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For the first time, I don’t have to slip inside Michaela’s head. The channel opens wide for me, and I nearly fall into her mind. Sadness and loneliness hit me. But something else is here. A scene plays out in front of me.

It’s Michaela, staring at her reflection in a broken mirror. Tears track down her face as she sobs. A pain I’m all too familiar with hits me. Heartbreak.

Just as fast as I got sucked into the memory, I am shoved out. I’m no longer staring at a broken woman in a shattered mirror. I’m back standing in my forest with my pack celebrating around me.

Michaela turns away from me. She says something to Luna before pushing away from the tree and walking off.

“Enzo, are you alright?” Nadia calls my name, getting my attention.

I look down at her. I almost forgot she was here. Before I can open my mouth, Chayton walks up.

“Give us a minute, Nadia,” he says.

She quickly bows and walks away. I watch her retreat. The way her ass sways in that tight dress should have me standing at attention. However, there is nothing going on down there. My dick is completely flaccid.

“You good?” Chayton asks.

I turn to face him. Clearing my throat, I say, “Yes.” Searching through the crowd, I try to find Michaela, but she’s not here.

“I almost got through,” I say, turning to Chayton. “The woman is locked up tighter than a vault. She has this wall built up in her head. I can’t get near her inner thoughts. But I’m determined to break it down and see what’s behind it. I just need to win her trust, have her let her guard down a little, and I can see exactly what she’s hiding back there.”

Chayton remains quiet for a moment before he finally speaks. “And then what?”

I narrow my gaze at him. “What do you mean? If I break down the wall, I can see what she’s hiding.”

He folds his arms over his chest and watches me. “Let’s say you do exactly what you have planned. You convince that woman to trust you, to fall for you, and then you slip into her head and break down her wall only to find she’s hiding nothing but sad memories and embarrassing childhood moments. What happens then?”

I stop and think about that for a minute. I never even considered it before. The memory of her crying in that mirror plays back in my mind. What if it’s just pain behind that wall?

“I don’t know,” I admit honestly.

Chayton shakes his head. “This entire time you’ve been looking at her as if she is the enemy, but what if she isn’t? What if she is just a girl running from her sister’s fiancé or the vampire council, or the mob? What if you waste this opportunity to bond with your mate because you are waiting for the gotcha moment?”

I remain silent as I think about what he’s saying. If the vampire is my real mate and I break her trust by breaking into her memories, she will never forgive me. I wouldn’t even blame her. I would question if the goddess would actually give me a vampire as a mate, but it’s clear that she is a fan of the union.Twice she has proven she blessed us. Am I really viewing this all wrong?

But what about Ana?

“Ana is not here,”my wolf huffs.“Michaela is here.”

“Do you remember what you told me when I mated with Elizabeth?” Chayton asks.

It doesn’t take me long to recall the conversation. “I told you to stop fighting against your wolf. But this isn’t the same.”

“Are you sure?” he asks. “The goddess doesn’t make mistakes.”

He runs his hands over his long hair. “Listen, put down your pitch fork. Stop looking at her through the eyes of an enemy and start paying attention to the woman. And if in a few months you still don’t want her, I’ll give you permission to break the bond. I just don’t want you to miss out on your happiness clinging to the past. Take it from someone that nearly lost everything for the same reason.”

He's right. He was so busy clinging to Kamyra and her lies that Luna and Miko were almost burned alive. Maybe it’s time I let the memory of Ana go. Phaedra was right. She isn’t coming back. And though she was slaughtered by vampires, I can’t prove that Michaela was one of the vampires. It isn’t fair to blame her for it. Besides, so far she has saved Torak’s life, taught my scouts how to protect themselves from vampires, and even helped me hunt down and kill a vampire and a feral. Not once has she shown me anything that should make me hate her.

“Okay. You’re right. We both deserve to see where this goes.”

“Exactly,” he says, placing a hand on my shoulder briefly. “And Enzo, like it or not, she is your mate. Never let me see you disrespect her like that again. That’s not who we are.”

I couldn’t even argue with him because he’s right. My interaction with Nadia was out of line. If Michaela would’ve been touching on another male like that…

I don’t even finish the thought as hot rage boils up in me. It almost causes me to transform. Just the thought of her with another man has me ready to kill.

I say goodbye to Chayton and go look for my mate. It doesn’t take me long to find her. She wasn’t far. She’s alone in a small clearing. Her head is back, and she’s staring up at the moon. She’s so still it looks as if she’s frozen. I don’t speak as I lean against a tree and watch her.