Chapter 234

Celena's Perspective The pickup truck ate up the highway, its engine growling, the scenery outside blurring into streaks of color. Wind whipped through the half-open window, tangling my hair and carrying Jacob's familiar scent—pine, sweat, and that uniquely warm, wild essence that was his alone. I drew a deep breath, filling my lungs with it. Suddenly, a feeling I hadn't experienced in a very long time rose within me, like a dormant spring beginning to flow once more. Back then—when I was observed like a lab rat in Karl's basement—Brett had been like a brother, my first taste of familial warmth. But Jacob, after my escape… he had replaced Brett, becoming something even more essential. Jacob was the one who could read my silences, who offered his jacket when I shivered, who sat with me through the night, listening to my incoherent ramblings after a nightmare until dawn broke. He understood me better, cared for me more deeply than even Max, my blood brother. H