Chapter 55

**Zane***

My heart nearly skips a beat when I see Talia open her eyes for the first time since she fell unconscious in the car, her warm brown irises resembling swirls of chocolate and honey. How I missed those beautiful eyes of hers.

I don’t waste any time and kiss her, needing to feel the tenderness of her soft plump lips against mine after all these agonizing hours lying in wait. Guilt bubbles in my chest, however, and I pull away to reassure her of my feelings.

“I-l love y-you too,” I murmur, Talia’s eyes filling with tears as she cups my cheeks to kiss me again.

It does not escape me that her touch feels different, that the sparks are a little stronger as they tingle across my skin. Even her scent is more prominent, my nostrils filling with the soothing scent of lavender and rain.

Something is different, Grayson says, growing restless as I hold Talia in my arms. She feels different,

Neither of us can quite understand what it is so we chalk up the strange intensity of our bond to me missing her these past few nights and I reluctantly pull away from Talia’s lips. Her eyes flicker from side to side and she goes very still, as if trying to listen to something. The only sounds I hear are the sounds of the River Moon clinic nurses and technicians walking up and down the halls