up ga

was pounding. My shirt was damp with sweat. For a few disoriented seconds I didn't know where I was -

s al

d rejec

still punishing

connection. It wasn't just pain anymore. There was something else bleeding through - frustration, restle

nt of the entire pa

to still affec

t. I stood under the weak spray and tried to wash away the feeling of the bond clingi

y reflection

ng back at me. For three years I had been Luna. Soft. Composed. Always patient. Alwa

ied in the pack

phone lay where I had thrown it. The screen was dark. Part of me was terrified to check it.

ked i

g from

an elder asking if I needed help finding a place to stay. I didn't reply to

ered over th

y. I could demand to know if he had ever loved me at all. I

as if it sensed how cl

threw it back onto th

ut loud, my voice rough. "I wil

rds didn't make t

ying in this room was

have a clear destination. I only knew I couldn't stay so close to pack territory.

parked outside a small diner and sat in the car for several minutes, trying to steady my breathing. The b

k it. My mind kept replaying the rejection. Kael's calm voice. The way he

plann

for the right mome

o put the cup down and press a hand against my chest. A waitress g

t keep do

a plan. A

at the three lines I had written last night. Then

nd a plac

find

ot wait

l not

nst everything I was feelin

lean enough. I paid for a week in advance. The room was simple, but it had a kitchenette and a door I c

ally let myself feel the full

d rejec

osen some

till tying me to him wh

s time. It wasn't just my pain anymore. I could feel his side too. Res

eling the

ng him the same wa

de me let out a bi

into the empty roo

my eyes. I wiped them away before they could fall. I had pro

ed, staring at the ceiling as the

only the s

ew it wouldn

one thing with a

ot goin

much the bon

w much I sti

dly my wolf screa

is choice in fr

going to