LOGINEmbarrassingly, I did want to go after Ellie and hunt her and Lucas down right now. But the festival still had several hours left, and I needed to be here. Ellie was already gone. The pack’s Alpha couldn’t disappear, too.“I’m staying,” I said. “But thanks for the offer.”Vivian nodded. “Well, if yo
Dominic’s POVShe had said she would be back in a few minutes.That was over an hour ago, and Ellie still wasn’t back.I looked for her, wandering through the festival grounds, but I saw no sign of Ellie. Still, despite the strange pit that formed in my stomach, I decided to give her the benefit of
Lucas’s brows lifted. “Did you notify the guards?”“I can’t,” I said.Lucas stared at me. I sighed. “Look, I can’t explain the whole thing.” I held his gaze. “I just need you to trust me on that part.”A moment passed, but finally, he nodded once.I pulled the fabric out of my pocket and held it out
Ellie’s POV“I’m fine,” I said. “Really.”“Ellie.” He hadn't let go of my arm yet. “You passed out. You were unconscious on the ground for almost two minutes.”Only two minutes? That came as a surprise, because it felt like I had completely relived my past life in that amount of time.“And now you’r
Ellie’s POVThe assassin was here.And the world tilted around me as my heart slammed too wildly against my ribs for my head to keep up.He was here. He was back. It was all happening again, just with slightly different details this time, and now…The last thing I saw before everything went dark was
“Thank you,” I finally managed. That was all.Dominic’s mother squeezed my hand once, then let go. “Speak of the devil,” she whispered, nodding her head toward a space a little ways down the field.Dominic was standing about thirty feet away, talking to one of the pack elders. He had his hands in hi
Ellie POV The tent smells like antiseptic and damp canvas.Lucas lowers me onto the cot with too much care. His hands hover even after I’m settled, fingers flexing as if he doesn’t know where to put them now that I’m not actively falling apart.He starts with giving me some pain herbs and meds, “I’
Ellie POV There’s a shift.One i felt since the morning.But especially now.The way the air in the cafeteria thickens the moment I step inside, like I’ve walked into a room where a fight was about to start and I was center stage.My leg aches with every step. I favor it without thinking, my limp s
Ellie POV By the time I’m dismissed for break, my hands are shaking.Not from the work.Okay, a little from the work.But also from holding everything in.I make it outside before my knees finally give, sinking down onto the cold concrete steps behind the locker rooms. The chill seeps straight thro
My chest tightens. “You didn’t. But I can’t trust you.”The words surprise both of us.His form stiffens, slowly turning his head. “What did you say?”“You’ve lied,” I say. My voice shakes, and I hate that it does. “In the past. You used to use me. Treat me like crap. And I let you. Everything betwe







