The truth didn’t just hurt, it was a physical sickness.
I was curled up by the cold edge of the lake, my face hidden in my knees. The sound of the rushing water was supposed to be calming, but everything
felt loud.
Astor is never going to change.
That simple thought finally sank into my heart, sharp and heavy like a stone. I’ve spent the last couple of days making excuses, covering for him, believing that my love was enough to fix the broken parts of our relationship. But my love had only helped him break me instead.
I was shaking, not from the cold, but from the realization that I had wasted my whole life. I wanted to scream until my throat tore, but I just kept making these harsh, broken noises. I felt myself losing control, flying out of my own
body.
Just as I thought I was going completely mad, I felt it. That heavy, familiar weight nearby. I stopped breathing and slowly looked up.
There he was. Alpha Kyle.
He was standing maybe ten feet away, watching me with that calm, intense
look he always had. I knew he had seen me crying. I knew he had heard me
breaking.
Rage, pure and hot, replaced the grief.
“It can’t be a coincidence anymore,” I choked out, my voice thick with snot
and tears. I wiped my face fiercely with the back of my hand. “Every time I try
to be alone, you are here. Are you following me?”
He didn’t get angry or defensive. He just gave a small, easy laugh–the type
of sound that seemed out of place in this serious conversation.
He walked closer, completely ignoring the mud on the bank, and sat down right next to the water, looking out over the dark lake. He looked truly peaceful, almost transfixed by the moonlight hitting the water.
“Funnily enough, Luna Faith,” he said, his eyes still on the horizon, “this is the only place I seem to find peace at, too.”
I didn’t believe him for a second. It just sounded like a polite way to deny he was stalking me. But I was so tired. It had been such a long day of pretending everything was fine. I just wanted to breathe without thinking about the massive mess that was my life.
He turned his head toward me. “Is it okay if I ask you a question?”
I pulled my knees tighter to my chest. “If it’s about what happened today,
then no. I don’t want to talk about that mess.”
“It’s not about that,” he promised.
I hesitated, then nodded. “Fine.”
He looked at me for a long time, his eyes searching. “Have you ever
genuinely smiled, Faith?”
The question was so simple and so stupid that I almost laughed. “Of course, I have! Who hasn’t laughed?”
“I mean genuinely,” he corrected me gently. “Ever since I came to this pack, I have never seen you truly smile or laugh. You always have a kind of sadness hanging around you. There’s always something behind your eyes.”
My heart hammered against my ribs. It was true. He was seeing past the mask I wore for everyone–for Astor, for the pack, for me. He was too
intuitive. He knew too much.
I stood up instantly, putting distance between us. The ground felt cold beneath my feet.
Clairo
“I don’t appreciate how much you seem to know or want to know about me,
Alpha Kyle,” I said, putting ice into my voice. I leaned on my title, trying to
push him back. “This is where our conversation ends.”
He didn’t move. He just tilted his head, disappointment shadowing his face.
“I can see that you’re withering away in front of everybody, Faith. You are breaking on a daily basis,” he said, his voice low and serious. “If you keep holding onto a relationship that is failing you, it will kill you.”
That was too much. That was crossing every single boundary I had left.
“You need to stop trying to read me and insert yourself into my business,” I snapped, my hands shaking with controlled fury. “You are a visiting Alpha. We appreciate having an ally, but I will not tolerate this kind of talk. I will tell
Astor immediately.”
He finally stood up, his height making him seem even more dangerous under
the weak light.
“I can see how much you love your mate,” he countered, stepping closer. “But I don’t believe those feelings are being returned in the way you need them to
be.”
“STOP!” I yelled, finally losing control. “You don’t know anything about our relationship! You have no right to comment on it!”
He looked away, shaking his head slightly, and let out a sigh that sounded heavy with fatigue.
“I must have been very wrong about you” he said sadly. “I thought you were a very strong woman, Faith. But now, I’m not so sure.”
The insult, the doubt, hit me harder than any physical slap. He had hit the one thing I was desperately trying to hold onto: the idea that I was strong enough
to fix this.
3/4
Chapter 48
I turned quickly, not wanting him to see the fresh tears that were already
blurring my vision. My feet started moving fast, desperate to escape him, desperate to escape myself.
“Faith!” he called out behind me.
I stopped, but I didn’t turn around. My shoulders were tight and stiff.
He spoke clearly, the words echoing slightly across the dark water.
“If you ever want to escape this hell that you seem to be living in, then you should come to me for help.”
The lifeline was too strange, too tempting, too unbelievable. I couldn’t stop the question that spilled out of my mouth. I spoke without thinking.
“What would you want in return?” I asked him, the bitterness clear in my voice. “Nobody does anything for somebody else for free.”
A moment of silence passed between us. I heard the soft crunch of his shoes in the dirt as he took a step closer.
“Nothing,” he finally answered. His voice was soft, almost a whisper. “I just don’t want to watch another young woman lose herself while trying to uplift a
man in her life.”
cphakathi28
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