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The color drains from her face so fast that I almost reach for her.

I have a choice.

I could say it right now. I could declare her as my plus-one, show her that she’s the only one on my mind every second of every fucking day.

But admitting that means acknowledging that my ironclad control is slipping. That she’s unraveling me in ways I can’t afford.

So instead, I force myself to look at Ethan and say the words that taste like ash in my mouth.

“Choose a woman for me.”

Silence lingers.

Ethan nods.

Lila doesn’t say a word.

And something inside me cracks.

Because it’s a lie.

She’s the only choice.

The only one I want.

And yet, I let her slip away.

Again.

Chapter Ten

LILA WINTER

Darkness hovers around me like a cloak meant to trap me and rob me of my sanity. I breathe in the humid air, praying to the Goddess to get me out.

As if she can hear me, sunlight filters through the dense canopy of leaves, casting leafy patterns on the forest floor. I open my eyes, grinning as familiar laughter buzzes through the woods like a beacon calling to me.

Standing up from the spot of misery I’ve put myself in, I wipe hair from my face, trying not to cry. The same laughter rings through the woods, the birds chirp from tree to tree, almost like they are imitating the rustling of the leaves in the morning wind.

I’m about to say hello when a boy whose face I can’t even see stands in front of me.

“Come on”, he says cheerfully, grabbing my hand. I hold his hand tighter, trusting him with more than my life as he starts running.

We ran together through the woods, our bare feet kicking up dirt as we dash through the forest.

I look at the back of his head, giggling too, because the boy dragging me makes me feel safe. He makes my heart race.Mommy said anyone who makes your heart race is your true Mate.

When our lungs burn and our feet hurt, we stop at a clearing. Both of us are breathless and tired, but we are still giggling because running is fun.

Caught unaware and with my heart still pounding hard in my chest, the boy turns to face me, then he tucks my hair behind my ear, and I giggle.

My chest tightens when he leans down, and like a feather brought to my lips, he drops the lightest of kisses on my mouth.

I kiss him back, and when I move to hold him, he starts disappearing. Someone pulls him away from me. I’m left all alone in the forest.

No, where did he go? Where did he—

Panic flares in my chest as his figure starts to blur, fading into something like mist under the mercy of the morning sun.