Oscar:
The ride to Lakeshire was a blur of sharp breaths and pounding heartbeats.
I was gripping the wheel so tightly my knuckles were turning white, but the ache in my chest didn't let up. No matter how fast I drove, it clung to me like a second skin - reminding me again and again that something had gone wrong.
And worst, my wolf wouldn't shut up.
This is your fault.
"I know."
She needed us, and you walked away.
"I didn't walk away-"
You did. After everything. After what she told you, what she trusted you with… and you still walked away.
I clenched my jaw as shame crawled up my spine.
She's our mate. And you chose your pride over her.
He wasn't wrong. No matter how hard I tried to justify it, the truth stayed ugly and bare - I had distanced myself from Evaline after that night at the cottage. I couldn't process what she had told us, couldn't accept it - not right away. And in my silence, I had left her alone in a storm she never should have faced alone.
