Chapter 118

I lay sprawled across Egyptian cotton sheets, staring at the vaulted ceiling where shadows danced in patterns that reminded me of her hair spread across these very pillows. The bed was too big, too empty. Every breath I took carried the ghost of her scent—lavender and something uniquely Claire that had once permeated these sheets but was now fading like morning mist, disappearing a little more with each passing night until soon there would be nothing left but the sterile perfection of expensive fabric and my own growing desperation. My wolf prowled restlessly through the cage of my mind, a constant low whine of distress that made concentration impossible during the day and sleep elusive during the endless nights. I pressed my face into the pillow where she'd slept, inhaling deeply in search of any remaining trace of her presence. The faintest suggestion of her shampoo still clung to the fabric, but it was overlaid now with my own scent and the antiseptic smell of the housekeeping servi