My voice sounds far away.
Ragon finally looks at me. "You understand?"
"Yes, Alpha."
He studies my face for a second longer, like he's deciding how much of me is compliant and how much is just crushed.
"Good. Then we move forward. Together."
The word together feels like a joke.
He dismisses the whole thing with a nod and sits. Conversation starts back up in cautious little drips. Marie asks about the grocery budget. Drake makes a lazy comment about needing more snacks. Jasper tracks everyone with that quiet, ruthless attention.
Eli doesn't move.
I feel his gaze on me, hot and hesitant.
I don't move either.
I don't trust my body not to betray exactly how desperate I am.
Minutes drag.
Marie says something that makes Drake laugh. She taps his chest with the back of her hand; he catches her fingers and kisses them, casual and easy. His scent curls comfortably around hers.
A little part of me that hasn't gotten the memo about the ban lifting shrivels.
I stand up before I can think better of it.
"Vee?" Eli says, soft.
"I'm going to my room. Garden dirt. Need to change."
It's only half a lie. There is dirt under my nails. There's also the fact that if I stay in this room one more minute, I might cry in front of everyone.
"No oneis forbidding you from—" Ragon starts.
"I know. I heard."
"Verena," he says, faint warning.
"Yes, Alpha."
I'm already moving.
I walk away on legs that feel like I stole them.
I don't make it to my room before Eli catches up.
"Vee. Hey. Hey, stop."
I stop.
I don't turn around.
"If I look at you right now, I'll do something pathetic."
"That's my favorite kind of thing you do."
