Page 13 of Make Me
And now it’s cost me something I might never get back.
I press my hand to my chest, palm flat over skin that should be burning, bonding,feelingsomething.
But there’s only hollowness. No flickers or sparks or warmth.
Just the same as I’ve carried for far too long.
“Gods,” Iwhisper, voice catching. “What have I done?”
A flicker of movement in the window’s reflection pulls me upright.
I spin around, heart in my throat, but it’s not who I expect.
Vaelora.
Of course it’s her.
Her gown is floor length and cut from midnight velvet with a neckline that plunges just enough to make a statement—one that says power, not invitation. Her dark curls are swept back, revealing the delicate points of her ears and the soft glint of silver dust shimmered across her collarbones.
She doesn’t speak at first. Just watches me with that unreadable, predatory calm. Arms crossed and chin slightly tilted, as if she’s been standing there this whole time.
Watching.
Listening.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she finally purrs, her voice rich and smooth. “But you were practically broadcasting your existential crisis through the walls.”
I straighten, fists clenched and throat tight as I shove everything I feel deeper, where she can’t reach it. “If you’re here to gloat, don’t waste your breath.”
One elegant brow lifts, and her smile curves—not kind, not cruel, but amused. “Please. I onlygloatwhen I win. And that isn’t now. Soon, but not yet.”
She walks forward, each step measured and silentdespite the heels. The energy shifts with her, like even the walls themselves are curious what she’ll say next.
“Then, what are you doing here?” I stay against the window, hoping to keep as much distance between us as I can.
“Well, that’s a complicated answer,” she begins casually. “I came to Crossroads because the portal to Tartarus opened. You don’t ignore that kind of power. But I stayed,” her silver eyes sweep the corridor before returning to me, “because of the potential. This place hums with it and not just this house.” She smiles almost wistfully. “And you, of course. You’re a mystery I couldn’t ignore.”
I scoff. “Flattery won’t work with me.”
“I’m not here to do any such thing,” she says, tone sharpening. “I’m only here to do my job and to tell you a truth. One that will open your eyes to the real gift you’ll find tonight. And because of my role in all this, I feel as though I need to offer some context first.” She raises a brow. “Especially considering your disdain for me, even though I’ve done nothing other than try to be your friend.”
Well, that cuts more than I expect. Mostly because she’s right. I’m grown enough to admit that I’ve allowed my own issues to let me see Vaelora as the enemy. She was, and still is, a reminder of a life I thought I could force myself to forget, and her eagerness was only ever taken as a threat to my subconscious.
Something I guess I could try a little harder tonotdo. Maybe.
She takes another step, her gaze piercing. “I know your secret.”
Or maybe I was right before.
Every part of me goes still. “What are you talking about?”
Her smile grows. “The one even you might not realize you hold.”
A tremor moves through me. I want to run but can’t even lift a finger.
She tilts her head, studying me with an unsettling calm. “When you bound your wolf, you didn’t just silence her. You sacrificed her soul.”
The words sink into me like ice.
