Chapter 265: The Feeling of You

"I knew it,"

Theo blinked, still staring at his face. Then her face softened, "Hi," she whispered.

Everything inside Zeke stopped, and his mouth fell slightly open, "...Hi." The word came out so quietly that it barely sounded like him, and he sounded drugged.

Theo smiled at him, and God, Zeke looked like he’d just seen the Moon Goddess herself descend from the heavens.

His entire face softened. The tension disappeared from his shoulders. His lips curved into the most stupidly beautiful smile Sylas had ever seen on his brother’s face, and for several seconds, Zeke simply stared at her.

"Hellcat," he breathed again, and this time, Theo’s brows furrowed as something in her chest fluttered at the nickname the same way it did whenever Sylas called her Venom.

But she liked it.

Zeke took one step forward, then another. He wanted to reach out for her, until his brain finally caught up with his eyes.

His gaze dropped, and he remembered that Theo was sitting against Sylas.

And Sylas’s arm was still around her.

The smile vanished, and his emotions transformed into something else.

Not into anger.

Something much worse.

Fear.

Zeke swallowed. His hands curled into fists before he deliberately forced them open again and looked at Sylas.

Then Theo.

Then Sylas again.

He didn’t explode as he would have in the past, nor did he demand or accuse anyone of anything. He simply stood there, trying desperately to keep his voice steady, "Did you..." His throat tightened, and he cleared it, "Did you choose him?"

Theo blinked.

She had no idea what he was talking about.

"No. Wait." His expression was becoming almost painfully vulnerable. "Don’t answer because you think you have to."

Theo stared at him again, getting even more confused.

"If you chose Sylas..." He swallowed hard, forcing himself to continue. "I’ll accept it."

Sylas’s brows lifted, and he almost buried his head inside her neck and burst into laughter.

"I’m going to keep trying to be this whole...not-being-a-complete-asshole person." He continued, his voice breaking more and more, "But I need to know. Did you choose him?"

"Zeke," She said softly, and stood up from the chair.

Sylas loosened his grip and allowed her to go. She stood in front of Zeke, and took his hand into hers and squeezed, "What are you talking about? I don’t remember doing any choosing. And I’m not choosing any of you,"

"What?"

"I mean, you’re both my mates, aren’t you?" She asked, glancing between them both, "And...we all made it out alive, right?"

Zeke finally looked at his older brother and noticed how hard he was trying not to laugh, making Zeke realise he’d probably just lost about fifty years of his lifespan by panicking for nothing.

"I don’t know what I did in the past," Theo continued, "But I did choose anyone, that means I must have been really stupid. I have no desire for one person over the other," She smiled and touched his face, "So don’t worry, hm?"

"Okay," He was melting all over again.

Her smile grew bigger as she stared at him. Has he always been like this?!

"You’re not drunk anymore," He stated after a while.

"Yeah," She swallowed.

That mind-blowing sex she had with Sylas had brought her memories back, and she had recalled all that happened from the moment she’d set foot into the academy, "I’m sorry I caused you trouble,"

She recalled getting entangled in his pants and barking at him every time he tried to help. Or forcing him to take her to class. And... calling him gay.

The thought was so embarrassing.

"I’ll have you know that I enjoy your troubles very much," He took a step closer, "And now, I’m going to kiss you,"

Zeke grabbed her face and kissed her like he had forgotten how to breathe without her. For one suspended second, Theo simply froze beneath his mouth, then something inside her answered.

Her fingers curled into the front of his shirt, and Zeke made a broken sound against her lips before pulling her closer. His kiss was nothing like Sylas’s because there was no cold behind it.

Zeke was the opposite. He was fire, and barely contained emotion, all of it pouring through that single point where their mouths met.

Six months.

Six fucking months of wondering if she’d ever look at him again and see something other than a stranger.

Six months of remembering the feel of her against him while forcing himself not to reach for her.

And now she was here.

His Hellcat.

His hands trembled against her as though even his body couldn’t still believe she was real.

Her fingers held him harder, and his warmth spread through her, followed by something so achingly familiar that her eyes stung.

She didn’t just feel him, she knew him!

She knew this man so much!

She could almost feel a distant memory of them trying to settle, but she couldn’t catch it.

The feeling was just like when she had been with Sylas!

When he finally pulled back — which didn’t seem like he ever would- he didn’t let her go and crushed her into his arms again.

She hugged him back, one arm around his back and the other in his scalp.

Tears ran down her cheeks and dropped down on his shirt.

Why can’t she remember?!

Why?!

She wanted to remember them, and she wanted to do it now! It felt like torture to only feel but not know.

It was as if she was standing in front of a door with no key. She could hear everything happening on the other side of the door, but she could not find the key to open the door and walked into the other side.

And it was so, so frustrating.

"Would you like to sit?" She whispered into his ear.

"As long as I get to keep holding you," He whispered back.

The moment she sat down on the couch with her, she instinctively raised both legs from the floor and placed them on Sylas.

"I’ve missed you,"

She smiled up at Zeke. Her palm rested against his chest, and she could now feel his heartbeat.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

His heart was racing beneath her hand — hard, extremely fast, frantic, almost painfully alive.

Theo’s breath caught again. Everything about these men felt so familiar, and before she could stop it, a tear slipped down her cheek.

She didn’t even know why she was crying.

She only knew that beneath her palm was a heartbeat she had apparently missed enough to break her all over again, "I missed you too,"