Chapter 75
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Chapter 75
She was so distressed. And then it occurred to me.
“He’s your mate,” I guessed. “You’re fated mates.”
She nodded slowly.
I sank back against the wall, trying to catch my breath. “Why didn’t either of you say anything?”
“We wanted to. After the summit, once things settled. But then the explosions happened and everything went to hell.”
I closed my eyes for a moment. Of course. The missed meetings. The secrecy. The guilt I’d
misread as something worse.
Oh, Mason.
“When did this–when did you find out you were mates?” I asked.
“When we were living with you,” she said sheepishly. “I ran into Mason one night in the
kitchen. I was downstairs getting a midnight snack, trying to stay out of everyone’s way
and he walked into the room, and it was like…”
She looked around, trying to put a name to that feeling that was almost indescribable.
“Magic,” I finished for her, remembering my first encounter with Derek.
She looked wistful.
“But why did you leave?” I asked.
“It doesn’t matter. It was for the best.”
I disagreed, but didn’t say it. I was just so relieved.
“I thought…” I trailed off, shaking my head. “I thought he was hiding something terrible.”
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Chapter 75
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“He was. Me.” Her voice broke. “Because he didn’t know how your father would react.”
That much, I understood.
“Does he know you’re leaving?”
“No. But he knows where to find me.”
I couldn’t bear the look of sadness on her face.
“Stay,” I said, reaching out to touch her arm.
She looked down at her boots. “I can’t. This world doesn’t want people like me in it.”
I frowned. “You may be a rogue, Erin, but you’re good. You and Carly and Maggie. You’re good people. Worthy.”
“Funny,” she said, looking up at me, her gaze frank. “I don’t remember Derek embracing your goodness. Your worthiness. I remember him barely tolerating it.
Her words stung. I clammed up, instantly brought back to that feeling of rejection.
She misinterpreted my silence.
“You think I was always a rogue?” Her gaze lifted, fierce now. “I was born in a treaty- bound pack. Loyal. Respectable. My parents were council advisors. We wore the crest. Had a
seat at the table.”
A tear spilled down her cheek. “And when we were attacked–when another Alpha decided our land was ripe for the taking–no one came. The Alpha Council didn’t save us. No one
did.”
I swallowed hard.
“You weren’t the only one raised to be a Luna, Elena,” she said softly. “Tell Mason I love him. But I’m not going to let him burn his future down for me.”
“He’d do it anyway,” I said quietly.
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Chapter 75
She gave me a sad smile and stepped around me.
“Elena?”
I turned.
“Not every rogue wants a war. But that doesn’t mean we’re safe, either.”
Then she disappeared into the stairwell.
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I stood there long after she’d gone, my pulse still racing. I felt like I’d stepped through a memory and come out different.
Erin was gone. Mason would be heartbroken. And I… I didn’t know what I was anymore.
When I reached my room, I found it as I’d left it–mostly. The pillows fluffed, the light on, the air scented faintly with lemonwood.
And something on the floor.
A single piece of paper, folded once, slid beneath the door.
I bent and picked it up, the back of my neck prickling.
There was no seal. No handwriting I recognized. Just four words in uneven black ink.
Moonstone is next.
The air left my lungs.
I folded the note with trembling hands and turned to grab my phone.
War was far from over. And now, it looked like it was coming home.
P
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