Page 82 of Before the Bond
I packed the way I always packed. Efficiently, without slamming drawers, without making it into a performance.
Somehow, by some miraculous force of habit, I had the energy to do so without breaking down.
I moved through the room with the muscle memory of someone who'd done this in twenty cities over seven years. Clothes, toiletries, chargers. The small professional kit I brought to every assignment.
I packed the go-bag… And my actual bag, too.
I descended the stairs. I refused to look anywhere but my own feet. It was too painful.
Once I was downstairs, I only raised my head once in order to go through the front door. That’s when I caught sight of someone in a common room. Jake.
Guilt ran through me as I looked at him. I said nothing as he looked at me. First, he looked confused. But then, he merely stared, as if he knew he couldn’t stop me.
He didn't say anything. Neither did I. I walked past him.
The front door was unlocked. I moved through it and into the fog.
When I found my car, I got in, started the engine, and drove as far as I could go.
I just drove.
I drove and I sobbed harder than I had in seven years.
Chapter 17
Caleb
“Is the bond just a leash?”
I remembered her voice. Not loud. Not breaking. It was empty.
I told her the one true thing I had left: she was free. I meant it. Every word of it.
I didn’t look at her, but I could feel everything she was in the moment. I could sense her heartbeat slow to a crawl. The lack of will. How broken she felt.
She didn't argue. She didn't cry. She just nodded once, very slightly and then she left.
I stayed at the window. I heard the sound of her footsteps on the stairs. I didn’t dare follow her. I was too ashamed.
I heard her pack. Then the stairs. Then the car. She was gone.
Donovan once told me that my secret would hurt no matter what. Somehow, I hurt Olivia the worst with my choices.
And now, she was gone.
The vertigo hit quickly.
I tried to cross the room, but the world tilted.
My legs gave way.
All of a sudden, the heat dropped out of me. Cold took its place.
I wasn't prepared for the speed of it. It was only an hour after she drove off, but I could already feel the bond stretched and thinned.
My pulse turned thready. I could sense the wolf inside me grow quiet. Everything dimmed.
Not just the light.Everything. The color of the wooden floors, the sound of the wind and the noise of the first floor. I could barely smell anything.
