The truth was, I couldn’t stay here. Not another hour. Not another minute surrounded by his things. His scent. His memory pressed into the throw pillow on the couch and his hoodie hanging crookedly on the wall hook.
In the bathroom our toothbrushes stood side by side like little sentinels watching over our intermingled toiletries. My face wash next to his shaving cream, my moisturizer next to his shaving balm. Two tubes of toothpaste. One a mangled mess and one precisely rolled from the bottom. Knowing it would be Willow’s items mingled with his soon, I smothered a sob and removed every last trace of me from the room.
This wasn’t an apartment anymore. This was a mausoleum for everything I wanted and couldn’t have.
Roman was gone. He’d walked out that door with Willow and hadn’t looked back. Maybe he was finally getting everything he ever wanted. His rightful place in the pack. The woman he’d once told me was his forever. Maybe they were riding in Lucien’s gaudy SUV right now, catching up, smiling at one another, finally closing the loop on a story that was always meant to circle back to her.
And I… What was I? The intermission girl. A safe harbor until his ship came in.
I wiped angrily at my cheek as another tear fell and grabbed the nearest pile of jeans. My hands trembled as I stuffed them into a bag. I didn’t bother folding. I didn’t care anymore.
If he wanted his old life back, who was I to stand in the way?
I zipped my suitcase too hard, and the zipper caught. I cursed under my breath, tugged until it gave, and stared at the suitcase like it had betrayed me too.
A knock rattled the door. I froze, heart jumping to my throat.
Roman?
Maybe he’d forgotten his key. Maybe he’d come back because he had something to say. Maybe?-
I practically flew to the door, yanking it open so fast I almost threw out my shoulder.
It wasn’t Roman.
“Doris,” I said, blinking.
She was holding a Tupperware container, her glasses perched at the very tip of her nose, and her mouth puckered like she had something sour to deliver.
“Is he back yet?” she asked, peering over my shoulder.
I shifted in the doorway, wiping my face quickly before the tears gave me away. “No. Not yet.”
Doris nodded, then looked me up and down. Her gaze flicked to the open suitcase visible over my shoulder. “Going somewhere?”
I hesitated. “Taking a trip.”
“Well.” She stepped closer, clearly not done. “I debated whether or not to say something, but I’ve had my suspicions for a long time, and what I heard today only confirmed them.”
I stiffened. “What do you mean?”
Doris glanced down the hallway like she was worried the wallpaper might be listening. “I was delivering banana pudding to Apartment B when I passed by your door earlier. I heard
Roman talking to someone-two someones, in fact. And I know I shouldn’t have, but I… I stopped and listened.”
My stomach turned. “Doris?-“
She raised a hand, silencing me like I was one of her grandkids. “I’m not proud of it, but I had to be sure. And now I am. He’s one of them, isn’t he? A… shifter?”
The word hung in the air like smoke.
She crossed her arms. “I heard him mention the pack. And someone dying. And a girl named Willow who sounded like she belonged in a Hallmark movie. And don’t you dare try to lie to me, Margaret. I’m old, but I’m not senile.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to calm the sudden flood of panic crashing through me. “What are you going to do?”
Doris lifted her chin. “Roman has three days to pack up his things and vacate the apartment. He’s in breach of contract.”
I opened my mouth, but the words didn’t come. Not that I had much fight left in me. Not after today. Not after Willow.
But something tugged at me. Some small ember that refused to burn out. Roman didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve to lose everything-again-just because of who he was.
I took a breath, forcing my shoulders straight. “Look, Doris… I get it. The supernatural stuff can be scary and confusing. But Roman’s a good guy. The best, actually.”
Her mouth twisted. “He lied to me.”
“To protect himself,” I said quickly. “To survive. You think it’s easy being what he is in this world? You think he had a line of landlords dying to give him a two-bedroom apartment and a parking space?”
She didn’t answer.
“He pays rent early every month. He shovels the walkway before the sun’s even up when it snows. He fixes the leaky faucet without calling you. And he cleans up all his shedding. Like… obsessively.”
Her brows lifted a little. “He sheds?”
I nodded. “A lot. But you’d never know because he vacuums constantly. It’s borderline maniac.”
That got a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth. Maybe a suppressed smile. Or maybe a muscle spasm.
“He’s kind,” I added, softer this time. “To me. To everyone. He’d never hurt a fly.”
Doris tapped her Tupperware. “You’ve given me a lot to think about.”
“I hope you do think about it.”
She turned and started walking away. “No promises.”
She disappeared down the hall, her orthopedic sandals slapping against the floor. I closed the door, the latch clicking into place with a finality that made my stomach ache.
Roman might lose his home.
I already had.
I took one last look around the apartment-at the empty coffee mug on the counter, at the throw blanket he always said smelled like me, at the couch where we’d played truth or dare like teenagers.
Closing my last suitcase, I picked up my keys and carried my bags to the car. After stowing them in my trunk, I slid into the driver’s seat.
I wasn’t running, but I also couldn’t keep standing still, hoping he’d choose me.
Because maybe he already had chosen.
It just hadn’t been me.
Roman
The drive to the mansion had been filled with small talk. Lucien led the conversation while I sat nervously next to the girl I’d fallen in love with many years ago. By the time we pulled through the gates, I wanted to crawl out of my skin. What the hell was I doing here?
Lucien led the way, telling us to follow him to someplace where Willow and I could catch up.
I trailed after him, my hands buried deep in my jacket pockets, my boots thudding across the tile like a countdown I didn’t ask to start.
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