"Aria?" Alpha Ryan went still. He clearly hadn't expected me to walk away that cleanly.
He'd expected me to cry. To beg. Or at the very least, to use the Council's pressure to corner him into compliance.
But he'd forgotten. I was Aria. My blood ran prouder than his.
"You... what are you saying?" His voice trembled. "Where are you going?"
"Away from here. Away from you." I turned and walked toward the door without looking back. "You chose your Chosen Mate. Now I'll let you have her."
In his arms, Cindy flashed a victory smile,but somewhere behind her eyes, fear flickered. Fear that with her rival gone, no one would distract from the disease devouring her from the inside.
I stepped out of the tent. The night wind hit my face and brought with it a fragile, bittersweet relief.
I went st
