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He nodded and stepped out of my room, closing the door behind him.

I’m not sure why I thought leaving Aura behind would’ve been easier. She’d wormed her way into my mind. Worse, she’d buried herself deep into my heart, and I was certain she hadn’t realized it. Her cold detachment when I left is what I tried to hold on to, but I’d scented her reluctance. Her truth.

She might’ve said she wanted nothing to do with me, that it was just an arrangement and nothing more. A quick fuck as Evander had put it—but the effects lingered.

Maybe it was the Heat, but I’d been with other lycans in Heat before. I’d knotted other lycans in Heat—something I hadn’t done with Aura—and they didn’t have this lingering effect on me. It didn’t make sense, but I hoped with each passing day I would forget about her more and more. That I’d stop hearing her whimpers of pleasure and seeing the look of desire on her beautiful face. I hoped I would stop feeling her fingers interlaced with mine and her body moving over me. And stop seeing her wild and wavy tresses, the stubborn set of her jaw, and the soft features of her face that hid the witty, snarky, fire within. I already missed her rambling at length about potions and venom. I missed her.

What I needed was a run to hopefully clear my mind.

I stepped out of my room, topless, and a yelp startled me as much as I’d apparently startled her. Clover held her hand against her chest, blonde hair loose over her shoulders. Her legs and feet were bare, and the first few buttons of her shirt were open. “Sorry,” she said.

“No, no. It’s alright. Sorry I scared you.”

She lifted a brow. “You’re certainly nothing like your brother.”

My defenses were already rising when I saw the genuine smile curve her lips. “I’m going for a run. Care to join?” she asked. “I know you prefer running on your own.”

My eyes narrowed. Sometimes she seemed to know more about me than I did about myself. I suppose as an omega, she was used to having to read body language. Some alphas, especially in the pack she came from, could be easily volatile. “Sure,” I said. “I was about to go for one, myself.”

We were both in wolf form mere moments after stepping outside. I turned to Clover, a stunning cream-colored wolf, and she lowered her head as if to say I’ll follow you. I took off, following our usual route. The wind was a cool welcome, the grass beneath me dry. It clearly hadn’t rained in a while. I followed the scent of fresh water through the woodland to a floating dock extending into the large pond. There was more woodland on the other side of the water, the trees silhouetted against the final red-orange glow of the setting sun.

I shifted back into my body and opened a nearby chest where I kept a couple of blankets. “Always prepared,” came Clover’s musical voice.

Her smile was sad as always but so beautiful it could still turn heads. I draped a blanket over her naked form before doing the same for myself. We stepped onto the wooden surface of the dock and sat down, lowering our feet into the water.

The rustle of the leaves and gentle lap of the water was a comfort in the space. “I used to come here all the time with Antoine,” I said. “When we were kids.”

“I know,” Clover said with a smile.

“He told you?”

She nodded, a reflective smile on her lips.

“Did he also tell you that he frequently launched me into the water?”

She laughed. A light sound that lifted my spirits. “No, he failed to mention that part. But trust me, I know he wasn’t perfect. He … had a lot of things to work through.”

I nodded in agreement. “He struggled to pull away from the vision our father had of what a pack should be like.”

She let out a sigh and nodded. “I know he tried to be a good man. And I loved him. But …” Her finger drew invisible abstract symbols in the wood. “Sometimes I wanted to put a dagger through his heart myself.”

My mouth fell open. I never heard Clover utter a single hostile word. She was very much unlike Aura that way; she was unlike Aura in every way. While Aura fought her way to dominance, even through her Heat, Clover was always submissive. I nearly laughed at the thought as it carved its way through my chest and settled in like an uninvited guest.

“I’m sorry I had to end his life the way I did,” I said, pulling my thoughts back into the conversation at hand.

She shrugged. “It had to be done. He would’ve murdered us all. Or worse, infected us all. At least you’re out there trying to find answers to stop this from happening again. I can’t say the same for the rest of the pack. It’s like they’d rather sit and wait for death.”

I blinked at her. “I completely agree.” Clover deserved better. It wasn’t fair she’d been taught not to have a voice when she had so much to say. Plenty of omegas in other packs still had a voice, but not her. I felt ashamed I’d ever been a part of allowing her to continue in silence after she became Antoine’s Bonded.

I stared out at the water and thought again of Aura, whose tongue was as sharp as the finest blade. Clover’s bark was hidden beneath her title, apparently, just as Aura’s compassion was hidden behind her fears and family expectations. We were all the same.

I rubbed at the achy spot in my chest.

“I don’t know what happened or who you met out there, and you don’t have to tell me,” said Clover. “But that look in your eyes … You’ve never looked at me that way.”

I turned to her, my brows drawing close together.

“Heartbreak, but also …” She tilted her head, moving closer. Her warm breath fell against my face. “Such adoration.” She leaned back again and made a soft humming noise. “Whatever happened out there, are you willing to give it up forever?”