ARIEL'S POV

I lay curled in bed like a fox, except my head stayed straight, pretending to be asleep.

My mind was chaos.

I had just returned from seeing the Alpha, and now I was more confused than ever. One minute, he was questioning me with those cold, emotionless eyes and a voice that made me tremble. The next, he was handing me a handkerchief to wipe my tears. He was mysterious. Unpredictable.

I hadn’t meant to cry. Tears were weakness, and I’ve always hated being weak. But the moment he asked why I left Moonshade, everything I had bottled up came rushing back. I couldn’t stop it.

I’d thought...