Nicholas POV
The chains came off at five in the morning.
Callum did it without being asked. Moved through the room quietly....ankles first, then wrists...and Nicholas sat with his arms free and his back against the stone and did not move immediately.
His body needed a moment.
Years of full moons and it was always the same. The aftermath sitting heavier than the night itself. The particular exhaustion of holding something back for hours. The way everything felt slightly too bright and too loud in the first minutes after the moon peaked and released its grip.
He looked at his brothers.
Sebastian was already on his feet. Moving slowly but moving. He rolled his shoulders once and looked at the window where the sky had shifted from black to the deep grey that came just before dawn.
He still had Lilith's underwear in his hand.
He looked down at it briefly.
Tucked it back into his pocket without a word.
Nicholas looked at Lucian.
