Chapter 3

I dragged my duffel bag to the parking lot. My old Jeep looked lonely in the sunlight.

The paint was faded, and the bumper still had a dent from where I’d hit a tree last year.

But it was mine. Completely mine.

I opened the trunk and threw the bag inside.

"Elena!"

A familiar voice exploded behind me. I didn't turn around.

The footsteps grew closer, heavy with anger.

A hand seized my arm.

The grip was hard, the nails digging into my skin.

I was forced to turn and face Damon's furious eyes.

But when his gaze met mine, his anger faltered for a second.

I met his gaze. My face was a blank mask. No hurt. No rage. Just a calm, dead emptiness that seemed to terrify him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded, his voice low and dangerous. "Still throwing a tantrum?"

His Alpha command washed over me, a tidal wave trying to force me to submit.

Even as my wolf felt the tearing pain, I fought to pull my arm free.

"I'm not throwing a tantrum. Let go of me."

"You're still pissed about last night?" He stared at me in disbelief. "It was a game, Elena! A stupid ritual!"

"A game," I repeated the word. "You keep saying it was a game."

"Because it was!" His expression turned frantic. "Elena, hair grows back. It's not a big deal."

I looked at the face I had once loved so much.

Handsome. Confident. Entitled.

Just like every other day for the past eighteen years.

"I dropped out."

The words hung in the air. Damon's expression froze.

His hand was still clamped on my arm, but I could feel his whole body go stiff.

"What?" His voice was faint. "What did you say?"

"I said, I dropped out," I repeated, word for word. "I just finished the paperwork."

He let go of my arm and took a step back.

The color drained from his face, which was always so in control.

His Alpha scent became chaotic and stormy.

"No," he shook his head. "No, you wouldn't."

"I already did."

"Because of that little thing last night?" His voice cracked, rising in pitch. "Elena, are you insane?"

I looked at his panicked expression, and a dull ache spread through my chest.

So this is what an Alpha heir looks like when he's scared.

"You can't leave!" he lunged forward, trying to grab me again. "We're fated mates!"

I sidestepped his hand.

"Yes."

One simple word, but it was like a knife, slicing through his last defense.

Real fear flashed in his eyes.

"Elena, listen to me—"

I didn't listen. I turned, got in my car, and shut the door.

The engine rumbled to life.

Damon ran to the driver's side window, pounding on the glass.

"Elena! Elena!" His words were a jumbled mess. "You can't do this! We have eighteen years together!"

I put the car in drive and hit the gas.

The Jeep rolled slowly out of the parking spot.

Damon shifted, chasing the car in his wolf form, his paws scrabbling on the asphalt. He kept leaping up, banging on the rear window.

"Elena! How am I going to explain this to my father?!" His voice finally cracked with real panic. "Come back! It was just a stupid joke! What about our bond?"

Our bond.

He finally remembered our bond.

When he held me down with his power. When Chloe cut my hair. When the whole crowd was howling and laughing at me.

Why didn't he remember it then?

I pressed down on the accelerator.

In the rearview mirror, I saw Damon finally stop, standing alone in the middle of the road.

He shifted back to his human form, looking so small and helpless.

My wolf whimpered, but I knew, with absolute certainty, that I had to let go.

Eighteen years of fate. It all ended the moment he sacrificed my dignity for another girl in front of everyone.

And now he was panicking. Not because I was hurt, but because he had lost control of the situation. Because he didn't know how he was going to explain this to his Alpha father.

That was the real reason he was terrified.

The car pulled farther and farther away. When I was sure he couldn't catch up, I finally let out a long breath. I felt a lightness I had never known.