Chapter 5
Sylvia’s grip on the phone tightened, her fingers going white as the call abruptly ended. Her mother’s voice had always been a source of comfort, a warm reminder of family and belonging. But now, that voice only served to highlight the cold, empty space she found herself in. Her reality felt sharper, more isolating in the wake of their conversation.
Forcing the swell of emotion back down, she lifted her gaze, meeting Elio’s eyes. His look was one of skepticism, tinged with impatience.
“My friend is getting married,” Sylvia said nonchalantly, raising an eyebrow. “What’s with the look? You planning to come along?”
A long, tense silence stretched between them. Elio didn’t bother to mask his
disinterest, his expression already cooling. Of course, she hadn’t told him the full truth how could she?
the Mateship Ceremony she
was referring to wasn’t just some friend’s wedding. It was hers. Arranged by her family to stabilize her unstable lycan blood, to fix everything that had gone wrong with her health. She’d been in a relationship with Elio for years, but despite being his girlfriend, she’d never been granted the official mateship she’d always craved.
He’d made it clear time and time again: no bond, no mark, not until she could give him an heir. She’d stayed, hoping–no, believing -that one day he would come around. But now, with her family’s intervention, that hope was dashed.
Once the bond was made, she would leave
and there would be no reason to look back. Keeping the truth from him felt like the right decision. The distance between them had
already grown so much colder; it was better this way.
“No, go alone if you want, Elio muttered, his words dismissive, his eyes now focused elsewhere. “We have more important things to worry about.”
He wasn’t any warmer. “Actually, maybe it’d do you good to get some time away.” His voice carried a sharpness she hadn’t expected.
“But before you go, don’t you think you owe Phoebe an apology? She’s still recovering from the injuries you caused yesterday.” His gaze was unwavering, his words a clear command, as if he expected her to comply without question.
Chapter 5
+5 Points
Sylvia froze, her body rigid as her jaw clenched.
“Apologize? For what?” Her voice was icy, her wolf growling low in her chest, the indignation simmering beneath her skin. “Phoebe clung to my reward as if it were hers. I tried to take it back, and now somehow I’m the one at fault for her injury?”
Elio had already turned his back, ignoring Sylvia’s attempts to protest as he made his way toward his room, his silence a sharp dismissal.
Left standing in the emptiness, Sylvia’s chest tightened, her frustration bubbling up like a storm ready to break. The sting of yesterday’s humiliation still lingered in the pit of her stomach, and now–now, she had to deal with this. The cold indifference from
Chapter 5
Elio and the pack, the way they gravitated toward Phoebe’s false vulnerability, their loyalty bending like reeds in the wind, It felt suffocating, like she was invisible.
Shoving the anger down, Sylvia dragged herself through the motions the next
morning, determined not to let her emotions control her. But when she stepped into the common room, confusion stopped her in her tracks. The room was filled with more than a dozen vases, each brimming with flowers in brilliant hues. The air was thick with a heavy, floral fragrance.
Her brow furrowed, and her stomach dropped. The scent–the pollen–was too much. Her throat constricted painfully, and panic gripped her chest. She stumbled back, desperate for air, her wolf recoiling instinctively. The room felt smaller, suffocating
Chapter 5
+ 5 Points
“Medicine…” she gasped, staggering toward the cabinet where she kept her inhaler. Her hands trembled, knocking over a vase in her frantic search.
The crash of glass echoed through the
room, drawing Elio’s attention. He rushed in, out stopped cold when he saw the mess of shattered flowers. His gaze swept over the chaos, but he didn’t see the strain in Sylvia’s face, the way she was struggling to breathe.
“What’s going on here?” Elio’s voice was sharp, irritated, his eyes scanning the floor in annoyance. The broken vase was all he seemed to care about.
Sylvia fought to speak, her chest heaving as she clutched the inhaler. She tried to back away, desperate to get air away from the oppressive scent, her legs weak, but she
Chapter 5
+5 Points
refused to fall. The inhaler did its job slowly, but her breathing was still shallow, the
tightness in her chest a constant reminder of her fragility.
Elio moved toward the flowers, muttering under his breath as he began to gather the broken blooms. “Seriously, Sylvia? What’s wrong with you?” His voice dripped with cold irritation, and she could hear the annoyance in his every word.
Sylvia wanted to scream, but she couldn’t. Instead, she stepped back farther, desperate to escape the suffocating air. Her body shook with the effort to stay upright, to breathe, but Elio remained oblivious, too absorbed in cleaning up his precious flowers.
The tension in her chest eased slightly, but it was short–lived. She glanced down at her leg
the blood from the earlier injury now….. the floor. Her unstable Lycan blood was already complicating things. But what really hurt was the absence of care in Elio’s eyes. The absence of concern.
His focus remained on the flowers, and Sylvia’s resentment flared. How could he be so blind, so indifferent? Her chest tightened again, but it wasn’t from the physical pain.
Biting back the words that burned in her throat, Sylvia curled her fingers into fists. The sting in her leg was nothing compared to the hollow ache inside her–an ache made worse by Elio’s cold, unfeeling response.
