“Here’s your tea,” Sam said, handing me the mug and sat down next to me on the couch.

I cupped it and scowled. I didn’t know what I was fully feeling, but emotions were blurring together, and I felt like I wanted to cry more.

But I had cried the entire drive over and was angry that Henrik had accepted that half ass apology.

I just kept seeing Ashley’s eyes relax when she saw him. She knew he was there and used the moment to her advantage. I hated people like that, and I hated that it worked. Henrik had sided with me, but had he really? Had he understood even?

“Do you want to tell me what happened?”

I looked at Sam, seeing the soft gaze she was giving me. I knew I could trust her with so much.

“I found Nina in a bit of an altercation.”

She froze for a second, her lips pulling together. I could see she was instantly on alert, her defenses up. “Okay….and.”

I clutched the tea tighter and took a sip of it. It was peppermint, and I felt it fill my sinuses and relax me.

“I was leaving the lab and spotted her with Ashley, one of Henrik’s exes.”

“Oh god, Ashley. What a two-faced bitch she was.” Sam shook her head. “She was good at it, too.”

This caught my attention. “What do you mean?”

Sam shook her head as she leaned back on the couch, sinking into the cushion.

“She’s a terrible person and I don’t say that lightly.

She clung to my brother, mostly because she wanted to be the wife of an Alpha.

But humans.” Sam shook her head. “She treats them like they are lower than dirt. She was sweet to me because I was Henrik’s sister, but I knew she only did it because of him. ”

“Why did they break up?”

She shrugged. “No idea. I think he got tired of having to constantly take care of her. She was always looking for attention. I was over the moon when they broke up.

I chewed on my lip. So, I wasn’t crazy about the way she was acting. She was nice to me in front of Henrik, but someone else entirely when he was gone.

“So, what happened with Nina?” Sam asked, tilting her head. “Was she a raging bitch to her?”

“I got there, and she was degrading her.

They had both applied for the same job at the new therapist's office that opened up. Nina was heading back to her car when Ashley ran into her. She was telling her that she might as well take her application back because Ashley was going to get the job because she was a shifter.”

Sam frowned, shaking her head. “Yeah, that sounds about right. Ashley always thought she was better than everyone else around her. She thought she was the best-looking. She always wore the best clothes.” Sam rolled her eyes. “So, what happened next?”

“I snapped.” I said, “She was two-faced at the restaurant.”

Sam shook her head. “Wait, backup, you ran into Ashley at the restaurant?”

I nodded. “Did I not tell you about that?”

Sam scowled at me. “If I knew about the restaurant, would I be asking about it?”

I rolled my eyes. “Henrik took us out for a nice dinner the other night, and she was there.”

Sam’s eyes widened. “What happened?”

“Everything was fine when Henrik was there, but she was rude when he left. She made me so uncomfortable that I asked Henrik if we could leave. She made me feel like she was trying to get with him again despite having a boyfriend. She asked if we had an open marriage.”

Sam looked stunned. “Wow. Are you serious!? Jesus, that’s fucking ballsy.”

I nodded. “Yeah, so when she was yelling at Nina, I just lost it. How could I just stand there and listen to her insulting humans like that? And you always tell me how Nina is just so sweet. She didn’t deserve to be yelled at like that.”

Sam frowned, “God, I should call her. I imagine she’s probably a mess right now.” Sam sighed, “So, what happened next?”

I scowled, still angry about how it all went down. “Henrik showed up, and Ashley told her that I was just screaming at her and that I had misunderstood what had happened. She gave a half ass apology and your brother accepted it.”

Sam raised an eyebrow. “Okay, I think you lost me.

“How?”

Sam gave me a soft smile. “Your anger was at Ashley, so why are you mad at Henrik? Sounds like he came into this and wasn’t exactly given all the information he needed.”

“Because he accepted her half ass apology. She didn’t even mean it. He should have stood up for Nina and made sure she got the apology she deserved. Isn’t the point of the Alphas to help protect the people who need it?”

We fell silent for a moment, and I frowned.

I thought back to it and realized maybe I jumped the gun in anger.

I shouldn’t have screamed at Henrik. I ran my face.

“I just wanted Nina to feel like we were on her side. I just…” I felt tears build up.

“I remember what it feels like to have no one in your corner. And I didn’t want her to feel that. ”

Katie reached out, patting her hand on my thigh. “I get that. I understand the need to protect, but I think you may have aimed your anger at Henrik a little on this one. He sided with you and you still got mad at him.”

I sighed and leaned back. “Now I feel bad. I pretty much screamed at him that he didn’t care about humans.”

Sam made a cringing expression. “Oh, I’m sure that struck a nerve with him.”

I frowned, hating how I had screamed at him. We had spent so much time together and instead of discussing what I was feeling, I screamed at him.

I ran a hand over my face and sighed. “I feel bad now.”

“Well, why don’t you go find him then? Knowing my brother, he’s probably trying to get in contact with you.”

I handed Sam my tea and pulled myself up.

“Thanks for listening. Tell Jay hi for me. Give the little one a kiss for me.” I grabbed my purse and pulled my shoes and my jacket back on.

I headed outside and started to head home.

I was driving by the lab to take the road back home when I noticed that Henrik’s vehicle was parked on the side of the road.

“Was he still here?” I said, looking confused. I pulled over and looked at the area where we had been fighting, but no one was there. So I got out of my car and headed towards his. I peered inside and noticed it was empty.

I turned around when my eyes landed on the bar and spotted him inside. But Henrik wasn’t alone. He was sitting at the bar, and Ashley sat next to him. My heart clenched seeing them.

She looked at him so softly and reached a hand out, patting his hand. My stomach twisted up, hating that she was touching him. Touching the man that I cared so deeply about. I felt tears build up, and I quickly wiped them away.

She reached over and took a fry off his plate and ate it. She batted her eyelashes, and as she moved, her breasts sat perky in her shirt that hung low.

I hated how good they looked together. She was the picture of what an Alpha’s wife should look like. But instead, Henrik was stuck with me. He hadn’t picked me. He was forced to be with me.

I looked away and took a deep breath. I turned and headed back to my car. I just wanted to leave. I didn’t want to think about what would happen next. I heard plenty of stories about how cheating went and how it all went down.

Ashley would swoon him and maybe convince him to go to the bathroom with him. She was perfect in every manner, she probably knew sex like the back of her hand.

Images of them joined together filled my vision. Her perfect body conjoined with his. Him thrusting and her moaning loudly for him. She would whisper his name and claw her nails down his back.

I shook my head, trying to push the thoughts away.

I got to the car when I felt a shiver roll down my spine. I stiffened and glanced over my shoulder, but no one was around. The streets and the sidewalks were empty. I was alone, but my body wasn’t reacting that way.

“Hello?” I looked around, feeling the hair on my body standing up. “Who’s out there?”

Darkness crept around, and my eyes widened as I realized what it was. I took a few steps back and swallowed. Shit. Shit. Shit!

I took a few more steps back as the darkness grew closer. I stumbled and knew I had nowhere to run. My body locked up, reacted, and waited for the impact to hit me. But a shadow came from the other direction, and the darkness smacked into a body that stood in front of me.

Henrik stumbled as the darkness hit him hard. Henrik went down, and the darkness disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.

“Henrik!” I reached for him, pulling his face towards me. Henrik was out cold and pale. Panic set in.

“Henrik, speak to me!” I shook him, feeling pure terror. “Henrik!” I bent down and rested my ear on his chest. I closed my eyes and prayed. I couldn’t lose him like this. I couldn’t let the last words towards him be how cruel they were.

I heard the beating of his heart and felt a little relieved. He was alive.

I searched for my phone and started to dial the police. I clung to Henrik, feeling tears build up. “You’re okay,” I whispered. “You’re okay. You’re going to be okay.”

“Nine one one, what is your emergency?”

I quickly spoke, trying to get all my words out.

I wasn’t even sure if I was making the right sentences.

Everything seemed to blur together. An ambulance arrived, and my entire body was shaking.

Henrik was alive, but I didn’t know what was going on.

I knew just how powerful the darkness was.

I knew what damage it could do. And I couldn’t lose him. Not like this.