Page 60 of Cost of Courting

When I leave, no one notices.

I’ve lost my place, and I’m floundering. They’ve stolen my position, my job, my reason to exist.

What am I now? Who the fuck is Selene if she’s not taking care of everyone? I don’t even have a hobby.

“Hey, Mr Match, do you need a hand?” I ask. “I promised to come over and fix the roof, didn’t I?”

He smiles and waves a shaking hand up at the house. “No need. The pack came and sorted it out for me.”

“Oh,” I say and try not to let my complete dismay show.

The pack sure have sorted everything out. I have nothing to do. They even managed to get me a month off of work. Wolfie and Rain have taken to following Kingston around. Dot has taken to talking to Edric, and I’m jealous I can’t be her friend in public. Mael is on a mission to fix the neighbourhood. Every single time I turn around, there he is working on a car, weeding a garden, fixing a porch.

I walk back home and go inside, pausing when I find Luna there.

“Are we fighting still?” I ask in exhaustion.

She slams the door shut, her eyes narrowed and flaring with colour.

“How dare you be so blaséabout all this?”

I sit down at the kitchen table, vividly recalling my visitor this morning. Moira was so happy. She even gave me a hug as she went on and on and on about how wonderful Kingston is. He’d built and installed cat platforms all around the house.

“I don’t know what you want from me? Is this about Bailey?”

Luna shrieks and kicks a chair. I watch it slide to the kitchen cupboard and break. I can’t afford to replace it.

“Are you happy now, Lu?”

“You are dating Bailey. You were fighting, and you didn’t tell me. And you decided my Benson wasn’t for me and separated us.”

I jerk around at the last comment. “What?”

“He told me everything. I can’t believe you sabotaged our relationship.”

“Luna, no, I would never do that. He hit you. Have you forgotten?” The thought of her being involved with Benson is horrific, but she never gets to see the monstrous side of him that I do. “You need to stay away from him. He’s dangerous. What happened to Cary?”

“Danny? We broke up, and, yeah, I’m not so sure. You hate those alphas. All they have done is help you, but you have all this miserable bitterness, and you just poison everyone around you. Benson, Mael, Edric, Kingston, Bailey. You are the toxic one. Benson explained that it was a mistake, and he’s sorry. He promised he won’t ever do it again-”

“That’s what they always say!” I explode.

She narrows her eyes. “Yeah, I knew you’d say that. Everyone is a bad person. But maybe, Selene, it’s you that’s the issue.”

“No, I-”

“I really don’t want to hear your excuses, Selene. I don’t even know what comes out of your mouth, whether it’s true or not. You lie so easily. It’s like I don’t even know you.”

She stalks out the front door while I sit at the table, trying to curb my impotent rage.

It builds, choking me and pushing at my insides like I’m an overfilled balloon. Emotion wells over and tears fall, easing the pressure. I push to my feet and check the fridge. There is nothing in there. I check the cupboards, also empty.

I remember the way it felt when Edric grabbed me, how it had taken everything I had not to press against him.

The door opens, and Luna stalks in.

The hunger transforms into an icy rage, and even Luna stumbles over the violence in the air. I focus on her and the question I haven’t had a chance to ask her yet. One I was going to ignore.

“Did the pack ring you over the years and speak to you?”

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