I Am Just Alpha’s Shield to Protect Her Chapter 09

I Am Just Alpha’s Shield to Protect Her Chapter 09

Lucas staggered back two steps.

“So don’t come near me anymore.”

I took Liam’s hand and we walked away.

Behind us, I heard him sink down into the fallen leaves and start to cry. The kind you can’t control, the kind that comes from somewhere deep.

Senior year, a link showed up in our old high school group chat.

About Seraphina.

Turned out she wasn’t just a liar, but a habitual thief. On top of that, she had betrayed her current mate and fallen for someone else, which for a werewolf was the kind of thing that got you cast out of your pack.

Someone in the chat tagged Lucas.

[Lucas, if you’d chosen Raven back then instead of Seraphina, do you think things would have been different?]

He never replied.

He should’ve seen it sooner. He just paid too much for the lesson.

Those years cost him everything. His pride, his certainty, and the one person who had ever loved him without conditions.

After graduation I stayed in Boston and landed a good job at a solid company.

The night before New Year’s, Liam proposed.

When the ring settled on my finger, I posted one photo to Instagram.

Two hands, fingers interlaced.

New Chapter.

Ten minutes later, a number I didn’t recognize sent me a few texts.

[Congratulations.]

[I had the moonstone repaired. The best jeweler I could find spent months on it.]

[But there are still hairline cracks. He told me, once something like that breaks, no matter how well you fix it, it’s never quite the same again.]

[I think I’m really losing you now.]

[I hope you’re happy. And if he ever stops treating you right, I’ll still be here. However long it takes.]

I read every word.

Felt nothing.

Once upon a time I’d chased after him and waited for him to turn around. Now he was the one chasing, waiting for me.

Some things that pass you by don’t come back around. That’s just how it goes.

I opened the keyboard and typed three words:

[Don’t wait.]

Sent.

I held down his number. Blocked. The last trace of Lucas Vance, cleared from my world for good.

Outside the window, the snow over Boston had stopped.

Liam came up behind me and rested his chin on my shoulder.

“What are you looking at?” he asked softly.

“Nothing.” I smiled and set my phone face-down on the table. “I think tomorrow’s going to be clear.”

The storm inside me had finally passed.

I didn’t need anyone else to hold an umbrella over me anymore.