FIFTY-SEVEN

VALENS

'Are we still doing this?' Zino asked for the tenth time that day.

'Yes, we are still doing this," I snarled at the mutt.

'She is our mate. We have to forgive her,' he piped up but I ignored him. Now more than ever, I wanted to silence the voice in my head.

The voice in my head had been my companion since I was a child, had grown and developed with me until my body had the capacity to let it out. Zino and I were best friends and more than best friends, we were one; two parts of a whole.

'Are you listening to yourself? She cheated on us.' My wolf went silent at that.

Betrayal was not an easy thing to get over and for a man like me, it was downright unforgivable. With the shitty hand I'd been dealt once again, I wanted to curse the goddess. I had so many questions and only she could give me answers but for over a century, she chose to be silent about the betrayal and bad luck I encountered at every turn in my life.

I'd prayed and waited for a mate for over a century. Not only did