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I let out the breath I had been holding in unknowingly and then I spring up fromy hands up in surrender as I pace the floor I stop suddenly and throw et out h and start to pace again "If you knew the crap that I’ve already been through with this fa one ofher kill Isaac’s sister--" I kick the coffee table and stop to stare coldly at her, htly that the skin around my lips crumples into a series of hard lines "WHY ME?! Why couldn’t you…," I’ my head for someone who could actually fit the bill and my hand darts out to point at the front door "Why not Raul, huh? Why not any one of Trajan’s oh-so-loyal guards who have obviously been pinned under his goddamned boot heel for a couple hundred years? WHY PUT THIS ON ME?!"

Eva doesn’t flinch as I roar at her

"Because you’re the only one I can speak to," she says coer even allowed to converse with Isaac"

I shake h heavily

"He is the epitoerous, but Viktor is predictable Milord is beyond anything you can iine"

"Why do you stay here?" I say, exasperated I think I’ else to talk about, but I know I can’t get any of this out of my head

I run over and thrust er into the heel so I can get them on I alht like Trajan told me to be" I stomp over and stare down at her "And when I co you not to speak a word of this anyot that?"

Eva stands and bows to me with every bit of respect "Yes, Milady"

This time I don’t feel any need to tell her not to call me that I just don’t care I also don’t care that I was ever able to act like the Alpha’s ‘wife’ and that it didn’t feel odd but felt completely natural

I rush out the front door and jump into Raul’s SUV and he takes me back home

I spend the rest of the day in a haze and I start to feel like how Sebastian felt just before he left for home I don’t blame him one bit because I see more and more as I’m confronted with unbelievable truths and obstacles that this isn’t an easy life to live My life before, the lonely one I felt stuck in with Jeff and my mo in Isaac’s bed for several hours while he’s out with Nathan, I finally lift up from the pillow and look across the rooet up and walk over to stand in front of it and I see that I look exactly the same as I always have, yet I look completely different Maybe it’s the eyes The differences are all on the inside and can only be seen through the eyes I peer even closer, proppingin, practically pressing lass and I look deeply intofor, but I know that so back at me and I just can’t find it I let out a deep breath and lowerfreely between my shoulders

The bedroom door clicks open

"I need toinside

I turn around and lean against the dresser, looking at her questioningly

"With Aunt Beverlee and Uncle Carl," she says

It takes a second to notice I’ I let my hands drop to my sides and I walk over to put ondown into the to bend over to tie theestion couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time; I need to breathe some human home-life air for a few hours

Alex looks surprised and then shrugs "Aweso to take us?"

"We’ll take Isaac’s Jeep" I reach into the nightstand drawer and pluck out the spare set of keys

Alex raises a brow "You haven’t even gotten your license yet, have you?" She’s grinning like a trouble- and slipinto a olf and watching people die and all that freaking awesoraduation" Of course, I’otta ad"

"Yeah, what’s that?" I stop in front of her, dangling the keys in o back to that old way of life even if you could"

I hate to admit it, especially after ht

"Let’s go," I say walking past her and stepping into the hall

We pull into the driveway of Uncle Carl and Aunt Bev’s house and Alex looks halfway nervous sitting in the passenger’s seat And I’m always a little nervous nowadays when I visit or talk to the Not so h I’ll always feel souilty for that--but because of what I a I have to lie to theone so much and it’s really hard because I know Aunt Bev feels abandoned Uncle Carl probably feels the same way, but he’s not as easy to read as Beverlee I told Alex yesterday all about what happened to Uncle Carl last winter and she was taken aback by it And then the anger followed because it was soas pack that caused the car wreck that put Uncle Carl in the hospital

I put the Jeep in park and we sit here for a moment

"What if they still don’t wantfor that"

Alex sighs and gazes at the wrap-around porch