#Chapter 164: The Lies We Tell Ourselves

DEREK I hadn’t slept much. Which wasn’t unusual lately. Not since the sentencing. Not since Elena had looked me dead in the eye and told me that she wanted nothing more to do with me. The words still echoed. Still hit like a shifting blade to the chest every time they replayed in my mind. And they replayed constantly. I’d tried calling her again. Once. Just to say… I didn’t even know what. That I missed her. That I was sorry. That I’d never meant for things to happen this way. But she didn’t answer. Aiden did. He chatted like nothing had changed. Asked if I’d seen the new Moonstone banners going up at the community center. Told me about the snacks they’d had after Mason’s ceremony and how he thought maybe he’d want to be Alpha someday. And then he’d asked if I was coming over that weekend. I hadn’t even known what to say. Now I found myself standing at the door to the old Alpha’s study. Not Mason’s—the one their father had used for years. The one with the heavy wooden