Chapter 3

No one could resist Sierra when she acted sweet and needy.

And given how unusually strong my own need for physical intimacy was, I wasn't exactly immune to her either. So, when she leaned in to kiss me again, I didn't pull away.

Then, the comments exploded across my vision.

[Are you kidding me? Did Sabrina just call him 'master'?]

[What the hell did Nathan do to deserve this?]

[Not gonna lie, Sabrina may have a sharp tongue, but she's never once failed to do her part in bed.]

[Don't ship them! She only has a physical attraction to him. Eli is the one she truly loves. The original novel makes that perfectly clear.]

I stared at the words floating across my vision.

Whatever excitement had been building inside me vanished instantly. I bit down hard, and Sabrina immediately winced and pulled away. The desire in her eyes disappeared in an instant, replaced by a frown as she glared at me, clearly ready to tear into me.

But before she could say anything, I spoke first, saying, "Sabrina, I came here today to terminate our contract."

She froze. For several seconds, she simply stared at me in shock. Then, anger flashed across her face.

"I already explained everything to you. Eli is just our mentor's son. What the hell are you pulling now? You're being so difficult."

The moment I heard those words, my heart ached.

Aside from the first two years we'd been together, "You're being difficult" was probably the phrase Sabrina had said to me more than any other.

Whenever my touch deprivation syndrome became unbearable in the middle of the night and I called her home, she'd accuse me of being difficult.

Whenever she came back from a mission injured and I cried because I was worried about her, she'd tell me I was making a big deal out of nothing.

And whenever another male Shifter deliberately got too close to the sisters and I warned them to keep their distance, she'd still accuse me of making a mountain out of a molehill.

One incident after another, three years of hurt and resentment had slowly worn away whatever hope I'd had left. And now, hearing those same words again, something inside me finally broke.

I cleared my throat.

"I'm not being difficult. I've made up my mind. I came here to let you know. That's all."

Sabrina's face turned livid, and she opened her mouth, clearly ready to argue. Before she could say a word, however, the office door swung open.

Sierra stood in the doorway with a stack of documents in her hands, apparently having just finished discussing the mission details with Eli. Her gaze shifted between Sabrina and me before landing on our disheveled clothes. She frowned.

"Could you at least lock the door when you're doing this?" she said flatly. "Call me when you're done. Eli's mission still needs some scheduling coordination."

She turned to leave, but Sabrina stopped her. "Wait, Sierra."

Sierra paused and glanced back.

"You don't know yet, do you?"

"Know what?"

"Nathan doesn't want us anymore."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sierra freeze. Even her tiger ears twitched.

Ten minutes later, I was fully dressed and sitting across from the two sisters. They stared at me like I was a suspect being interrogated.

Sierra was the first to speak. "Why?"

There was no way I could tell them about the comments I'd been seeing, so I settled for the simplest answer.

"I'm tired of this."

The moment the words left my mouth, Sierra let out a cold laugh.

"Tired of this?" Sabrina snapped. "Nathan, do you have any idea how many males across the entire country would kill to be with us? We're not tired of you, and you're the one who's tired of us?"

"They're them. I'm me," I said simply.

I looked at the sisters.

"The three of us have only been making do from the beginning. Now, I want us to go our separate ways. Is that really so wrong?"

The words "making do" immediately changed Sabrina's expression. She opened her mouth to argue again, but Sierra stopped her with a raised hand.

As always, Sierra's face was an unreadable mask. My decision to leave seemed to have barely affected her at all. After a moment, she asked quietly, "Are you sure you've thought this through?"

I hesitated before nodding.

But despite my answer, my nose burned with the sudden urge to cry.

Sierra remained silent for several seconds before finally saying, "Alright. We'll do as you wish."

"Sierra!"

Sierra raised a hand, cutting Sabrina off again. Then, she looked directly at me.

"Whatever else happens, you saved both our lives back then. So the house and the money will stay with you. We're about to leave on a mission, though, so we won't be able to move our things out right away. Is that acceptable?"

Whether it was acceptable or not, I didn't really have a choice. The house we were living in had originally been assigned to the sisters by the military, so I knew they had every right to take it back if they wanted to.

Sierra still had work to finish, so after we briefly discussed how we'd divide up the rest of their belongings, she told me to go home and promised she'd sort out the details once they returned.

"Okay."

I stood and left.

I had just reached the entrance of headquarters when I realized I'd forgotten my paperwork. With a sigh, I turned around and headed back to Sabrina's office.

But the moment I reached the door, I heard Sabrina shouting at Sierra from inside.

"How could you just agree to it? What are we going to do if he really doesn't want us anymore?"