Astrid’s POV
"What’s going on, Draven?" I asked him, because his face looked like he’d just heard something distressing.
"They said they’ve reopened the investigation into the murder of Zane, the library’s cleaner," he said, head down.
"What the hell? Hasn’t he been dead for like three weeks already? Which officer is doing that?" I asked, in shock.
"The Beta asked for the case to be reopened," he continued.
"We don’t have anything to worry about. The real culprit’s been caught and exiled, and we removed all the evidence pointing to us, okay?" I said, trying to encourage him, stroking his chin softly.
"I think we should stop seeing each other for now. Someone might catch us. I feel like it’s going to happen soon," he said.
I couldn’t believe he was the one saying this. We’d been seeing each other secretly for a long time now and we hadn’t been caught, so why did he think they’d catch us now? I felt sick when he told me that. I didn’t want us to stop.
"You can’t do this, Draven. You’d be hurting me," I said, meaning every word.
"It has to be this way, Astrid. I’m sorry," he said.
I almost burst into tears as he tried to leave the room.
"Don’t you dare walk out on me. We can work this out." I went after him. "We can meet late at night, we won’t get caught, I promise," I said, sobbing, holding onto his hand.
He pulled his hand free. "It has to be this way." And he left.
I cried alone in that room like a baby. I’d gotten so lost in his love that I hadn’t stopped to think about what his absence would feel like. Infidelity had never tasted better than it did with him.
Draven left me. He was afraid. Fuck!
I grabbed my phone. I wanted to crash out some other way, anything that didn’t involve Draven. But I couldn’t get him off my mind. I actually loved him. I hadn’t realized it until now. I always tried to avoid attachments to anyone, but I’d fallen for Draven. His charm must have really been something.
We had a real problem on our hands. They’d reopened the case of the librarian’s death. He was supposed to be standing beside me so we could fight this together. And instead he was leaving. Love makes people do crazy things.
I started binge-texting him. He wouldn’t respond. There was no other outlet in sight for me to crash out through. Draven had hurt me.
Draven, answer me.
Draven, come back here now.
Draven, this isn’t nice. You took my heart and left.
I would die if you left me. Please come back.
Still nothing. He was straight-up ignoring me.
Fine. He wanted it like that? Alright. I’d let him be, and if he came crawling back, I wouldn’t give him the smallest bit of attention. That’s what I told myself.
I wasn’t sure I could actually pull that off, but I’d try. Damn it, Draven couldn’t just play with me like this. That’s when I noticed a text from Raven, my mate ... someone whose messages I’d ignored for about five weeks now. I left his latest one unread. That was the night I actually considered replying. Should I? Shouldn’t I? I went back and forth with myself.
By the time I got home, I found my mom and dad in the living room. They had a guest.
"Good evening, Mom, Dad," I said.
"Good evening, Mr. Cipher." The head librarian was sitting with my parents. What could he want with them? I wondered, slipping out of the room right after greeting them. But I wasn’t leaving without an agenda.
I wanted to know what they were talking about.
Could this be about the case being reopened? He’d loved Selene so much that he still cared about her wellbeing even after her exile.
I stood behind the curtain, careful not to let my outline show, and listened in.
"She had some projects she was working on at the library ... science projects she was researching," Mr. Cipher was saying.
"I haven’t been able to reach her for the past week. She was reachable before, but recently she’s gone off the grid."
What the actual fuck! Couldn’t this man just leave an exiled wolf alone? He needed to stop trying to contact her. She was gone ... good ... before she came back to take her mate from me. That was the fear sitting under all of it.
She should have moved on with her life by now, or she could be dead for all I cared. She should’ve been forgotten already.
Then he said something about wanting our help reaching Selene, to give her the science project he wanted made real.
Didn’t this man know the Alpha of Bloodmoon Pack had forbidden anyone from seeking out an exiled wolf in person? Please don’t let it be what I thought it was.
My parents told him yes, of course, they’d help him get in touch with her. I knew they were lying. They didn’t give two shits about Selene or where she’d ended up.
Once Mr. Cipher left, my parents turned on me. "Have you been in contact with Selene since that time?"
"No," I said sharply.
"Why won’t you talk to your sister? We don’t want to look like bad parents," Mom said.
"Then why don’t you call her yourself?" I shot back.
My mother answered with a slap. "How dare you talk back to me?"
"Dad, are you going to do something? Or just stand there while she treats me like this?" My dad just stood there, looking like a man hypnotized. That’s what being whipped does to you. Fuck. I was too loose with my mouth. I needed to watch it ... and my thoughts too.
"Astrid, get in contact with your sister within the next three days. That’s all I’m going to say," Mom said, ending it there.
Climbing the stairs to my room, I finally made a decision and messaged Raven, my mate: I want us to meet. Sent.
He’d see it eventually. That freak never responded fast.
While I was still in his DMs, another message came in ... from the pack’s information minister.
The Beta wanted to see me about what happened the night of the mating festival.
Oh, I was in big trouble, I told myself. Or we were, since Draven and I were in this together. Even though he’d already walked away from me.