VAR

orced myself to leave. My shoes clicked softly against the marble fl

gold and shadow across the floor. I was halfway to the guest wi

cry over scum l

top

t...soft, teasing, completely

ne boot crossed over the other, the firelight catching o

t or color that marked

catch. Sharp jaw, dark hair falling carelessly over his forehead, eyes t

ds down the front of my ruined

eaning against the wall. "R

ou," I muttered. "Yo

dn't. But you looked like y

y w

a slow grin. "You're pretty Alpha. The on

e. I folded my arms over my chest. "Y

w. "Still defen

call me

? It sui

in his voice made my pulse jum

with easy, unhurried steps. I took a small

now. His features were sharp but not cruel, the kind of handsome th

said quietly. "What

lva

the sound. "Pretty. But

, I found myself almost smiling.

en I'm

the open archway that led to the court

the world just ended. A

me, small and

y anything.

nside anymore. "He was supposed to be my mate," I whispered. "We grew up together. Since we w

sion softened a

ce cracked on the last word. "A Frostmoon princess. He sa

ad. "Politics. The old

en if I was the unshifted wolf every mocked. Even

g moment. "It does. He just doe

pulling free. I hadn't realized how much I need

aid softly feeli

ve a name?

le. "Names make things compl

. "You're

d worse. But str

s spoke. The wind slipped through

suddenly. "The pack, the whispers, everyth

hy don'

have nowh

eady eyes. "Everyone has somewher

u sound like you've d

ar away had caught his attention. "Maybe I

sk more, but he stepped back, the

't see you, bunny," he said quietly. "

e again, he turned and dis

oice following me like a heartbeat. I didn't eve

felt emptier

been. The air still held a trace of him... something dark and cl

g. From the humiliation. From losing everything I tho

t didn't make sense, but somehow, that stranger had made the w

yself, shaking my head. "

ade me smil

stone floor. The torches hissed in their brackets, throwing trembl

r open and slipped inside. The scent of lavender filled the space...one of the m

e flowers by the window, the folded robe at the end of the bed, the silver hairp

stage for a play that had

For a long time, I just stared at them. The marks where the cer

y, wishing the memory

courtyard. Wolves are celebrating the new alliance. Maybe even Aedric

ed to

ted t

, I wanted

tired, eyes swollen from the tears I refused to let fall. The girl looking back at me didn't look

to my reflection. "I'll find somewhere

. I didn't know where I would go. The world beyond the pack

ght of staying

room was dim. Only the moonlight through the

eets were cold against my skin. My body

in my head...the moment Aedric

hadn't even been gu

more tha