Julian POV
“Penelope, wait.”
I slam my hand against the side door of the pub, throwing myself directly into her path.
Penelope stops.
The cold night wind lifts the hem of her silver-grey dress. Moonlight hits her face, turning her eyes into two chips of ice.
Beside her, Eliora and Zaria shift their weight. Their Alpha energy hits me like a wall of heat, thick and warning me to back off.
I do not back off.
“About the restaurant,” I say. My throat feels dry, like I swallowed gravel. “Marcella’s behaviour. I am sorry.”
Penelope does not blink.
She does not look angry. She looks completely blank, like I am a stranger asking for directions on the street.
“Sorry?” Penelope says.
Her voice cuts straight through the humid night air.
“Julian, apologies do not heal wounds that have alrea
