CRYSTAL
Pain. That was all I feel now.
Raw pain tangled with shame that clawed its way up my chest, refusing to let me breathe. I stared at the broken woman reflected in the mirror; her hollow eyes, her trembling lips. Defeat stared back at me. Once again, I had lost to Winter.
Winter. The damned name was a curse carved into my nightmares.
Part of me still refused to believe that the woman standing beside Valtor tonight had truly been her. I had expected Winter to crumble once she was cast out of the Stoneclaw Pack. Yet she returned to mock me with every curve of her smile.
Julian was waiting by the bathroom door when I finally emerged.
His eyes flicked over my tear-streaked face with disapproval. “Wipe those tears away. You’re only making yourself look worse and embarrassing the
