Abby
| bolt away from the party and up the stairs, my heart pounding in my chest. Tears stream down my cheeks as | fumble to find my
room key.
| need to get away from that party, away from the chaos, away from Karl''s shocking announcement. Finally, | find the key and
jam it into the lock, twisting it with shaking hands until the door clicks shut behind me. | lean back against the door, taking
shuddering breaths, my mind reeling from what has just happened.
It feels like a surreal nightmare, but | know it''s all too real no matter how much I wish | could just wake up and find out that none
of this ever happened.
| want to go back to this morning, redo everything; hell, right now | want to go back to months ago, back to when Karl first walked
into my restaurant. | want to go back and send him away and tell him to never speak to me again.
| stumble to my bed and throw myself onto it, burying my face in the pillow as sobs wrack my body.
How could Karl make an announcement like that, especially in front of everyone?
It''s a lie, a cruel twist of the knife in my already wounded heart. The idea of us being together again and starting a family,
especially when | know | probably can’t have kids, feels like a cruel joke.
Amidst my despair, my wolf''sforting presence whispers in my mind. “Karl must have had a reason for doing this, Abby,” she
says gently. “He always has a reason, doesn’t he?”
| sniffle and wipe away my tears with the back of my hand. “I don’t doubt that he had a reason,” | murmur out loud under my
breath, “but he should have talked to me first, gotten my point of view, my permission, before tantly announcing it to everyone
in our pack. Now, if I pull out of this, I''ll just seem like the bad guy once again, and everyone will hate me.”
“That''s not true, Abby. They won''t hate you.”
| let out a bitterugh. “You think so? First, they thought | was a cheater, then a washed-up ex-Luna turning myself into a servant
by running a restaurant, and now they believe I''m the fraud who poisoned everyone at the Alpha gathering. If I tell them I''m not
with Karl, they''ll see me as a no-good floozy who took advantage of him for his help and then dumped him.”
“They won''t think that,” my wolf says, but | can hear the uncertainty in her voice.
“Listen,” | mutter, “I''m well aware of the fickle nature of people, and | know how this will end. I''m trapped, and it''s all Karl''s fault. |
mean, how could he do this to me? | thought he changed, that he was bing better, not just a cold Alpha who only thinks
about himself.”
My wolf falls silent. | can still feel herforting presence, but | know that she’s run out of things to say. That''s because it''s true;
Karl has used me, taken advantage of me, and for what? After everything we''ve been through together, he would do this?
As | continue to cry into my pillow, my thoughts drift back to earlier tonight, when Karl and | were alone in the forest.
It was a moment of vulnerability, of opening up to each other. | allowed myself to set aside my inhibitions for a little while because
| thought that maybe, just maybe, things would work themselves out.
I let myself be weak. | let himfort me with his words and with his body. | let him ruin my dress on the snowy ground when
now | know | shouldn''t have done any of it.
And now, it feels like he took advantage of my feelings for his own gain. He must be using me to look good for the election, I''m
sure of it.
I should have stayed home, in the city; | should have let this all blow over and | never should have spoken to him again.
But no. I''m a fool who really thought that he had changed. | let my broken heart get the best of me. I let him use me.
I''m not sure how long |y there, sobbing into my pillow. My makeup must be a mess and my hair is likely a wreck. But at some
point, | hear a knock on my door. | have a feeling | know who it is.
“Go away!” | call out, my voice choked with tears. “Leave me alone!”
There''s a silence, and | think that he must have gone away.
But then | hear the sound of a key in the lock, and the door swings open. Karl steps into the room, the skeleton key to the house
in his hand, and his expression is a mix of concern and determination.
“Abby, we need to talk,” he says. “Please.”
1 bolt upright, my hands clenched into fists at my sides. “Get out,” | growl, my eyes shing with anger. Even my wolf is furious
inside of me, lending me her strength and fury for a split second.
“Abby—"
“I said, get out!”
Before Karl—or even |—can react, I''m bolting to my feet and rushing across the room. | begin to pummel his chest angrily, my
teeth bared and my jaw clenched.
“You fucker,” | growl as | beat my fists on his chest. “You''re an asshole! | can''t believe you!”
Karl doesn''t flinch, nor does he react
with anger or frustration. Instead
calmly reaches qu, palifiy em 0
Harms My anger begins to turn
into a feeling of helplessness, and my
hands fall back to my sides. Please
read the original content at
NovelDrama.Org.
He continues to hold me, stroking my hair as | sob. “Abby, | have a n for this,” he says softly, his voice filled with sincerity. “A
n that will benefit both of us. Please, just hear me out.”
| push against his chest, trying to free myself from his embrace. “I don''t want to hear it!" | snarl. “You''ve already done enough! |
want to go home!”Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.
But Karl just continues to hold me
firmly, his voice unwavering. His
embrace is too strong, and I''m
helpless in his amy Hesse
SInoW dst feel weak and
exhausted. “Abby, you have to trust
me,” he says quietly. “I wouldn''t have
done this if | didn''t think it was the
best course of action for both of us.
Please, can you just hear me out?”
Please read the original content at
NovelDrama.Org.
1 lit my gaze to meet his, my heart pounding in my chest. Thest thing | want to do right now is ‘hear him out’. | don’t want to
hear a word that he has to say.
And yet, as he holds me in his strong
arms, | can''t deny the way my hea
aches at the sightysf mid Soft wn
€)y9s. Big ye is nothing but
apologetic, and despite my tears and
my anger and my heartbreak, part of
me still trusts him. Please read the
original content at NovelDrama.Org.
Part of me wants to believe that he didn''t do this out of pure selfishness, that he had some sort of n, some sort of reason
behind why he put me on the spot like this tonight.
“Fine,” | huff, finally managing to use thest little bit of my strength to shove myself away from him. “I''m listening.”