"Where have you been? Your mom is acting like she doesn't know you and that girl," Josh stopped pacing and pointed down the hall toward where Missy disappeared, "has no idea she's your cousin. Your aunt says she doesn't know you either. At first, I thought it was an act to get rid of me, but I went to your mom's place, and everything was gone. It was completely empty, Em. What the fuck is going on?"

"You broke into my house?" I changed the subject as I tried to figure out how to answer his questions. I couldn't tell Josh anything about me. He needed to go home. I cared too much about his wellbeing for him to be here. He could get hurt or worse.

"Well, not exactly. I snuck through your window like I used to. It's not like I did anything wrong." Josh's brown eyes pleaded with mine. "Please, tell me what's going on, Em."

"Nothing. My mom's selling the house, and she had movers put our stuff in storage." I made sure to keep my voice even so Josh would believe my lie.

"What about your aunt and Missy? They made me think I was crazy for assuming you lived there. And by the way, Missy hates your guts. She talked my ear off about it all day. That girl is cruel."

My jaw dropped as I crossed my arms. "You were with her all day?"

Josh's brows drew together in concern. "Of course, I was. She was my only way to find you. She told me you were the new girl at school and that you were a total bitch, but that you'd been absent over the last week. I had to ask where to find Tyler. You know... the douche who hung up on me, and she immediately brought me here. I thought you were hurt or dead all this time, and instead I find you at a fucking party in bed with another dude. I'm so fucking confused, Em. Give me something. Missy said you haven't been in school for a while. Where have you been and why can't anyone remember you?"

My eyes clenched shut, wishing that he'd just stayed in Florida. How the hell could I answer his questions? I was caught completely off-guard. I didn't know how to cover up my instant disappearance. Josh knew me too well. He knew something was going on, and I didn't know how to lie to him.

"Em?" Josh's hand grasped my shoulder, trying to comfort me. "Whatever it is, you can tell me. You know that, right?"

My eyes opened. "Yeah. Um... I need to use the restroom. Stay here. I'll be right back."

"Alright." Josh sighed in frustration, but relented and sat on the end of Justin's bed.

I shut the door behind me and ran downstairs to find Justin. He'd know what to do.

The stairs were roped off with a "KEEP OUT" sign, which was an immense relief because the house was filled to the brim with people. And damn, some of them stunk to high heaven. Between the overwhelming cologne and perfume, I could smell a pungent odor of multiple animals. It literally smelled like a zoo in here.

"Excuse me," I said, shouldering through a large group of people drunk of their asses.

"Hey, good lookin'." Someone grabbed the hood of my sweatshirt and yanked me back.

I spun to face a big dude with dark brown hair. He wasn't hard to look at, but he smelled like a dog wearing cologne. Gross. "Don't fucking grab my sweatshirt like that, asshole!"

Dropping my hood, his hands shot up in surrender. "My bad. I just thought you might let me get you a drink."

Flaring my nostrils, I shook my head. "No, thanks."

His innocent hazel eyes shifted ever so slightly to irritation. "Hey, I was only offering to make you feel good tonight. Looks like you need something to take the edge off."

I narrowed my gaze on him. "Nah. I'm good, but thanks for the offer."

Moving fast, I shoved through the crowd while I searched for Justin. Where in the hell was he? I couldn't find Tyler either.

I opened the front door and found Mason sitting on a stool with a bucket of money displayed on the table in front of him.

"Fuck, man. Just let us in. We'll pay you back later. We got half." A tall guy held out tens and twenties.

Mason crossed his arms and shook his head. "Nope. The cover per person is twenty-five flat, and the house is full. You got fifteen fuckin' people in your group, and you only have enough to cover five. Fuck off."

What the hell was he doing? I thought this was supposed to be a small party, and Mason was charging for entry. Small party, my ass.

"Mason?" A girl called from somewhere on the front lawn.

Mason looked in her direction but said nothing.

"Let us in, and I'll make it worth your while." The girl's tone promised something much more than money.

Mason stood to his full height, and I could feel the animosity rolling off him. "Not interested. I got a girl, and you couldn't touch her with a ten-foot pole. Take your friends and go the fuck on before you really piss me off."

The tall guy's shoulders fell as he pocketed his cash. "Let's go, guys. We'll find something better to do."

Mason sat down, eyeballing the entire group until they were climbing into their vehicles.

"Where's Justin?" I asked, and I'm pretty sure I surprised Mason because he flinched slightly.

Mason's green eyes landed on me. He smirked. "You done with that normy already. You get around, don't you?"

I glared at him. "You need to learn how to mind your own business. Now tell me where Justin is."

Mason stood and slowly crowded my space with a calculating gleam in his eyes.

I backed up until my elbow knocked against the wall. "Back the fuck off."

Mason ignored me and planted his hands on either side of my head, caging me in. His eyes lit up slightly as he scanned my face, and the tempting aroma of warm chocolate chip cookies wafted off him. "You know you can have a real man, right?"

Butterflies fluttered in my chest as I searched his green eyes, wanting to pull him closer. His lips were only inches away. His gaze seductively raked over my face. I bit down hard on my bottom lip, bringing me back to the present. I didn't want him. He was an arrogant prick.

I didn't need this shit right now. I already had enough to worry about. "I'm not sure what you mean by a real man, and honestly, I don't care. Just tell me where Justin is, Mason."

Mason's lips quirked up into a half grin. He knew what he was doing to me. "Why don't you leave those pups with their girlfriends and stay here with me. You know you want to."

"Girlfriends? What the fuck?" I ducked under his arm, narrowly escaping his hand when he grabbed for me.

Without looking back, I ran around the front of the house in search of Justin and Tyler. I could only assume one thing. Jenny and Jessica had come with Missy. Could my fucking night get any worse?

That's when I noticed Tyler standing alongside a long line of vehicles. His hat was backward, and he was leaning against the side of someone's car. Damn, he was so hot. His hands were in his pockets as Jenny stood in front of him, trying to talk to him. He didn't look like he was into the conversation, but still... what the fuck? Lucas was with Missy. Tyler was talking to Jenny. And where the hell was Justin? I had a really good guess.

Instead of letting this go on any longer, I walked right up to Tyler and Jenny. I'd obviously come at a bad time because Jenny threw a sour glance my way, or maybe that was the way she always looked.

Tyler's eyebrows lifted in surprise as a cute grin played on his lips. "Hey, Shortie. Sleep good?"

"Shortie? You have a nickname for her?" Jenny snapped before she tried to step between us.

"You shouldn't ask questions you already know the answer to." I said as I slid around her and wrapped my arms around Tyler's middle, plastering myself to his side.

Tyler gave me a big smile and easily looped his arm around my shoulder, tugging me close.

I smiled at Tyler and glanced over at Jenny, daring her to say something. And this girl did not disappoint.

"What the fuck, Tyler? I thought this skank was with Justin! Now she's with you? What a ho bag!" Jenny stomped her foot like a toddler.

"I am with Justin." I taunted, resting my head on Tyler's shoulder. "And Lucas. And Ty."

Tyler barked out a laugh so hard that I had to loosen my hold on him.

The gawking disgust on Jenny's face was to die for. It wasn't only disgust on her face, but sure-as-shit envy.

Tyler didn't seem to notice as he tucked me back under his arm and led me away. "See ya, Jenny. We got shit to do."

"You fucking skanky ass whore." Jenny shrieked just before she ripped me back by my ponytail.

"Hey!" Tyler was yanked back too, but he caught me just before I hit the ground. He pulled me into his arms, checking me for injuries. His eyes connected with Jenny's and his face twisted with rage. "I told you if you ever fucking touched her again, you'd regret it!"

Jenny's eyes grew large as her gaze darted between us. "I... I'm s-s... sorry."

"Uh-uh," Tyler shook his head slowly. "This time you're going to pay for touching her. I let you off last time, but that was a big mistake. I'm about to make your life a living hell."

Jenny started backing away. "No... I'm sorry. I don't want any trouble."

"You should've thought about that before you fucking attacked my girlfriend." Tyler kept glaring at Jenny until her eyes fell to the ground. Tyler glanced at me in concern and ran his hand softly over my messy hair, looping a strand behing my ear.

I should've been trying to talk him down, but the fact that Tyler just called me his girlfriend made my body burn with tingles. Tyler loved me, and he was showing it by claiming me in public.

"Girlfriend? Tyler Noble doesn't do girlfriends." Jenny's eyes glistened with tears, but I didn't feel bad for her.

"I do now. Ember's it for me." Tyler glanced over his shoulder. "Justin, get over here, man."

I twisted to find Justin walking around the side of the house with Jessica next to him, but I didn't feel any jealousy. I knew Justin was with me.

Justin's eyes locked on mine as he jogged toward us, leaving Jessica to join Jenny. "What happened?"

Tyler guided me to Justin and handed me over to him. "Stay with her. It's time for Jenny and her friends to leave. I'm calling Lucas to bring Missy out. I'm done with their shit, dude. Jenny just fucking attacked her again."

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Justin hollered at Jenny. "You fucking hurt her again?"

The two girls seemed to curl in on themselves under Justin's anger.

I pushed to my tiptoes to whisper in his ear, trying to calm him down. "It's okay. I'm okay."

"Fuck, Angel. I wanna kill her." Justin held me close, breathing hard, doing his best to calm down.

"I'm handling it. Their crew won't have it easy when we go back to school. The totem pole is about to change, and they're going straight to the bottom." Tyler's jaw ticked as he threw a glare at the two girls. "Get in your car and wait. Missy will be out momentarily. None of you are welcome around any of us ever again. That means if you see us, leave. If we're at a party, you all leave. Got that?"

With tears streaming down her face, Jenny nodded once and turned toward the car.

"What did you do, Jenny?" Jessica demanded angrily.

"Ember's with all of them." Jenny mumbled under her breath.

Jessica gasped and looked back at me before she whispered, "Slut."

Instead of cowering at the oddity of me being with three guys, I glared at her. "Jealous?"

Shocked at my reaction, Jessica turned away instantly. Fuck anyone for slut-shaming me. I didn't choose my life. It chose me. And it connected me with my fated mates. We were mates on a soul level and there was nothing any of us could do about it. There was no fucking way I could let my guys carry all the burden. It was hard for all of us, and I needed to stake my claim, just like Tyler and Justin were doing.

"Send Missy out, bro. Jenny fucked up again. It's time for them to bounce." Tyler spoke into his phone.

Justin inspected my face, brushing my hair back. "Are you okay? Did she hit you?"

"I'm fine. She just enjoys pulling hair. She yanked me back by my ponytail again." I ripped out my hair-tie and started fixing what she'd ruined.

"Bitch." Justin muttered.

I chuckled. "Truth."

Missy exited the house in tears. When she noticed me, she sneered but didn't open her big mouth, which was a good choice on her part.

Missy and I stayed in a glaring match as she walked toward her friends, and it was like we were total strangers. She had no idea that we were once cousins. The only emotions coming off her were jealousy and hatred, which was oddly funny since they were precisely the same feelings I felt from her before. I couldn't believe I'd ever thought we could be like sisters. By no fault of my own, she and I were enemies. We always had been and we always would be. Missy made that decision from the very beginning.

"Get in." Tyler opened the car door and motioned for her sit. "Never come near us again."

"Never?" Missy whined as she wiped her cheeks. "Why? I didn't do anything."

"Ask your friends why. Time to leave." Tyler instructed.

Missy crawled inside, slammed the door, and instantly started screaming at her friends.

When Jenny didn't drive away, Tyler knocked hard on the hood. "Go!"

The car jerked hard and finally started toward the main road. I was glad to see them leave.

"Em?" Josh called as he walked toward us. "You ditched me in there."

Shit. With all the Jenny drama, I'd forgotten about Josh.

Josh winced as he took in how I was holding onto Justin. Josh's eyebrows drew together in pain and anger. "You ditched me so you could be with these guys? What the fuck, Em?"

A growl rumbled low in Justin's chest as Tyler stalked toward him.

"Who the fuck are you?" Tyler demanded angrily as he stood to his full height.

"Who am I? I'm her boyfriend. Who the fuck are you?" Josh's fists opened and closed as he mirrored Tyler's stance. Josh wasn't a small guy. He wasn't exactly as ripped as Tyler, but he could hold his own when the time called for it.

"Tyler, it's okay." I said.

"You're not her boyfriend. I am." Tyler got right in his face.

Josh blinked in shock and glanced at me, examining how I was wrapped around Justin. Pure confusion flooded his face.

I glanced up at Justin and decided to open my mind up to my guys. I wanted all of them to hear all my thoughts. I spoke in their minds.

When I pulled back, Justin searched my eyes.

I frowned. The last thing I wanted to do was mess with his memory. I cared about Josh. He'd been there for me countless times. He'd taken care of me when I couldn't take care of myself, but I had to face the hard truth. That life belonged to a girl that no longer existed. I wasn't her anymore. Totally removing myself from Josh's memory didn't sit right with me, but what other option did we have?

"Em? What's going on? Are you with both of these guys? What about the one in the room upstairs? Isn't this the one that I talked to on the phone that night? Tyler, right? He was tormenting you. Why are you here with him? Are they forcing you to do something you don't want to do?" Josh's penetrating stare begged for me to answer, but I had no idea what to say.

"No, Josh. I want to be here." Sliding away from Justin, I walked over to Tyler, who was watching me intently. I could see the understanding behind his clear blue eyes. Tyler remembered his first day with me. His presence had been overwhelming then, but now... he was important. I couldn't imagine not being with him. And even more than that, I knew we belonged to one another. He was mine and I was his.

My hand found Tyler's as I laced my fingers through his.

Tyler's warm thumb caressed over mine. His soft gaze swept over my face, stopping on my eyes. He nodded sadly before he glanced back at Justin.

I hated what we were about to do, but it had to happen. Josh needed to be free of me, so he could live a normal life. He had to forget I ever existed and that he ever loved me. Only then would he be able to move forward and find someone who could make him happy.

Justin approached Josh and stuck out his hand. "I'm Justin. And you are?"

The question floated between them for what seemed like forever until Josh stuck out his hand. "Josh."

As they shook hands, Justin's eyes lit up slowly with golden hues. "I've heard a lot about you. You're a good guy. Thanks for checking on her. She's lucky to have someone who cares about her so much. I can't believe you came here all the way from Florida."

Josh pulled his hand back as his eyebrows bunched. "I couldn't not look for her. She's special. When you love someone, you can't just drop 'em and forget 'em."

Justin took a step forward with a soft smile. "I feel that, and I get why you came. I would've done the same thing."

Josh glanced at each of us, trying to figure us out. "I hope I'm finally gonna get some real answers."

"Oh, for sure, man." Justin chuckled. His eyes lit to shimmering gold as he locked eyes with my ex.

Josh's brown eyes were skeptical until his face fell slack. The authoritative power emanating off Justin made the air around us tremble and vibrate.

Justin didn't take his eyes off Josh. "Ember Pearl never existed. She's just a dream you had about a girl. Every memory you two made together is fading fast. And like every dream, you're forgetting she was ever a part of your life. You being here is all just a bad dream. You're going to get on a plane and go straight home. When you get home, you need to find everything that reminds you of Ember and this dream. Then you're going to burn everything you find. If anyone asks about Ember, you'll ignore the question like you never heard it. You're gonna go back to school and ace all your classes because you want to get into a great college. One day, you'll find the love of your life and start a family. You're going to live a long, happy life."

Tears filled my eyes and started streaming down my face as I watched Josh's flat expression soak up all of Justin's words. When Justin finished speaking, Josh stared blankly into space.

Lucas appeared beside Josh. How long had he been there? I knew he'd heard everything through our link.