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Exhaling again, Aradia headed toward the door, and I hissed after her, “What will you tell them?”
“The truth, of course. You can’t very well hide the fact that their daughter is not here, Cade. How did you intend to get through the rehearsal dinner without her?”
I groaned loudly, my head spinning wildly as I tried to make sense of what was happening.
“Hello? Is that you, Alpha?”
Aradia opened the door, painting a smile on her face as I buried my hands in my face, willing the trembling in my body to stop. But as the door closed once more, and I was left alone in the bedroom, the silence only made my plight worse.
Something happened, something so terrible that she ran rather than speak to me. But what? Who did she speak with? What occurred?
I ran through the events of the day in my head as best I could, starting with the sweet waking of Zephyrine in my arms, the smoldering embers of her dark eyes, the silken tresses of her ebony mane across her bare olive skin. Her succulence flooded my nostrils as I reached for the nearby pillow, drawing it to my nose, but there wasn’t enough of her there to inhale. Her scent wasn’t here, in this room.
Upset, I tossed the cushion aside and jumped up, determined to find her, but as I whipped myself around, Stralia stood before me, her luminous, verdant eyes wide.
“Is it true? Did she run off? Is the wedding off?”
She could barely keep the happiness from her voice, but to her credit, she tried.
Dumbfounded, I stared at her. “You… how are you here?” I bumbled, conflicted by her appearance.
I had warned her so many times to stay away, but I had to admit it was a comfort to have her there in this confounding moment. Simultaneously, I didn’t need the distraction—and certainly not from Stralia, who had only hours ago pledged her longing to be with me.
Stralia sighed and ambled slightly closer but kept her distance, eying me warily. “Is she really gone?”
My jaw slacked as the question sunk in. “How do you know already?” I spat bitterly. “Is nothing sacred around here?!”
“I’m not just anyone, Cade,” Stralia said sadly. “I’m your oldest friend. You can talk to me. I wish you’d remember that.”
The fusion of emotions bursting through me was exhausting, and I didn’t know which way to turn. I merely pointed at the computer, the screen still alight with the heart-shattering news. Stralia ambled toward the desk and began to scan it as I looked away, ashamed and infuriated.
Stralia sighed heavily when she had finished.
“She obviously was not meant to be, my love,” Stralia told me, and I bristled, spinning to confront her.
“Don’t call me that,” I growled. “You can’t take this as an opportunity to move in, Stralia.”
Her mouth parted, clear eyes shadowing. A hand snaked up to twine through the platinum strands, pulling them in front of her cheeks as she did when she was nervous.
“I’m not the one who broke your heart,” she muttered, a deep sadness overtaking her as she turned away from me, instilling a deep sense of guilt inside me.
She was right: I had no reason to be angry with her, but I didn’t know where to direct my feelings—or even what I was feeling entirely.
“Cade, tell me what I can do,” she begged, reaching for my hand. “I’ve always been here for you. Maybe this is just a sign that we’re supposed to be together.”
Baffled, I whipped my hand back and shook my head vehemently. “No, Stralia,” I told her firmly. “This changes nothing between us. I don’t want to be with you.”
It was as if I had slapped her lovely face, her slender form recoiling in shock. “What?!”
“Even if I never find Zephy—which I will—we will never be together. My heart entirely belongs to her.”
Stunned, she merely gawked at me. “Are you that much of a fool?” she hissed, the plaintive consideration fully evaporating from her expression. “She just humiliated you, abandoned you in front of everyone! You’d take her back after this?!”
“Yes,” I replied evenly. “I would. You need to get out. I’m growing tired of telling you the same thing over and over. I extend the courtesy out of our long-time friendship, but you are truly pushing your luck. This is your final warning. I will not tell you again not to corner me alone in a bedroom.”
She sniffed defiantly and threw her blonde mane back.
“You told me not to come toyoursuite,” she shot back belligerently. “This isn’t yours.”
