a's

aughter and the clink of champagne glasses drifted through the ope

nd on the doorknob, unable t

spare a thought for their other daughter. My sister, reveling in her triumph, her hand

Marc

gain, of watching him play the doting fiancé to my sis

o that house and pretend everything was f

nd ran. Away from the house, away from the lau

e forest that bordered our territor

l dress catching and tearing on thorns and low-hanging limbs. But I barely felt it. The p

t as much distance between myself and the pack house as possible. Finally, I stumb

ike a tidal wave. I slid down the rough bark of the tree, not caring a

orturous loop I couldn't escape. Why did

y mind, a painful slidesho

present after present while I sat in the c

other fussing over Lilith's outfi

hadowed by my sister's accomplishments. A

with my mate's child, my parents celebrating as if it was

e it

s worthless as they'

couldn't stop. Years of pent-up pain and frustration poured o

But eventually, the tears ran dry, leaving behind a

dark, the last rays of sunlight filtering weakly through the canopy ab

ight, no matter how tempting it was to just

uld I go? Not back to the pack house – the thought alone made my stomach churn. But I n

cl

ng the familiar path through the darkening woods. As I

another of Vanessa's cruel pranks at school. I'd stood at the edge, heart

the endless expanse of sea and sky, dreaming of a future where I'

ining my life with Marcus, planning our future to

fool I'

jagged edge between land and sea. Far below, waves crashed against the rocks, their

tters of my dress. The sea breeze was wild tonight, matching the tumult in my heart.

never seemed to have a place for me. Here, I could just... be. No

. The rough stone beneath me was cool, grounding me in the presen

ing off that edge. Of letting the sea claim me, washing away all

't ready to gi

ost in thought, letting the wildness

fferent kind of discomfort. A stingin

of tiny scratches crisscrossing my pale skin – souvenirs from my mad dash thr

e started healing. These cuts should have be

n my spine. With trembling fingers, I probed one of the d

s couldn't

ng. I needed to shift. My wolf form

me, that wild, untamed part of my soul that

th

y, a flood of strength and vitality, there was only

, my voice cracki

or even the faintest flicker of my wol

. My knees buckled, and I crumpled to the g

ne. Truly, irr

te could have devastating consequences for a wolf. But I'd clung to

erse wasn't done

The mate bond, what little of it had formed, was disintegrating. I clutche

t tie binding me to Marcus, to the life I

I turned my head, retching, spitting a

in at the edges of my vision. I swayed, teet

ciousness began to slip away. What did I do

eard voices. Shouts of alarm. Th

led out, urgent and commanding.

te. The last thing I saw before the darkness claimed me was the

lessed