YN'S

gainst the cracked windshield of my Mercedes, the car tilted at a nauseatin

sed and tasted blood on my tongue. My ankle was definitely bro

riven by loiterers who had been lurking around

ssenger side floor. The screen was cracked in a spiderweb patter

leader (Alpha). For three years, he'd been my partner in name only. He'd never cared about me, never been attentiv

eep, impatient voice pierced thro

him. Tears welled in my eyes, hot and shameful, mingling with the cold raindrops dripping from my hair. "Dorian, I

econd, my heart skipped a beat. I allowed myself to hold onto hope. I imagined his alph

d, sweet and affected. "Dorian, darling, is every

course, i

tone he had never used on me before. "

gut. He returned to the phone, his voice hardening once

lightning, my voice hollow and weak. "It was the

ive tone was like a slap in the face, scattering the air from my lun

were forced out of my mouth as

room for argument. "I have to pick up Sloa

after a potential attack. The bond of companionship, once a warm tie to my soul, now felt like bei

and cold. The tears stopped. That pitiful hope was ex

y arrive," he commanded, his tone leaving no

idn't even ask if I was alright. A low, guttural sob escaped my lips, more like an animal than a hum

r led to him. Not anymore. I scrolled down my contact list, pas

nly once. "Evie? What's wrong? I can s

mbled. I told

ng through the phone. "That son of a bitch," she roared. A gamma warrior'

d soldiers,"

ve minutes away from you. If those wanderers are still lurking around nearby, I'll tear them t

pte

s persp

and took me back, s

nd the therapist had a great deal

Dorian did not v

a ba

s, and he didn't even as

silence of my bedroom. "I cornered his deputy, Aiden, this mo

d Sloane," I murmured, a bitter

Evie, you need to stop torturing yourself like th

ing. It's like a phantom limb, a persistent craving for his pre

t my attention. My heart clenched in my chest, acco

his signature power suit, but rather casual jeans and a dark Hen

a little boy with curly blond hair. Leo. Walking on Dorian's

eyes. She looked up at Dorian, her eyes filled with pure adoration, which made my st

im onto his shoulders. Leo burst into laughter

smile. It was a smile I'd probably only seen twice in three years, and never once directed at me. It

brushing against Dorian's cheek. He didn't pull away. He leaned

Alpha, beautiful Luna, and their adorable so

under her breath besid

at. I put a hand on her a

ont of you! This is Luna's residence!"

alk down there, wounded, like a pathetic wretched creature, begging for his attention? Begg

like ashes. "But I'm not his Luna. She is." I

competition I had never even participated in. My role in his life was merely a technical detail, a biologic

hope, the lingering pain of rejection... all of that had simply... ceased. The flame that had

om the window. "He

me, puzzled. "A

the Sylvanusian legacy I had neglected while chasing after i

at the window. The image of their perfect family was

first leather

help me get rid of this pain,

ter

passed. I've bar

ood; she was worri

was in

al, when my phone buzzed on the table. I ignored it. It was probably just another concerned mes

nnoyed, I picked it up. This wasn't a phone call. It was a series of messages

otographed, perfectly lit chocolate cake, served on a pristine

is is your favorite. The devil's food

n our first and only "date," a stiff, formal dinner where I nervously spoke

camera. She was in the formal dining room of the mansion, a room I hadn't set foot in for months. Beh

candles burning brightly. And sitting next to the cake, shimm

had carved for him before he died. In a rare moment of vulnerability, he had told me that it was his m

et her use it as a prop f

looking at her, and her hand was on his arm, her body leaning towards him. The cake and the wooden wolf w

oice of word. A reminder of his po

A declaration of war. She took something incredibly personal to me-a memory, a favorite possession-and twisted it into a weapon

ced by a tsunami-like, profound pain that stole my breath. The wolf within me, always huddled in a cor

away his time, his tenderness, his smile wasn't enough. She had to grind my face into the dirt. She had to prove that every part

terror. "Evie! What's wrong? I sensed it throug

inted at the phone on the t

om confusion to disbelief, then to pu

ill not be a victim in my own story. I will not be a ghost in my own life. This bond, this cursed chain that bound

y calm. "Find me the wolf pack's la

off all cont