Page 52 of Toward Immortal Ruin

“If you need anything, anything at all, call someone on this list. It doesn’t have to be me.” He offered her a sad smile.

As he turned and walked out of the house, he didn’t look back. Eden needed time, and he’d give it to her. If she needed space, he’d run to the opposite side of the world. It didn’t matter that his soul was shattering into a thousand pieces.

Hers was far more important.

Chapter Eighteen

The front door closedon quiet hinges. Eden had watched Nero leave and hadn’t said a single word. She couldn’t. Now she stood alone in a house that wasn’t hers, on the cusp of living a life that could never happen.

It was so quiet she could hear her heartbeat. The silence left her alone with her thoughts, and even though she’d told him she’d needed time to think, she couldn’t bear to.

A mating bond. WithNero.

Everything she’d ever dared to dream was suddenly a possibility, but her circumstances hadn’t changed. Her death was still marching toward her. Regardless of the werewolf blood running through her veins, the ticking time bomb in her brain would never heal. Not even Luna could help her.

It wouldn’t matter if she was on two legs or four paws: Eden wouldn’t live to see Christmas.

She stared at the list of phone numbers Nero had scribbled just before he’d left. Luna was the first, followed by Key, Zia and Jeremiah. The last phone number on the page was Nero’s, smaller than the others, written like a footnote.

She picked up her phone and thumbed out a text.

It took only moments for the three dots to blink and a reply to be sent.

There were no apologies, no half-truths. Luna had given her the answer she’d needed, even if it meant her hopes were dashed. Eden’s fingers trembled slightly as she typed out the next text.

There was a minute between texts, as if Luna was doing her own research. A pause.

Eden’s hand trembled slightly as she clicked off the phone. Banishing the thoughts until she could properly dwell on them, she walked over to the living room where she collapsed on the couch. Tugging a pillow into her chest, she let her emotions run over.

How had everything gone so wrong? What had started out as temporarily going into hiding to escape potential stalkers had ended in a life-or-death mating bond with a man who wasn’t even human. The happiness of the past few days had dissolved into stark emptiness.

She’d been an avid learner all her life. She had attended a respected university, studied for her Ph.D., and dedicated her life to enlightening others. Every book was an opportunity, and everyone she met had something to teach her. Despite all this,she still hadn’t learned how to save herself. Now, Nero’s life was on the line.

He was the forbidden fruit. No matter how sweet it tasted, its aftertaste was bitter. A bond that was meant to be beautiful would instead become Nero’s death sentence. Eden’s only hope now was to resist it in every way possible—if only to give him a fighting chance after she passed.

Her soul twisted in pain. The bond that pulsed weakly was the purest thing she’d ever experienced in her life. Being intrinsically tied to Nero showed her just how very much he cared for her.

A hollow noise behind her caught her attention. Jumping to her feet, she was startled to see something familiar on the counter.

Her favorite mug, the gourmet hot chocolate from her apartment, and the book that’d been on her nightstand appeared on the kitchen island. Nero had remembered what she’d said in one of their earliest conversations about finding peace—and he’d retrieved her creature comforts from her apartment.

She turned her back to the kitchen, unable to look at them any longer. Even when he wasn’t here, Nero’s only thought was to her wellbeing.

Hugging the pillow to her chest, she let the tears stream down her cheeks. Marianne, who’d been hiding since day one in Oahu, had sensed something was wrong. The feline uncharacteristically jumped into her lap, settling into a tight ball almost instantly.

“Hey baby,” Eden sniffed.

The vibration of her purr unexpectedly reminded Eden of Nero’s panther, even if Marianne’s long coat was a poor substitute for the big cat.

Alone save for the housecat on her lap, Eden used the time to recenter herself. She could lock away the thoughts troublingher and fall back into the routine that’d kept her focusing and thriving even after her diagnosis.

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