Page 54 of Toward Immortal Ruin

When she pulled out her phone, her thumb hovered over Nero’s number for far too long. Taking Key’s advice could result in one of two outcomes. Either the Raeth’s intentions were self-serving, and she’d told Eden to see him again to benefit her sovereign, or there was something deeper at work.

Either way, if Nero was making an alpha meeting possible for her, Eden couldn’t miss the opportunity. The werewolf blood in her veins wouldn’t stop the transition purely because now was an inconvenient time.

Picking up her phone, she texted the person she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about since yesterday.

She didn’t wait long for a response.

Eden stared at the words, trying to figure out how to respond.

Then, he typed another text.

She hesitated.

Eden didn’t have to think too hard about timing.

Something twisted within her. In light of what had happened yesterday, part of her wanted to hide from Nero. It would be easier than explaining why she’d suddenly had a change of heart.But Key’s words, and the buildingothernesswithin her was overjoyed at the prospect of seeing him again.

Eden paced the length of the house for the entirety of those five minutes. The nervous energy drumming within her made her antsy, and wouldn’t let her sit down.

Before the knock ever sounded, her treacherous heart thumped, and that alien sensation in her chest thrummed with a happy purr.

Nero was here.

The smile he gave her when she opened the door was forced; it was impossible to cover the pain that pinged through their ghosting mating bond.

“Good morning, Eden. I brought you a cappuccino.”

He held it out to her, those searing dark eyes searching hers. While she tried to formulate a polite response, she drew a blank. When she didn’t speak, Nero’s smile fell. Eden glanced at the weighty bag in his left hand, the paper handles precariously dangling from his grip.

“And a bagel. I didn’t know which one you liked, so I got you one of each.”

“That entire bag is for me?”

“Yeah.” A humorless laugh. “I think there’s a dozen or so in there. Overboard, I know. Maybe you can give the rest of them to your cat.”

His shoulders were filled with tension. Eden almost hated saying, “I already ate this morning.”

“Oh.”

The sense of abject failure that drummed through their link was impossible to miss, and Nero’s shoulders slumped. In the next second, the bag in his hand was gone, and his fingers tightened into a fist.

“Where did they go?”

“The canteen of the nearby homeless shelter.” His features pinched. “I meant what I said, Eden—if you’d prefer Zia or Key to take you, I completely understand.”

“I don’t want to go with anyone else, Nero,” came the honest truth. “Tell me who we’re meeting.”

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