IE'S

ed, I made the mistake of st

leaving for good would grant me some peace. I should have known

sed notepads, a chipped mug, a picture frame that no longer meant anything. My steps echoed down the polished

a cruel sen

, Carmela. Draped in designer fabric that clung like second skin, holding a coffee cup like it

o me deliberately, the coffee tilting

in!" Her voice rose, carrying across the lobby. "You pathetic little

with humiliation as eyes t

est of the coffee in my face. The liquid was l

u think this is unfair? News flash, sweetheart, Calhoun only has eyes for me. Whateve

leaving the bitter stench of coffee on my s

er, "make sure she apologizes. On her knees.

ed as two guards

apped, voice cracking. "I just resigne

rs from Alpha Calhoun. Whatever Miss Carmela wan

edded whatever

cattering across the floor like worthless confetti. My knees hit the concrete hard

ice was hoarse.

t hear me. Or maybe

violently. My knees bled through the fabric, the blood freezing almost as quickly as i

was the only thing holding me up

ng, my vision had gone hazy, every breath ragg

odi

r, I saw Mila, her expensive heels clicking against the sidewal

eling beside me. "Why the hell are you kneeling ou

collapse into her arms, to cling to the warmth of her concer

," I r

rything tilt

checking me like I was the only thing that mattered. Her hands were steady, but her shoulders were wound tight with fury. She made sure I was st

mouthed over her shoulder, eyes

after her. I couldn't, wouldn't, let her go alone. If Mi

its frame and the whole hallway seemed to flinch. Before I co

my girl?" she screamed, wild and raw. "Oh-there

faux-innocence plastered across her face. She widened her eyes so perfectly I could h

odie did nothing to you. She works for Calhoun, she's not your property. Stop acting like some senseless wo

fangs as his eyes flared amber. "Enough!!!" he thundered, and the sound hit me like a physical

d his eyes landed on me. They scanned my hair, my ruined clothes, the dried crust of blood at my knees from

practiced actress, flinging herself into Calhoun's arms. Her shoulders shook in theatrical sobs. "This wasn't what happened," she cried, wailing with perfect

as the smoothest lie I'd ever heard. Calhoun's posture shifted to protec

when Mila

The crack of skin on skin was loud in the hallway. Carmela's earring flew off, glittering through the air, and she s

world had narrowed to Mila's shaking fist, the fallen earring, Carmela's face, mouth open in h

ke he wanted to shatter something. I

hours until my knees bled, that she'd smiled while strangers snapped photographs of me crumpled and

nto Calhoun's arms, fingers clawing at his sleeve, and all the pr

lse. "The way she slapped me.your sister just struck me over a lie her friend cooked up without even checking if it wa

rious, and me, bleeding from humiliation. Panic flashed across Calhoun's face in a way that made my blood run cold. I'd seen him furious b

thing move

red, a sharp gasp tearing out of her, one hand flying to her face. I lunged forward before I even thought, arms wrapping around her as if I co

y that made bile rise in my thro

-in-law and your future Luna? Are you insane?!" His words were raw, a kind

xcuses." There was finality in that sentence, a blade closing on whatever remnant of me had hoped for fairness. He took Carmela with him without another look, his hand pos

essing her face into my shoulder. "There's no need," I told her. "Don't fight for me. I'm leaving. I'm lea

When she saw nothing but coldness here, her knees buckled and she collapsed into my arms, sobbing. "No.please, Elodie, don't go," she begged between hiccups. "Is it bec

ly," I whispered, using the pet name that had always made her face soften. "I can't stay. Nothi

we cried until our throats burned. She packed my shirts into suitcases with hands that shook. When she saw how steady my hand was when I sealed the

type a furious message to Calhoun. She stopped when I put a hand over hers. "No," I said. "Please, Mika. Drop it. The

voice kept shattering. We folded into each other on the couch unt

didn't want to see his name, but instinct m

atched my phone like she intended to

that won't land. I've been waiting in this emotional terminal for years. It's time I board a different flight. Stop fighting with her because of me.

gether. After a long time she helped me with the last of my bags and printed the ticket, her hands steady f

ed out one last message. My fingers f

d of the line. Alpha Calhoun, I'm no longer your assistant. I no longer have feelings

ence on my devices was gone like a bad dream. I didn't wait for his reply. I gave Mila one last look,

s come. It hurt like being cut open and then held over the sea. But as the miles put space between me and everything t