Chapter 193
The temperature in the room shifted.
+25 BONUS:
Not dramatically, but enough. Like a subtle drop in pressure before a storm. Erin straightened, her laughter tapering, f smoothed the sample fabric in front of me and didn’t look up right away.
“Hey,” Logan said casually. “What’s so funny?”
Erin glanced at me. “Just… wedding stuff. Carly and daggers.”
Logan chuckled and nodded but said nothing else.
I finally looked up and met his eyes.
“Erin,” I said gently, “do you mind giving us a minute?”
Her eyebrows rose. “Sure. I have to check on the floral samples anyway.”
She gathered her things and left the room quickly, tension rippling in her wake.
Logan remained by the doorway, arms crossed loosely.
“You guys look like you’re having fun,” he said, “Staying busy.”
Ishrugged.
“I haven’t seen you since the Moonbinding Festival,” I replied.
He shrugged back. “I’ve been handling patrols. Council meetings. Keeping things afloat back at my own pack.”
I walked over to the sideboard and poured myself a glass of water, trying to rein in the sharpness rising in my chest.
“What was the deal with the Silverclaw medallion?” I asked without turning around. “Did you really find it out there?”
No answer.
“And then you challenged Derek to a sparring match in front of everyone. You drew blood, Logan. That wasn’t ceremony. That was personal.”
Still, nothing.
I turned to face him. “You don’t have an explanation?”
Logan’s jaw flexed, but he didn’t speak.
I took a breath. Let it out slowly. “Okay.”
I crossed the room toward him, each step grounding me more deeply in my decision.
“Then I’ll give you one.”
His gaze flicked to mine.
“I want you to publicly announce that our engagement is over.”
The words didn’t shock him.
They just… landed. Quietly. Like he’d been expecting them and wasn’t sure whether to flinch or pretend it didn’t sting.
“You don’t have to make a show of it. You can do it quietly. Save some face.”
Logan didn’t move. He just stood there, hands loose at his sides, watching me with that carefully blank expression he wore when he wanted to seem unaffected.
1/2
Chapter 193
“We both know,” I said calmly, “this was never real.”
He didn’t speak. Didn’t deny it. He knew.
+25 BONUS
“I let you announce it because it gave me space. It kept Derek at a distance. It made things easier–simpler—for a while. I needed that. You helped me at a time when I didn’t know who I could lean on, and I’ll always be grateful for that.”
I let the silence stretch a little, then added, softer, “But I was never going to marry you.”
Still no reaction. Just the tightening of his jaw.
“I never said Hoved you. I never led you to believe I wanted more than what we had. And what we had wasn’t a romance. It wasn’t a partnership. It was safety. Familiarity. A way to avoid the mess I didn’t want to deal with.”
I folded my arms, feeling the edge of it all building behind my ribs “But that mess? It’s here. And I’m not hiding anymore.”
He glanced away for a moment, then back again–but he still didn’t say a word.
“I never used you,” I said. “But I did let you believe we could keep pretending. And that’s on me. But it stops now.”
I took a step forward, voice steady but quiet. “Because I care about you, Logan. I always have. But not the way you wanted. And definitely not the way you deserve.”
Another silence.
“And the truth is…” I met his gaze directly. “You’re a friend. That’s all. And lately? You haven’t even been acting like one.” That made something flicker in his eyes–just for a second. Something real.
But he didn’t try to stop me when I turned toward the door.
And I didn’t give him a chance.
I paused only once, with my hand on the frame.
“You don’t owe me anything. Not anymore. But I hope someday you remember what friendship is supposed to look like.”
Then I left.
And this time, I didn’t look back.
Chapter 194
+25 BONUS
Chapter 194
