Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 61 - Chapitre 68

WRENThe air inside the cabin was heavy when I stepped through the door, the kind of quiet that made my skin prickle. Ronan was standing by the window, his back to me and shoulders rigid beneath his dark shirt. The light from the setting sun spilled through the glass, outlining him in gold but there was nothing warm about it.He didn’t turn when I closed the door behind me. The sound of it clicking shut seemed to echo too loudly. My fingers twitched against my side and I hated that my heart immediately began to race like my body knew something before my mind could catch up.He finally spoke his voice low and rough almost unrecognizable. “What were you doing with him?”No greeting and no question softened by concern. Just that sharp tone that sliced through the air like a blade. He didn’t ask about my day and how I’ve been coping with his absence. I stared at his back biting the inside of my cheek to stop my voice from shaking. “We ran into each other at the market” I said trying

RONANI sat at the long table with men who talked too much and said nothing at all. Investors, advisers and people who liked the sound of their own voices. They leaned toward each other murmuring numbers and projections, tapping tablets, nodding like everything made sense. I watched their mouths move and barely heard a word. My mind was far from this room. Far from the polished wood and chilled air and false smiles. I had just ended a call with the council back home and the weight of it was still sitting heavy in my chest.Things were not good at allTwo packs were pushing at our borders again. Old grudges with new excuses. The kind of trouble that never really went away, only slept until it smelled weakness. The council wanted reassurance. They wanted results. They wanted this alliance with Mason secured and sealed and wrapped up neatly so they could sleep at night. Ihad told them I was handling it. I had told them to trust me. I had said the words like I always did all steady and

WRENBy the time we reached the pack house, I was barely holding myself upright. My body felt hollow like something essential had been scooped out of my chest and left behind somewhere between the cabin and the long road here. Camille unlocked the door and stepped inside first flicking on the lights chatting softly about which room I could use and how her friends would not mind at all. I nodded at the right moments but I was not really hearing her. My hands were shaking and my throat hurt from swallowing everything I wanted to scream. The second the door shut behind us, the sound of the lock clicking into place felt like the last thread snapping. I broke completely because for some reason I’ve been carrying this burden for long. It was not graceful or quiet or contained. I folded in on myself like my bones had given up. The sob that came out of me was ugly and loud and raw, the kind that tears straight from your chest and leaves your lungs burning. My knees buckled and I sank to t

WRENI woke up slowly like my body was afraid to face the day. My eyes felt thick and sore my lashes clumped together from crying myself to sleep. My chest felt heavy like something was sitting right on it not crushing me but making sure I could not forget it was there. For a moment I did not know where I was. The ceiling above me was unfamiliar lighter than the one at the cabin and the air smelled faintly like vanilla and something baked. It took a few seconds for memory to settle back into place. The pack house then Camille. Last night.I turned onto my side and curled in on myself pressing my face into the pillow. My head throbbed a little and my nose felt stuffy. I hated waking up after crying. Everything always feel too raw like my skin had been peeled back. Still there was something else there too. A strange sense of calm. The kind that comes after you finally let something out instead of swallowing it whole.When I finally forced myself to sit up, the room felt quiet but not