A night wind moved through the corridor, and the air turned cold.
I stood where I was, looking at the man before me.
For five years, I had believed he did not love me. I had believed he had been forced into this from the start. I had believed he had never once truly seen me.
And now.
"It's too late."
I said it softly.
"What?"
"Five years ago, you didn't tell me any of this. Three years ago, when the contract expired, you didn't tell me. Now, you tell me. But it is too late, Alpha Kael."
My voice was perfectly calm.
"I no longer love you."
The words went into him like a knife driven hilt-deep.
He took a step back. His tall frame rocked.
"No. No, that's not possible."
He shook his head, refusing the truth of it.
"How could you not love me anymore? You loved me for so many years
