Page 96 of The Wolf and the Chimera
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ryder
Standing in the darkness, Freya’s hair billowed like plumes of fire. She crossed her arms and studied me with those bright, cunning eyes.
She sighed. “You left me.”
My chest tightened.
“Even in my delusions,” I muttered, “you’re not one to mince words.”
“You once said you loved me,” she continued, “but you left me with the High Witch. You left me with a monster.”
My breath caught. “I’m sorry, Frey. You know I’m sorry—”
“It’s why I love Walker and not you,” she said and stepped closer. She reached for my face, and I took a step back. Freya chuckled. “I couldn’t bring myself to love you, my friend since childhood, but I fell for ahumanin a matter of weeks.”
Not good enough, not good enough, not good enough…
The thought echoed in the darkness, and Freya laughed.
“Pathetic,” she spat. “You’re so godsdamned pathetic.”
“This isn’t real,” I whispered. “You wouldn’t be this cruel.”
She arched a brow. “Wouldn’t I?”
The ground shifted under my feet, and suddenly, I wasn’t in the darkness. Instead, I stood near what had oncebeen my favorite view of my home’s mountains. Trees cast shadows across the green grass, and the blue sky faced me like the gods’ greatest work of art. Snow-capped mountains peaked and crested, reaching for the lovely sky.
Freya stood in front of me, and I wanted to growl, but I couldn’t make a sound. I couldn’t run or yell or riot. All I could do was relive the day Freya broke my heart.
“I’m sorry,” Freya said, “but this has gone far enough. Witches do not believe in love.”
“What makes you think I love you?” I spat.
The words were as vile on my tongue as they had been the first time I had said them.
Freya frowned, and true hurt shined in her copper eyes. My anger swelled.
She was breaking up withme.She didn’t get to be sad.
“It’s all over your face.” Freya swallowed, and that cold mask I hated slipped over her features.
You’re my best friend,I thought.My best friend, and you still can’t let me in.
“This has to stop,” she continued.
Something cleaved in my chest.
“This?” I asked stupidly.
“We are still friends,” she said, “but we can’t be more. You’re going to be an Alpha, Ryder. I will be Coven Mother. This will never work.”
Though I had always loved Freya for her sharp mind and her cool logic, in this moment, I hated those things about her. What had once made her my twin blade now cleaved her from my side.
Not good enough, not good enough, not good enough…
Hollow and aching from the memory, I was whisked back into the darkness. Though I now recognized Freya had been right to end our romantic relationship, and I in no way wanted her back, her rejection still stung. The fact my best friend had chosen a human—someone who never should have even seen beyond her glamour—had battered my jaded heart.
