I take a step towards the door when a crowd intercepts our path. They scream, laugh, and swarm around Fox and Katsu. Fox’s expression turns from happiness to alarm. He backs up again and again, but there’s nowhere to go.
I rush out of the café but stop when I hear the first question.
“Are you Wolf and Cat?”
My stricken gaze finds my alphas, searching for anything that can indicate what I can do to help them.
“No,” Katsu growls.
“But you look exactly like them. We love the book.” The girl squeals and thrusts a book at him. “Sign it, please.”
I gape as someone asks if Katsu is the same size as Cat. Someone puts a piece of paper with a number into Katsu’s hand. They push up against them, asking more and more invasive questions, things that they would know nothing about.
Katsu growls and drops the number. The paper flutters, but they don’t care; they just start taking photos and touching them.
Fox edges back, his face turning white, his expression tormented.
And I get it.
I finally, finally understand.
This is why they are trying to find me. It’s not just a whim, it’s the ambushing, it’s the invasiveness. They will never be able to live like this.
I stare at them, my heart breaking in two.
I can’t have them both. There’s no possible way to make it work.
By the time they look for me, I’m gone.
Sofia, Asher, Felix, Lorelei, and Julia stare at me, waiting for me to speak, but I can’t find the words.
“It’s all right, take your time, Christmas is coming,” Asher says with a wicked grin.
I huff a laugh but then look skyward. “I need to know your opinions on something.”
“Go ahead, darling,” Mum says.
I straighten my shoulders, ignoring Franco singing off-key in his kitchen. We’re currently sitting around one of the massive tables in the restaurant, threading snowflakes and hearts onto string.
“Would you give up something that you loved, something that made you who you were, for love?”
The silence becomes tense. I look up, wondering what they are thinking.
“Are you thinking about giving up Lynn Marino?” Sofia asks softly.
“It’s making them miserable,” I rush to explain. “I didn’t understand, but I think I should just bury her and end it.”
“I mean, sacrifice in relationships is a part of it. We all need to bend a little,” Lorelei says, but her voice is unsure.
“Lynn is not who you are, she’s what you do,” Mum points out gently, but that gentleness hurts more.
I close my eyes, feeling the wound strike open again.
“Why change for them? If they loved you, they’d accept you, for you, for who you are.” Asher glares at Lorelei. “Why should she change?”
“Because everyone does,” Sofia murmurs. “We all have to sand off the edges of ourselves to fit together. Especially when you are coexisting. Eli gets insecure, and we’ve found that we need to check in with him, to make sure he’s not withdrawing. So, part of one of the things he has issues with is when I suddenly disappear. In order to protect his mental health, I now communicate my whereabouts and just keep them in the know.”
Asher is shaking her head. “That’s controlling.”
