Alec’s

I grunt and move toward the window, my eyes unfocused as I stare into the night. I don't really want to talk.noveldrama

"The full moon just ended, yet you seem to be in a foul mood," Piper says behind me. "Shouldn't you be on cloud nine after spending three whole days with Sadie?"

There's a teasing lilt to her voice, but it doesn't lift my mood.

“Piper,” I warn, turning away from the window and dropping onto a nearby chair.

"What? Things didn't go as expected? I thought you'd be all loved-up right now, not sulking in your room." She raises a brow. "Actually, you should be in Sadie's room right now, you know... continuing where you left off. Talk to me-did something go wrong?"

"I'm not discussing this with you, Piper. Drop it," I groan. The last person I want to talk to about what happened between me and Sadie is my little sister-who used to be her best friend.

"Come on," she says with a roll of her eyes.

Despite my irritation, I silently thank the goddess. This-this-was the Piper I knew. The old Piper. The feisty, pushy, relentless version. And something inside me loosens at the familiarity.

"Seriously, Alec. Tell me what's wrong," she urges. "I know something's wrong."

I stay quiet, my eyes fixed on a stained patch in the carpet. Maybe if I stay quiet long enough, she'll give up and leave. But then the words tumble out before I can stop them.

“Sadie told me Raven might have found a way around the spell,” I say, my voice

raw.

She'd been so happy when she told me. So excited. And I couldn't even pretend to be happy. Not when it felt like the ground had been ripped out from under me.

"Isn't that... good news?" Piper asks carefully, breaking the silence.

"Sadie asked the same thing."

"And knowing you, you couldn't answer." Her tone is knowing. "Why is that, Alec?"

She's my little sister, but right now it feels like I'm talking to a therapist.

I don't answer. I couldn't. Because saying it out loud would make me sound

selfish. But Piper already knows.

"You're afraid you'll lose her,” she

whispers. "The reason she agreed to help the pack in the first place was so you'd accept the rejection. Now that Raven may have found a solution, you're scared Sadie will demand you follow through. That she'll ask you to let her go."

I'm not just afraid.

I'm furious.

Furious that Lagreed to the damn deal in the first place. Furious that it's coming back to bite me in the ass. I thought I had time to win. over. To prove we belonged together-before the spell was broken and now it seemed like everything was falling down around me, just when I had built something small between us.

My shoulders sag. "I'm fucking terrified, Piper. Because if this works... I won't just

be losing Sadie. I'll be losing Aspen, too. They're my family. I need them with me."

Piper stands and walks over. She kneels in front of me, taking my hand.

"I can't tell you what's going to happen. Kdon't have a solution. But I can tell you this-trust the goddess. She brought you and Sadie together for a reason. I don't believe she's cruel enough to separate you."

She squeezes my hand. "Trust that things will work out. And in the meantime, be there for both Sadie and Aspen. No matter what the outcome is.”

Her words don't fix everything-but they ease the ache a little. So however long this takes... I'll keep showing up. For Sadie and Aspen. Even if it means losing them when the curse is finally broken.