Another knock. “Nadia? It’s Ember. Can I come in?”
I should say no. Should tell her I’m fine and need to be alone.
“Yeah,” I say instead. “It’s open.”
The door opens. Ember steps inside. Takes one look at me and stops.
“You look like hell,” she says. Direct. blunt. “What happened?”
“Nothing. I’m fine.”
She closes the door behind her. Crosses her arms. “You’re not fine. Your eyes are still shifting. Your hands are shaking. And you smell like—” She stops. Her expression changes. “Dragon. You smell like dragon. Even more than before.”
My face heats. “It’s not—”
“Jericho.” Not a question. She’s putting pieces together. “Something happened between you two.”
I want to deny it. Want to deflect. Want to maintain the lie I’ve been telling everyone.
“Yes,” I say instead. Too tired to lie anymore.
She studies me. Then moves to sit on the edge of my bed. Pats the space beside her. “Talk.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Nadia. You’re about three seconds from shifting involuntarily. Your wolf is trying to claw her way out. And you smell like you’ve been crying even though your face is dry. Talk.”
I drop down beside her. Stare at my hands. Try to find words.
“We slept together,” I say finally. “Last night. In the training facility. I— My wolf took over. Heat cycle. It just happened.”
“Okay.” Ember’s voice is carefully neutral. “And?”
“And I told him it was nothing. That it was just biology. That now that the cycle’s over, I don’t need him anymore.”
Silence. Then: “Is that true?”
“Yes.” It’s a lie.
“Nadia.”
I look at her. See understanding in her expression. See the way she’s reading me with dragon instincts that cut through bullshit.
“No,” I admit. “It’s not true.”
“Do you still want him?”
The question is simple. The answer should be simple.
“Yes,” I whisper. “And I hate that I do.”
“Why?”
“Because he killed Chance. Because wanting him feels like betraying everything Chance and I had. Because—” My voice breaks. “Because my wolf says he’s our mate and I don’t know how to want the man who destroyed my life.”
Ember is quiet for a moment. Then: “The heat cycle ended. When?”
“This morning.”
