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“Thank you,” I say.
“Of course, dear,” she says before walking out the door.
Chloe comes over and grabs my hand, and we spend the rest of the day sitting on the couch with Mila watching sappy romcoms, trying to ignore the weight of the real world as it closes in around us.
Just as she has for the last three days, my wolf drags me to the window the minute the sun sinks behind the trees, desperate to lay eyes on Gideon. Unable to fight her, I crawl through the frame onto the lower roof below, shifting and jumping to the ground. I take off into the woods, following the tug of the mate bond in my chest. I swallow past the lump in my throat as I near Frank’s house. A soft glow comes from his windows, and I wait, pacing within the tree line, until I see him.
Gideon runs a hand through his dark hair as he makes his way over to the couch. The pallor of his face makes the last crumbling bits of my heart shatter like shards of ice, and it takes every bit of strength within me to fight the urge to go to him. To wrap him in my arms and apologize for every bit of pain he’s endured because of me.
Closing my eyes, I sigh, my breath coming out as a misty puff in the cold autumn night air. Soon, I’ll go to him. But I have to get stronger first. Monique is still out there—same as the council, same as my coven. I have to get stronger.
So strong I won’t have to choose between my wolf and my magic. So strong that I’ll keep everything I love—both Gideon and Jules. My pack and my witch heritage.
Steeling my nerves, I take a deep breath and turn away from the house, from Gideon, disappearing deeper into the woods, toward Lockwood Forest.
I’ll be damned if that witch sends me away tonight, because right now, I have nothing to lose… and everything to gain.
Chapter twenty-two
Gideon
The hole in my chest has only grown larger.
I fling myself down onto Frank’s brown leather couch, unable to stomach being in my own house after what happened. I’m tempted to set the whole place on fire, but I can’t bring myself to even go down the driveway right now. Staring up the white ceiling, I try to block out the voices drifting over from the kitchen.
“He can’t just mope around here,” Madrona says.
“You weren’t there. You didn’t see him… or her.” Mila’s voice shakes, and the expression of terror written on her face when she went to rescue Adara flashes through my mind.
Frank sighs. “You’re both right, okay? He can’t mope forever, but the man deserves some time to think—”
“Three days is plenty of time,” Madrona snaps. “Kilch is still—”
“Adara still won’t talk to him?” he asks.
“No,” Mila says, “and I already explained it all. Chloe even came over and talked to her, but… she needs some time.”
Growling, I shove myself up from the couch, stomping through the living room and slamming the front door behind me. I climb into my truck, grateful Frank was able to bring it over from the house, and drive.
I avoid the bar and the lake—both filled with too many memories of Adara—and just drive around town. I roll the windows down, resting my arm on the door. The breeze is cold, but I welcome it as it numbs my fingers.
I tried to go to Mila’s when we got back, unable to keep myself from checking on Adara, but the way she refused to see me was enough to ruin every hope of a happy ever after. Now, Mila and Chloe have both tried to talk to her, but she’s…
Well, I don’t know what she is. She won’t talk to anyone, and she won’t see me at all.
My knuckles turn white as I clutch the steering wheel.
My wolf has been quiet, and I can’t help but wonder if it’s just another curse charm, suppressing more of my power. After they threw those chains on me, Monique told me about the first one she’d tried—the curse charm that made me distrust Adara and want to distance myself from her. It explained the fog clouding my mind when she first came to stay with me after. Unfortunately for Monique, our mate bond made that charm nearly impossible to maintain.
Turning the truck onto a dirt road, I find myself parked in the middle of a trail. Fields of asters, pansies, and chrysanthemums spread out to each side of me, deer wading through the tall grass in the far distance. I watch them graze, wishing I could be as mindless as the simple beasts before me.
You’d have to learn to follow orders to be mindless.
I scoff. “Impeccable timing. I was just learning to love the quiet.” I keep my eyes trained on the wildlife at the far end of the field, mildly relieved to hear my wolf.
Stop moping around like some useless low ranking wolf and get your shit together.
“Don’t—”
