Alec’s

It's honestly ridiculous. I thought the intensity between us would ease after the full moon, but boy was I wrong. I'm drawn to him like a moth to a flame, when I shouldn't. I should be staying away from him. I should keep my guard and walls up after what happened three years ago, but I can't. Slowly by slowly I'm starting to forget all the reasons why I should stay away from him... And it scares the shit out of me.

"I honestly thought I'd find you asleep," Alec says as he walks towards the bed, his eyes flicking to Aspen before landing on me. He then sits on the edge of the bed, facing me.

"I can't stop my mind from spinning," I reply with a shrug.

"Any particular reason?"

I hesitate. Should I tell him what Raven told me? Or wait until she can explain it herself?

I make a decision. "Raven said she might've found a way around the curse."

His eyes widen slightly-that's the only reaction I get. Other than that, his face remains unreadable. Stoic. As if I just told him something as mundane as the weather.

He doesn't speak right away. Just stares at me, lost in thought.

"So... she found a loophole?" he finally asks.

"Yeah,” I murmur, adjusting my position on the bed. “She didn't go into detail, but she wouldn't have told me if she wasn't sure. I know Raven-she doesn't move on a hunch."

She's methodical. Relentless. If she says she found something, she found something. Raven isn't one to go on a hunch or something intangible like that. She has to have found solid proof. The fact that she told me about it means that it's something she is sure could work.noveldrama

I study his face, waiting for some kind of reaction. Anything. Relief. Excitement. A flicker of hope. This is the news he has been waiting for his entire life. But his expression doesn't shift. His eyes dart away, focusing on a spot on the bed. For a second, just one second, something flashed in them-something I couldn't quite catch before it disappeared.

When he looks at me again, he's completely blank. His face and his eyes give nothing away and for a moment I almost think I imagined that look in his eyes.

"Aren't you happy?" I ask, confused. "I thought you'd be... I don't know, jumping for joy. This is it, Alec. This spell-what's been haunting your pack for generations -this could finally end."

Still, nothing. No joy. No visible relief. No smile. Just that unreadable, frustrating mask.

"I am happy, Sadie," he says slowly. "It's just..."

He trails off, lips pressing into a thin line. Like he's physically holding the rest back.

"Just what?" I push, frowning.

"Nothing." He stands abruptly, shoulders tense. "It's nothing."

He leans

and presses a kiss to

Mind, then one to

sel.neo

second

mine gentle, lingering just a longer than necessary.

"Goodnight, Sadie. I'll see you tomorrow."

And just like that, he's gone-leaving me completely baffled.

What the hell just happened? What was his problem?

Shouldn't he be over the moon? Why did it feel like I just delivered bad news?

I stare at the door long after it

closes, trying to piece together what

just happened. I turn it over in 1773

min again and again, but nothing makes sense.

Eventually, I give up. Obsessing over his reaction won't get me anywhere tonight.

= Soothe me. Her little hanget

I curl closer to Aspen, letting her

in her sleep, and I

t kiss to the top of her ho?

W?

Just as I'm about to drift off, a new thought slips into my mind-one I hadn't considered before.

Nyx had told me she understood what moon heat felt like... that she knew how terrible it was to go through it without a mate.

But if she knows that pain, does that mean she had a mate in her past life?