Chapter 6 Tamsin's POV

I scrub at the massive window until my arm aches. The glass is already spotless, but I keep rubbing, as if the movement will wash away the ache in my chest too.

The third floor of the pack house is always quiet-only the occasional footsteps from passing patrols or omegas.

It's perfect for hiding. For breaking.

"I miss him," Kira whimpers softly in the back of my mind. "Even if I hate him for it, I still miss him."

I squeeze the cloth tighter. "You don't even know him to miss him."

"We've known him all our lives, Tammy."

"As our Alpha. Not lover. We were only mated one day."

"Still..." she trails off. "Still, the feeling I felt that one day was heaven. We'll never feel that way again. Ever. Just know that."

"Thanks for the spirit yoga," I sigh.

The citrus scent hits me first-sharp, bright, unmistakable. My body stiffens as the bond tugs at something deep inside of me.

Even severed, it knows him. Alpha Nox. The man who broke me.

But there's another scent accompanying his-clean leather and the faintest whiff of spice. My hand pauses, curiosity getting the best of me. I turn just enough to glance behind me.

My breath catches.

Nox stands tall, like a shadow that still haunts my dreams. His jaw is tight, dark eyes unreadable, and his hair is slightly tousled like he's been running his hand through it all day.

Then I spot the other man-Lior, Nox's best friend and Zara's half brother. Their father, Beta Conan was mated simultaneously to two sisters before he died.

One birthed Zara, and the other, Lior.

Lior is the sun to Nox's storm. Blonde hair that tumbles across his brow, a half-smirk playing on his lips, and green eyes that always seem like they're about to laugh.

He's dangerous in a charming way.

I snap my head back to the window. I can't let them see me looking. Not when I've spent weeks trying to hold myself together. Not when every glance from him tears me open again.

"You're a cowardly bastard, you know that?" Lior's voice drifts toward me.

"If loving your sister makes me one," Nox replies, calm and cold, "then I'll gladly wear the title."

Kira lets out a soft whimper. "He said love."

The cloth slips from my hand and I press my palm flat against the glass to steady myself. My heart stabs itself again, over and over.

I pick up the cloth again and resume my scrubbing harder, my tears clouding my vision. I bite down on my bottom lip to keep the sob inside.

Footsteps stop behind me.

I don't turn.

A hand gently pries mine off the glass. "Easy, sweetheart. The window's already clean. You'll rub it straight into the spirit realm at this point."

I blink, startled. In the reflection of the glass, Lior stands behind me, his smirk soft but teasing. The sight of him somehow tugs a sad smile out of me.

His scent-leather and wind-wraps around me like a warm cloak.

"I-" I turn, and the moment his eyes land fully on my face, his expression falters.

"Tamsin?" he says, stepping back like he's touched fire. "I didn't realize it was you."

"I know," I whisper. "Most people don't anymore."

He hesitates. "Are you... are you okay?"

I glance toward Nox who hasn't said a word, hasn't moved an inch. The silence between us is loud.

My hand brushes over my chest, where the mating bond pulls painfully. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not." Lior's voice lowers. "But you're brave for pretending."

I wipe at my eyes, forcing a smile. "You know what they say? Fake it till you make it."

That gets a laugh out of him and he tucks his hands into his pockets and nods. "You're really brave."

"Thank you."

He gives a short nod. "Anytime, pretty girl."

I bow quickly, picking up my bucket and cloth. Without waiting for a reaction, I hurry down the hall, toward the farthest window I can find.

I don't look back. But I feel him. I feel Nox's eyes burning into my back like he's trying to say something. But he doesn't.

Coward.

"So he won't even speak to us," Kira whispers, her voice trembling. "Still pretending we were never meant to be."

I press my forehead against the cold window. "Let him pretend Kira. I'm tired."

*********

The dining room is quiet when I step in to help with dinner. My hands move on instinct, arranging plates, smoothing the cloth, adjusting the silverware.

It's easier than feeling. Easier than remembering.

The large oak doors swing open and in walks Zara, poised and perfect, followed by Luna Selene, Nox's mother.

Zara spots me and offers a smile so polite it almost glows. "Tamsin," she says, like we're old friends instead of... whatever we are now.

I nod. "Zara."

She raises an eyebrow. "Setting the table? That's new."

I don't answer. There's no point.

Luna Selene's presence floods the room like winter. Cold. Sharp. I've always known her to be distant, but today there's something else in her gaze-disgust.

"Don't dawdle, omega," she says smoothly, eyes piercing right through me.

I lower my head. "Of course, Luna."

I move toward the kitchen when her voice slices through the air again. "You're a curse."

I pause. Just a second. Just long enough to feel that blade sink in.

I don't look back. I walk.

Back into the kitchen where it's warm and loud and safe from cruel words spoken by the people I once thought were leaders.

Inside, I lean against the wall, my hands shaking.

"A curse? Her son rejected me and I'm a curse for that? All I've literally been doing my whole life is cleaning this place. And I'm curse for that?"

Kira growls softly. "Our crime is being kind, I guess. Maybe it's a curse to be rejected by an alpha, don't you think? Say, bad luck?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, Elara doesn't speak to us anymore. You think we emit cursed energy?"

"Kira, no. No, we're not cursed. We're just..."

"Rejected," she fills in. "That's cursed to me."

"Gods, shut up."