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“I don’t have time for this,” I grit out. “I’m fucking hungry.”

I keep walking toward the banquet hall, but Derek’s stupid voice calls after me. “Just because she wants you now doesn’t mean she’ll want you three years from now. You arenothing, Carson. Everyoneknows it. I know it. Rafael knows it. Hell, you probably know it. And one day, Elena’s going to realize that she’s tied herself to a man who’s going absolutely nowhere.”

ELENA

The bed iscold when I wake up. And there’s too much space.

The other two times I shared a bed with Jake, his six-foot-four frame hogged most of the mattress, which is why this is so weird.

The feeling of aloneness creeps in slowly. Then it hits me all at once.

My eyes fly open, and I turn my head. Jake’s side of the bed is empty.

Drawing the covers up to my chest, I sit up and look around. The movement elicits a twinge of pain where Jake gave me his mark.

He’s not in the bathroom, and he’s not on the couch. His phone and wallet are gone, too.

That’s weird.

Wrapping the sheet around my torso, I inch out of bed and wince at the pleasant soreness between my legs. I can smell Jake on me — likely an effect of the mating bite. He said our scents would merge.

It’s strange to wake up smelling different but also familiar.

Looking out over the terrace, my gaze drifts to the blacktop where Jake’s Jeep was parked the night before.It’s gone. My eyes make a circuit of the parking lot and circle drive, but I don’t see it anywhere.

What the fuck? Did heleave?

His black backpack is still slumped in the corner, but I can’t think of any reason why he would get in his Jeep and drive off the morning after we —

Pain unlike anything I’ve ever known slices through my gut as the realization hits me.

Stupid girl. I may have been a virgin before last night, but I’m not unfamiliar with how these things work. The guy fucks the girl and then bounces. Carmen’s had plenty of hump-and-dumps.

But last night wasn’t just sex. I gave him my virginity.Hegave me his mark. The mating bite is a big deal among shifters — more serious even than marriage.

So why would Jake slip out of bed without a word, as though this was some shameful one-night stand?

He wouldn’t, I tell myself.Jake’s not like that.

But Jakedidrun all those years ago, and we didn’t speak for six years.

Righteous indignation flares hot in my gut, and I grab my phone off the bedside table.

I find Jake’s number and wait while it rings. An automated outgoing message picks up, and I jab my screen to end the call.

That doesn’t mean anything, I tell myself. Maybe he’s driving or . . . ignoring me.

Chewing on my bottom lip, I tap his name again. This time, the call goes straight to voicemail.

What — the —fuck?

Tears burn in my throat, exploding halfway between a sob and a hiccup.

Stupid.

That’s what I am.

What kind of girl pines for a guy for six fucking years and then sleeps with him the first time he shows the slightest bit of interest?