Breaking Point

I didn’t sleep that night.

Just lay in bed staring at the ceiling while Tessa snored softly across the room. My phone sat on my nightstand. Dark. Silent. Waiting for the decision I had to make by nine o’clock.

Take Marcus Blackthorn’s money. Stay away from Lycian. Keep my scholarship and actually help Aunt Clara.

Or refuse. Lose everything. For what? A guy I barely knew who thought we were mates?

The choice should have been obvious.

But every time I closed my eyes, I saw Lycian’s face in that lobby. The way he’d looked at me. Like I’d hurt him worse than any physical blow could.

My phone buzzed at six in the morning.

A text from Aunt Clara.

How are you, sweetheart? You haven’t called in a few days.

Guilt twisted in my stomach. I’d been so wrapped up in this mess that I’d barely talked to her.

I called instead of texting.

She answered on the second ring. “Elowen? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. Just wanted to hear your voice.”

“It’s six in the morning. You’re usually asleep until seven.”

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“What’s wrong?”

Everything. My scholarship was hanging by a thread. A powerful wolf was bribing me. Another powerful wolf thought I was his mate. And I was so tired I wanted to cry.

“Nothing. Just stressed about exams.”

“You work too hard, baby.”

“Someone has to.”

“Not at the expense of your health.” She coughed. A wet, rattling sound that made my chest tight. “How’s the job at the coffee shop?”

“Fine. Same as always.”

“And the library?”

“Good.”

Silence for a moment. Then, “You’re lying to me.”

“I’m not.”

“Elowen Marie Hale. I raised you. I know when you’re lying.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. “There’s just some stuff going on at school. Nothing I can’t handle.”

“What kind of stuff?”

“Just scholarship stuff. It’s complicated.”

“Do you need money? Because I have a little saved…”

“No.” The word came out too sharply. “You need that money for treatment.”

“You’re more important than treatment.”

“Don’t say that.”

“It’s true.”

My throat burned. “I have to go. I have class soon.”

“Elowen.”

“I love you. I’ll call you later.”

I hung up before she could argue.

Sat there on my bed with my phone in my hand and tears burning behind my eyes.

Five thousand dollars per semester would change everything. Aunt Clara could get the better medications. The ones insurance didn’t cover. Maybe even the experimental treatment her doctor mentioned.

All I had to do was stay away from Lycian Valor.

Easy.

Except it didn’t feel easy.

I got dressed. Jeans and a sweater. Pulled my hair into a ponytail. Grabbed my backpack.

Tessa was still asleep. I left quietly and headed to the student center.

I needed coffee. Needed to clear my head before making this call.

The coffee shop was busy with the morning rush. I ordered my usual black coffee and found an empty table in the corner.

Pulled out my phone. Stared at Marcus Blackthorn’s secretary’s number.

Nine o’clock. That’s when I had to call.

I had two hours.

“Mind if I sit?”

I looked up.

Cade. Lycian’s Beta. His best friend.

My stomach dropped. “I’m kind of busy.”

“This won’t take long.” He sat down anyway. “We need to talk.”

“About what?”

“About Lycian.”

“I don’t want to talk about him.”

“Too bad.” Cade leaned back in his chair. Studied me. “He’s a mess. Hasn’t slept. Barely eating. Won’t talk to anyone.”

“That’s not my problem.”

“Actually, it kind of is.”

“How?”

“Because you’re his mate.”

I flinched. “He told you that?”

“Didn’t have to. I can see it.” Cade gestured between us. “The way he looks at you. The way his wolf reacts. I’ve known him since we were kids. I’ve never seen him like this.”

“Like what?”

“Lost.”

The word hit harder than it should have.

“I can’t help him,” I said quietly.

“Why not?”

“Because I have to survive. And being near him makes that impossible.”

“Marcus got to you.”

It wasn’t a question.

I didn’t answer.

“Let me guess,” Cade continued. “He threatened your scholarship. Offered you money to stay away. Probably threw in some speech about how wolves mate with wolves and you’re just a distraction.”

“Something like that.”

“And you’re actually considering it.”

“I don’t have a choice.”

“Everyone has a choice.”

“Not when you’re broke.” I leaned forward. “You know what I did yesterday? I counted the change in my backpack to see if I had enough for lunch. I had two dollars and thirty-seven cents. That bought me a granola bar from the vending machine. That was my lunch.”

Cade’s expression shifted. “I didn’t know…”

“Of course you didn’t. Because people like you don’t have to think about things like that. You don’t have to choose between eating and keeping the lights on. You don’t have to watch someone you love slowly die because you can’t afford better treatment.”

“So you’re going to take Marcus’s money.”

“I’m going to do what I have to do to survive.”

“Even if it destroys Lycian?”

“He’ll get over it. Guys like him always do.”

“You don’t know him.”

“And he doesn’t know me. We’ve had like three conversations. That’s not a relationship. That’s not enough to throw away my entire future.”

Cade was quiet for a moment. Then he pulled out his phone. Showed me a photo.

Lycian. But younger. Maybe fifteen or sixteen. He was smiling in the photo. Actually smiling. Not the cold, controlled look I’d seen. This was genuine happiness.

“That’s the last time I saw him smile like that,” Cade said. “Six years ago. Before his grandfather died. Before his father started pushing him to mate. Before all the pressure and expectations turned him into this closed-off version of himself.”

“Why are you showing me this?”

“Because yesterday, for about five minutes in that library, I saw a glimpse of that smile again. When he was talking about you.”

My chest ached. “Stop.”

“You think this is just about him wanting you? It’s not. The mate bond doesn’t work like that. It’s deeper. Biological. Chemical. When a wolf finds their true mate, everything in them pulls toward that person. Fighting it is like fighting gravity.”

“I’m not his mate. I can’t be. I’m wolfless.”

“Maybe that’s exactly why you are.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“None of this makes sense.” Cade put his phone away. “But it’s real. And walking away from it will hurt you just as much as it hurts him.”

“I’ll survive.”

“Will you?”

I didn’t answer.

Cade stood up. “Nine o’clock. That’s when you’re supposed to call Marcus, right?”

“How did you know that?”

“Because I know how he operates. He always gives deadlines.” Cade looked down at me. “Just think about what you’re really giving up. It’s not just Lycian. It’s the possibility of something real. Something most people spend their whole lives searching for.”

He walked away.

I sat there with my coffee going cold.

My phone said eight-fifteen.

Forty-five minutes until I had to make the call.

I thought about Aunt Clara. About her medical bills. About the experimental treatment that could give her more time.

Five thousand dollars per semester.

That was a long time.

I pulled out my phone. Started to dial Marcus’s secretary.

My hand shook.

This was the right choice. The smart choice. The only choice that made sense.

So why did it feel like I was about to make the biggest mistake of my life?

The coffee shop door opened. Cold air rushed in.

I looked up.

Lycian stood in the doorway.

His eyes found mine across the crowded room.

And the look on his face made my breath catch.

He knew.

Somehow, he knew what I was about to do.

He started walking toward me.

My finger hovered over the call button.

Eight-seventeen.

Forty-three minutes.

Lycian was halfway across the room now. Moving fast. His eyes hadn’t left mine.

I had to decide.

Right now.

Take the money. Keep my scholarship. Help Aunt Clara.

Or trust this impossible thing between us and risk everything.

The phone felt heavy in my hand.

Lycian was ten feet away.

Five.

I pressed the button.