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The screams that followed alerted me to his injuries, and I moved to help, but he only keeled over, tripping himself over a branch.

Disgust welled up inside me as I watched his shameless display and lack of honor, but when Mira crunched next to him, her voice filled with concern, I could see why he did it.

He knew he stood no chance of winning, so he had to find a way to distract the audience from my victory and focus everyone’s attention and pity on himself. I’d rather die than be the object of mass pity.

I stood around for a bit, hoping Mira would turn around and see the look on his face or at least give me a quarter of the attention she was giving him, but she was completely focused on him.

I quickly wiped the blood off my face, having no interest in jumping on the pity wagon.

“Congratulations, babe. I knew you were going to win,” Lilith purred as I stepped into the palace, but I didn’t spare her a glance.

I walked straight to Elder Gideon and presented him with the squirrel. After he inspected the animal for injuries, he raised it for all to see, declaring me the winner and officially ending the hunt.

My eyes searched the faces in the crowd, but the one I sought was missing. Victor was, too. She had really impressed me with the way she handled Lilith’s antics, causing me to put my all into the hunt to impress her, too, and she wasn’t even present to celebrate my success.

I left the ceremony, not seeing the need to celebrate when the only person I wanted to celebrate with was in the arms of another.

*****

I relished the calming feeling of hot water pouring down my body, soothing the ache in my muscles. My injuries healed long ago, but the ache persisted. Unlike Victor, I had no Mira to tend to my injuries.

A strong wave of self loathing slammed into me. I cursed myself for not recognizing her worth when she was with me and for failing to see how much she loved me and failing to see how much she meant to me when all she wanted was for me to see her.

Flashes of her blue-gray eyes following my every move and staring at me with so much love filled my head. Echoes of her soft laughter during our little conversation bounced off the walls of my skull.

This was the worst kind of pain. I couldn’t see it. I couldn’t do anything about it, and I couldn’t make it stop. There had been moments when I had to physically restrain myself from tearing her out of Victor’s arms.

She didn’t belong with him. Her place was next to me, and I knew it might’ve taken me a long time to realize that, but I was ready to make up for the lost time and love her the way I should’ve all those years.

Overwhelmed by a sudden rush of anger, I slammed my fist into the bathroom wall, aiming to distract the pain in my heart with a different kind of pain, but that didn’t work. I was left with two kinds of pain to deal with.

This was solely my fault. I was the architect of my own misfortune. Now, the woman I loved was in the arms of the worst kind of human, and I was being forced to watch.

If this was the goddess’s way of punishing me for making a mockery of her pairings, then she could be assured I have learned my lessons and could give me my fucking woman already.

This wouldn’t be happening if only you listened, my wolf gloated. But his voice didn’t sound as proud as it should. He was right about me being the cause of our pain, but he was feeling it like I was, if not worse.

“Is there a way for us to get her back?”

I can’t say. We can only rely on Victor’s true nature being revealed. Otherwise, we can hope for the goddess and a miracle.

I already knew the answer, but hearing it from my wolf felt like my fate was cemented.

You could try, though. Things have a funny way of working out. There’s a reason the goddess gave her to us.

“I doubt there’s anything I can do.”

“There’s always something to do. We can’t let that swine win without trying. Don’t forget who we are.”

My wolf’s resolve to keep fighting despite feeling defeated at every turn fueled my desire to get her back, and I left the bathroom feeling a lot better, but it was too soon to celebrate.

My phone rang the moment I stepped out of the bathroom, Michael’s name flashing on the screen.

.

“Is the boy okay?” I queried the moment I clicked on the receiver. I hoped Noah wasn’t under any attack. After the guards I had stationed reported Tom visiting the house, I added extra details to make sure he was always safe. The boy had somehow grown on me, and I couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to him.

“The boy is safe. This is from the palace.”