CROWNED BY BLOOD
I clenched my fists until my nails drew blood, swallowing down the storm rising in my chest, rage and sorrow and something dangerously close to hope.
You don't get to be sorry now, I told myself fiercely. Sorry doesn't undo the rejection. Sorry doesn't heal the wounds or bring back the woman who loved you without reservation.
And yet... the pain in his voice was real. The regret was genuine. For the first time since that terrible night, I saw not the Alpha who had cast me aside, but the man who had once held me like I was precious, who had whispered promises against my skin and meant every word.
I turned away and disappeared into the forest before the tears could fall, my thoughts a tangle o