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“So, what? There’s a prophecy about you?”

“Technically, it’s about Rowan. She spoke it aloud upon his birth, when I didn’t even exist yet.”

Zahra cocks her head to the side. Bracing myself, I recite the prophecy out loud for her, word for word.

“‘Ruin him’?” she echoes when I’m done.

“Yep.”

“But that could mean anything!”

“Yep.”

“It could mean you’ll kill him or cause his death, of course, but it could also mean a thousand different things.”

“Yep.”

“So, the Greenbriars found out that you were the one who was destined to ruin their precious Alpha and banished you?”

I bite my lip. “Not quite. I ran.”

“You…?”

“It all happened very fast.” I frown down at the tea leaves muddied at the bottom of my cup. “We hooked up, the bond clicked into place, Rowan rejected me, and I was gone before the sun could rise.”

“You didn’t even wait around to see how the pack would react?”

“Why would I do that, Z? I already knew. Kseniya’s word is truth. I could never stand beside Rowan as his Mate as long as everyone in the pack believed that I would be his downfall.”

Zahra furrows her brow. “That’s bullshit. The old woman could be wrong. There’s a first time for everything.”

“Yeah, well…that’s just the way it is.”

“Rowan is an Alpha,” she argues, clenching the hand that was resting on mine into a fist and lightly bringing it down onto the table. “He’s going to be king of the pack! An ancient, powerful pack! Why would he bow to the nonsense claims of a random, senile woman?”

I deflate, letting Zahra’s righteous anger on my behalf wash over me. She doesn’t get it. I’d hoped she’d understand, or at least try to, but I also know how unique Greenbriar customs can be. We are one of just a few remaining packs that descend directly from the ancient original shifters, and that comes with certain qualities that other packs, like the Whiteroses, don’t share.

Deep down, though, I agree with Zahra. Kseniya isn’t exactly my favorite person. Never mind that I can count on one hand the number of interactions I’ve had with her before. She’s the one who foretold my parent’s doom, and she’s also the reason that I am doomed to live a life of unhappiness separated from my Mate. How does she sleep at night, knowing that she has brought so much doom and gloom to people?

Zahra is shaking her head. “Fuck him, then. Fuck Rowan. He’s a coward if he’s letting something that insignificant—”

“It’s not insignificant, though.”

“So, you’re telling me you also believe in this bullshit prophecy?”

I glare at her. “How can I not? My parents are proof that her words have legitimacy.”

“But Lina, that’s—”

Before she can finish her sentence, there’s a loud pounding on the front door. Both of us jump at the sudden banging sound, twisting to face the entryway with twin expressions of shock.

“Alina!” calls Rowan from the other side.

Blinking in surprise, I glance out the window. Rowan’s truck isn’t in the driveway, and I hadn’t been expecting him to stop by, at the very least, until it got dark again.

He bangs on the door again. “Alina, are you okay?”

There’s a wild urgency in his voice. Something akin to panic. I jolt upright, rising to my feet to go answer the door. Zahra remains where she is, knowing better than to get in the way when there’s a frantic, demanding Alpha nearby.