This had to be a joke.
A cruel, twisted joke crafted by the goddess.
Of all people. Him?
I felt like the ground had been ripped out from under me, my breath caught somewhere between my lungs and my throat. My hands clenched into fists at my sides, nails digging into my palms so hard I was sure they would leave crescent-shaped marks.
Thane.
The bastard who rejected me.
The person who once looked me in the eye, saw every raw, broken part of me, and still turned away.
I could still hear his voice, etched into the deepest wounds of my soul—I can't be with the outcast of Sy.
And now, here he was.
Standing before me in the Lycan King's waiting hall.
I didn't move. I couldn't. Every muscle in my body locked up, my mind struggling to process what I was seeing.
