se. Her steps were heavy, as if the very ground sought to hold her back, to keep her from returnin

ision w

oice did not waver. It was steady, controlled, and laced with a gravity that seemed to steal their breat

immediate. They all

ack. It was faint at first, almost imperceptible, but i

ted ma

y to be

lated her... she was

there twisted her stomach into a knot: contempt, pity, and the cold finality of judgment. No words were s

nful constriction seized her c

d, a relentless torment. What had s

ted daughter and a sister who was always there, always ready to lend her support. She had shown nothing bu

new suffering. She had been wrong. This rejection, coming from the very people

nly yesterday, she had passed through it carried by hope, dreaming of a future at her fated mate's side, of acceptance and family.

knoc

voice called fo

oor open, she found

ughter was close to Peter, already occupying the seat that should have been hers as the future Luna. As for Pet

ntrolled when she spoke. She stated that she had come to discuss the remarks from the previous day r

discussing a simple matter of logistics, some

ock. The young woman standing before her was strange. The warm, bright woman

room. Yet nothing cracked her composure. Their conce

, stop the hollow displays of affection. She hadn't come to talk about her feelings.

ck with pleading. "How can you speak to M

gaze and addressed her with a title that froze the atmosphere.

dearment. In her heart, those bonds had already snapped. To call them anyth

ed by the distance that re

is jaw tight, and accused her, "You're turni

him and replied with the same imp

ze the woman they had known. The laughing woman who lit up gatherings, the loya

ed by betrayal, freed from the

stood that the old Amy was gone, a