wood floors of the bar, but her mind was trapped in a storm. Jax's anxiety radiated off him like heatwaves, sharp and suffocating, and Nancy, as perceptive as ever, seemed to sense something was wrong. "Tessa, is everything okay?" Nancy asked, her voice lined with concern as she pulled Jax and Tessa into an embrace. It was a motherly gesture that made Tessa's throat tighten, but the comfort was short-lived. "No, Nancy, I have to leave," Tessa said, stealing a glance at Jax, who looked like he might bolt at any moment. The knot in her stomach tightened further, her unease spreading like wildfire. Nancy's gaze lingered on Jax, her worry evident. She'd come to think of Tessa and Jax as her own children, her protectiveness unwavering. "Be careful, both of you" she murmured, squeezing their hands. On their way out, as if the night hadn't offered enough strange encounters, Wyatt appeared in the hallway. His hand brushed Tessa's arm gently, stopping her mid-step. His eyes darted nervously as he offered a crooked smile. "Just wanted to wish you a good night. Hopefully, we'll see each other soon." "Goodnight, Wyatt" she said, her voice distant as she returned his nod. There was no time to think about his odd timing. The crisp night air bit at her skin, stinging like frost in mid-December. She grabbed Jax's hand tighter and pushed forward into the night, hoping the walk would quiet her racing thoughts. Inside her apartment, the silence was thick, broken only by Jax's uneven pacing. Tessa dropped onto the couch, her heart thudding like a drum. "Jax, you have to say something. You're freaking me out." His fingers tangled in his hair as he paced like a caged animal. "I don't know where to begin, Tes. There's too much- I don't want to lose you." Her heart dropped, her pulse quickening. "What? Lose me? What did you do?" Jax froze, gripping the emergency cabinet as if it were a lifeline, pulling out whiskey and two glasses with trembling hands. His hesitation was its own confession. "We're gonna need this" he muttered as he poured the amber liquid. The first sip burned as Tessa braced herself for what was coming. "Jax" she said, her voice softening. "Start from the beginning." He sank into the armchair opposite her, his eyes fixed on the swirling whiskey in his glass like held the answer "I saw him, Tes. I saw Lucas" The name struck like a physical blow, her grip tightening on the glass. "Lucas?" she whispered, her voice brittle. "When?" Jax story poured out of him, fragmented at first, as if he was trying to put pieces of a shattered mirror together. He described the hotel, Luca's nightly outings cloaked in secrecy, and the peculiar energy surrounding the Silve Moon club. The way the clubbers hissed, bared fangs, and recoiled from Lucas like shadows shrinking from sunlight. Tessa's hand shook as she drank more whiskey, each detail pulling her further into the web. At the climax of the tale, Lucas stabbing someone and watching the body disintegrate into ashes sent chills down her spine. She blinked, trying to dispel the memory of the shadow she'd seen near her building not long ago. Could it have been him? "And the girl at the club?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "The one Lucas was talking to, what happened to her?" Jax's expression darkened, his brow creasing in guilt. "She's dead." He said, the words landing like stones in the quiet room. "It was the same girl from the club, the one we saw that night." Tessa gasped, her mind reeling. "Why didn't you tell me before? Why keep this from me?" Jax looked away, his jaw clenched. "I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't know if you'd even believe me, Tes. I didn't want you to think I'd lost it." Her voice rose with frustration. "What happened when you talked to him?" Jax's gaz snapped back to her, and the raw emotion in his eyes silenced her anger. "We met at the hotel bar. He looked…different. Older. Worn down. But he still had that presence, Tes, like he could crush you if he wanted. He had this strange calmness, drinking club soda like he wasn't the guy who once drank whisky like water." He described their conversation in vivid detail. Luca's disinterest in Tessa and their shared history gnawed at her like aching tooth. And then, Jax repeater Luca's parting words: "Sei il mio piu grande amore, la mia luna e le mie stelle. Ti aspettero quando sarai pronto" The words hung between them like a curse, their meaning wrapping around her heart like barbed wire. Tears rolled silently down her face as the memories resurfaced. Lucas used to say those exact words to her during their happiest moments. But now, they felt like a ghost of what once was. "I haven't read the letter," she said, her voice trembling. "Or opened the box he sent that day in court. I put everything in my closet." Her mind spiraled, the weight of Lucas's presence pressing down on her like a tidal wave. If he was here in Falls Hollow, why? What did he want? Before she could grasp the answers, a familiar chill crept along her spine. The same sensation she'd felt the night she saw the shadow near the building. Slowly, she turned to the balcony. Sitting there, his silhouette illuminated by the faint glow of streetlights was Ash MacKenzie. His gaze was steady, his expression unreadable. Yet, his words sliced through the air like a knife.
"You're my greatest love, my moon and my stars…such pretty words from a lover."