I looked at him. “Chandler, can we sleep
together tonight?”
Ever since he moved in, we’d slept in separate
rooms. But owners can ask their shifters to
sleep with them, right?
I saw the repulsion in his eyes. “I don’t like
sleeping with other people.”
“Am I other people?” I asked, desperate.
He stared at me. “If you don’t like it, you can
adopt another shifter.” Then he turned and
went into the master bedroom.
When he first moved in, I knew he loved the
view. So I gave him the master bedroom with its
<
floor–to–ceiling windows, and took the smaller
spare room.
“Click.”
The lock clicked into place, and the living room
fell silent again. I choked back a sob and
collapsed on the couch, tears streaming down
my face.
Adopt another shifter. He meant I could end our
bond.
He had said it before, during the annual Spring Falls Festival, where all adults show off their
shifters for the first time.
I knew he hated crowds and being stared at, so
I begged him for a week to get him to go with me. I desperately wanted to show off the hot werewolf I’d risked my life to save.
But when Chandler saw Maisie arrive with her
<
shifter, whispering in his ear, he turned pale,
ripped his hand out of mine, and stormed off.
I was standing on stage, proudly introducing him to my family, when it happened. I froze in the spotlight, facing the stares of everyone there – pity, mockery, disgust.
Since he’d come into my life, I’d never been
ashamed of my face. But that day, I felt naked and humiliated.
“Freak! Even your shifter can’t stand you,” yelled a kid from high school, Liam. He’d always had it out for me.
Maybe I was embarrassed, maybe I was angry, but I snapped. I got into a fight with Liam and ended up pushed into the swimming pool.
My mom was furious when I got home, my dress soaked and my hair messed up.
НА А
<
“Mom…”
I wanted to hug her, but she pushed me away,
slapping me hard across the face. “You can’t
even keep your own shifter happy. You’re
embarrassing the family!”
She dragged me to the mirror, pointing at the
scar on my face. “Look at you! You ruined
yourself for a shifter. What an awful daughter!”
That night, I yelled at Chandler for the first time. I cried, asking why he’d left me, why he did this to me.
He just shrugged and said, “If you’re not happy, you can get another shifter.”
The next morning, I made him a huge breakfast and apologized. “I’d never get another shifter.”
Back then, I was stupid enough to think he was jealous, insecure that I might leave him.
<
I didn’t sleep that night. I just watched the sky
turn from black to dawn.
Chandler got up and left without a word. I knew
he must have sensed something was wrong, but
he didn’t even bother to ask.
My stomach rumbled, and I realized I hadn’t eaten since yesterday afternoon. The table was empty. If I didn’t cook, Chandler just ate out.
I made myself a bowl of noodles, the warm broth slowly pulling me out of my self–pity.
“Piper, you gotta move on!” I told myself.
I cleaned the kitchen and packed all my things, erasing every trace of myself from the house.
“Chandler, you want freedom? You got it.”
I left him a note: “Sorry I ruined your chances with Maisie. Whatever happens between you
く
I spent nine bucks to file the “End Bond”
papers at the shifter adoption center, sent
Chandler his copy, and boarded a flight to the
coast.
