I didn't stop running until my lungs burned. The cold night air scraped against my throat. My shoes slapped against the stone path. The music from the banquet grew fainter and fainter behind me until it became nothing more than a distant echo.
Only then did I stop. Only then did I allow myself to breathe. My chest rose and fell rapidly and my hands trembled.
Not because I had run but because I couldn't stop hearing the King's words.
I believe she would make an excellent wife.
Wife.
The word echoed through my mind again and again.
I squeezed my eyes shut. Why did it hurt so much?
Why?
The answer came immediately.
Because I had been stupid. Because somewhere along the way I had forgotten who I am.
A slave.
A human.
A girl who had spent her entire life scrubbing floors and avoiding beatings.
Not a Luna or worthy to be an Alpha's mate. I was not someone worthy of standing beside Hades.
The memory of the dinner twisted painfully inside me. The beautiful woman.
Selene.
