Page 99 of Home: Posy 5

"What about her?" I mumbled.

"When's the last time you talked to her?"

"March. She ghosted me after she promised she wouldn't leave me. She said we could make a long-distance relationship work. She said we only had to make it a couple of years, then we'd turn eighteen and could be together."

I understood why her dad wanted to move. He was offered a delta position at Cold Moon, and what shifter wouldn't try to elevate his status? But Brynn said that if we were loyal to each other, it would work out.

And it did for a while.

For three months, I kept my side of the promise. I believed her. I trusted her. I waited for her.

Then she cut off all communication. Never answered another text. Never picked up another call. Never responded to me on any of her social media. In fact, she disappeared off all her accounts.

She broke my heart.

As if it wasn't broken enough to begin with, I chuckled darkly.

At first, I was worried about her, thinking something might have happened to her. I even tried calling her dad's number, despite knowing how much he disliked me. He never answered, though, or responded to my voice messages or texts.

That's when my worry morphed into anger, and I already had way too much ofthatinside me to be safe. Being dumped threw a lit match on gasoline. I spiraled out of control and smacked away any hand held out to help me. I wanted to smash everything until the world around me was as destroyed as I was inside.

"We knew we were going to be mates. We justknewit! And even if we weren't, we decided we'd be together anyway. She knows how much I hate being alone, and she promised that wouldn't happen. Shepromised, alpha!" I dropped my head into my hands and whimpered as the pain became more than I could take. "She promised!"

Why am I telling him this? I kept it from everyone but Elijah for months now, yet all Alpha Ice has to do is stare at me and it's confession time? What the hell?!

Now that the words were coming out, though, I couldn't stop them. Like a flash flood, all the hurt was rushing out of me in a torrent of hot, harsh words.

"I trusted her!" I snarled. "I loved her! And that fucking bitchghostedme!"

Squeezing my eyes shut tight against the memories, I grabbed fistfuls of my hair and pulled it hard, but that was nothing compared to the agony inside me.

"She didn't ghost you, Bridger. There was an accident," Alpha Mason said quietly. "Her father was killed outright, and Brynn's wolf succumbed a few hours later."

Shocked, I unclenched my fists from my hair and opened my eyes to stare at him.

"Brynn's— Brynn'shurt?"

"Son, there's no easy or good way to say this, and I wish Jay was here because he'd know what to say to comfort you. Unfortunately, you got me, and all I know to do is just say it."

Oh, my Goddess. It must be bad if Alpha Ice is rambling.

"I'm so sorry, Bridger, but Brynn is gone. She passed away four days ago."

Brynn is gone.

Brynn is gone.

Brynn is gone.

The words cycled on repeat in my head. I couldn't breathe and cotton muffled my hearing. My vision tunneled down to nothing.

She dumped me. She dumped mebeforeshe died, I tried to tell my stupid heart, but it wasn't listening.

It was too busy breaking all over again.

How many times could it break and be mended before it couldn't be mended anymore? Surely some of the pieces had been ground down to fine dust by now. A few more heavy hits and there'd be nothing left.

I sat there in stunned silence for I didn't know how long, but I gradually came back to my senses as a voice right next to me encouraged me to breathe. Slowly blinking away the haze, I saw Alpha Mason crouched down beside my chair.

---