Chapter 2

Sera's Point of View

No. I didn't just hear that. I couldn't have.

My heart was going ballistic, pounding so hard I honestly thought my whole chest might burst open right there.

Breathing? Yeah, right. Every breath felt like I was sucking down glass shards, not air. And those noises leaking out from behind the stall—oh, hell no. They tangled up into this nasty, gut-punch of a soundtrack I absolutely did not want to recognize.

But I knew it. Instantly. Like, you could dump me in a hurricane, blindfold me, and I’d still know that voice.

Kade.

Yeah, my Kade. The man who once swore he'd take on the whole damn planet for me. The same one who said I was enough—wolf or no wolf, didn't matter.

But now? His voice sounded different. Darker. Rough, craving something. And spoiler alert: it sure as hell wasn't me.

I smacked my hand against the marble wall, hoping the shock would knock some sense into me. Nope. My legs ignored every signal, just locked up, useless. I was rooted there like an idiot, couldn’t move if I wanted to.

Then I heard something else. A moan. Soft. High-pitched. So familiar it made my skin crawl.

No. No, no.

Lydia.

My stomach bottomed out so fast, I thought I might actually pass out. For a second, my brain just… glitched.

Impossible… that couldn’t be my sister’s voice. Not in there. Not with him.

And then she laughed—this little breathy giggle, the kind she used when she wanted something bad.

“Kade,” she gasped, all out of breath and drama, “when are you finally going to tell her?”

My vision went all swimmy. I grabbed for the counter just to keep from hitting the floor. My knees were about to give up.

Silence. Then shuffling. The squeak of the partition, skin sliding on skin. Kade made this noise—Goddess, it was disgusting, made me want to throw up.

Tell me what? My thoughts were screaming. Tell me what?

“Shit…Ah Lydia…!”

“Ahhh…!”

“Tell her what?” he said, all rough and distracted. “That you’re better at this than she ever was?”

Lydia actually giggled. Like this was some kind of sick joke. “Don’t be gross. You know what I mean.”

“Do I?” His breath was ragged, weirdly desperate. “Maybe I like you as my dirty little secret.”

“Liar.” Her voice dropped, all low and smug. “You’re obsessed with me. Just admit it.”

Some awful, wet sound followed. I thought I was going to lose it, right there on the tile.

“We can’t keep sneaking around like this,” Lydia said, all shaky and half-laughing, half-gasping. “Yeah, hiding is wild, it’s a thrill, whatever. But I’m done. I’m sick of being your secret. If you’re really going to be Alpha, you’ll have to dump her sometime. People already say you look pathetic sticking with her.”

My palms were slick with sweat. My throat? Felt like I’d swallowed barbed wire. Their voices, together, just looped in my head, burning themselves in.

I bit my cheek so hard I tasted blood. Didn’t matter. The tears still came, hot and stupid and impossible to stop.

Kade didn’t answer. Not a single word. Just kept going. I could hear everything—faster, rougher, like they were trying to finish before I completely lost it.

“Kade,” Lydia whined. “Are you even listening?”

“Not now,” he barked.

She wouldn’t shut up. Of course. “Yeah, now. When are you breaking up with her?”

The whole room tilted, like gravity was just done with me. I dug my nails into the counter, hard enough to hurt, because I needed something real to hold onto.

“Lydia—”

She cut him off, cold and sharp even though she was still panting. “No, seriously. I’m not your secret anymore. She’s pathetic, Kade. Everybody knows it. She doesn’t even have a wolf.”

There it was. The thing everyone always whispered behind my back but never said out loud.

Worthless. Broken. Not enough.

I wanted to scream. To charge in there and tear the whole room apart. But I couldn’t. I just stood there, listening to my life unravel.

“You think I don’t know that?” Kade sounded wrecked—hoarse, like he hated this but couldn’t stop.

Every word hit like a punch. Harder and harder.

Lydia laughed, all breathy and smug. “Then why are you still with her?”

Kade didn’t answer. He didn’t try to clean my name also.

Everything I’d been holding together—the hope, the trust, all that stupid belief—snapped apart.

They got louder. Lydia was gasping, high and shrill. “You can’t stay with her, Kade. Not if you want respect. The pack’s not gonna follow you if you’re tied to someone like that. Someone so… useless.”

I shoved my hand over my mouth so I wouldn’t make a sound. My whole body was shaking.

She just kept going. Wouldn’t let up. “You need someone strong. Someone Father actually approves of. Someone who’ll give you real heirs—wolf pups the pack will be proud of. Not whatever weak, wolfless mess she’d give you, if she even could.”

She knew how to hurt me. She’d been practicing, I swear.

Kade made this guttural sound, like it hurt him too. “Lydia—”

“If you’re smart,” she panted, “you’ll end it before she drags you down. You know I’d back you, Kade. You and me—we make sense. We always have. You know my father favored me.”

It went quiet. I could hear Kade breathing, slow and rough. Then the sounds stopped.

“I’ll think about it,” he said at last.

My stomach bottomed out. That line just echoed in my head, over and over.

I’ll think about it.

Not no. Not never. Not she’s my girlfriend and I love her.

Just… I’ll think about it.

Clothes rustled. Water ran. They were getting their act together, just like nothing happened.

The lock clicked.

My heart just... froze.

The door swung open.

I couldn’t move. My fingers were locked around the edge of the counter, white-knuckled.

Kade walked out first—hair a mess, shirt half open. His eyes landed on me right away.

We just stared at each other.

He didn’t even flinch. No shock, no apology, nothing.

Just blank.

Then Lydia strolled out behind him. Her hair was everywhere, lips swollen, cheeks flushed.

She looked straight at me and smiled.

That vicious little smile I’d seen her use a hundred times.

“Oh,” she said, all sugar and venom. “Sera. Didn’t see you there.”