Lily's Point of view

The apartment was hot.

I looked down at the icy coffee mug in front of me, seated at the kitchen table. The weight of it all the battle, the truth, and the decisions still to be made—languished upon my shoulders, a heavy, choking blanket. My fingernails were curled into my hands as if that hurt might somehow center me, and my fists gripped the wood.

I looked up as I heard Aiden sniffling softly in the living room. The little wolf Marcus had given him weeks before was cuddled in his arms on the couch. Uncertain and with the kind of wordless questions that only a...