Chapter 19

Back at the apartment that night, I couldn't sleep. My mind was a tangled mess, replaying everything over and over.

Evan picked up on my mood right away. "What's wrong?" he asked, worry creasing his brow. "Did my mom say something to upset you?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "It's just… she was right."

"You, me, us—this journey's been brutal."

My past, the kind I could barely bring myself to talk about. His past, stalked by death at every turn.

It was all too much.

Even if pain could bloom into something beautiful, I'd rather we never had to endure it.

I threw my arms around Evan, my voice steady but fierce. "Evan, let's form a sacred bond."

He froze, caught off guard. "Whoa, where's this coming from?"

"I guess…" I paused, my heart spilling over. "I just want a home with you so bad."

...

When Derek heard that Hannah was set to form a sacred bond with Evan in a month, he shut himself away for three days.

No matter how Brittany tried to coax him, he wouldn't so much as glance her way.

Brittany, who'd never faced such rejection in her life, was floored.

And to top it all off, Derek was broke, disfigured, and pining for someone else.

She asked herself, hadn't she already done more than enough by sticking by him through all this?

Lately, her pack sisters from Belmor Town had been blowing up her phone, urging her to come back, laying out all the reasons with care and logic.

Even Jacqueline chimed in. "Brittany, you're still young," she said. "Your looks, your figure, your education—everything about you is top-notch. Why trap yourself for life with a broken wolf like Derek?"

"Listen to your mom, don't be stubborn. Whether it's forming a new bond or chasing your own path, come back to Belmor Town."

But Brittany was the type to keep charging at a brick wall, determined to cross a crumbling bridge to nowhere.

When Derek still refused to acknowledge her, Brittany's pride shattered completely.

She smashed the lunchbox in her hands and stormed up to Derek, screaming, "Derek! Can't you just look at me for once?"

"There's more than just Hannah in this world! I'm the one who really loves you! Why do you have to treat me like this?"

She slid down the wall, crouching, her face buried in her hands as she sobbed.

"I'm done! I'm so done!"

But no matter how she wailed, Derek acted like she wasn't even there.

He could tune out her cries completely, lying down to sleep as if she didn't exist.

Brittany felt like a fool, reduced to a shrieking mess.

Staring at Derek's cold, turned back, her resentment toward Hannah grew sharper, heavier.

The TV blared on, announcing Hannah's upcoming binding ceremony with the Lucian pack's heir.

Everything seemed to mock her failure.

She glared at Derek one last time, a bold, reckless decision sparking in her heart.

...