Chapter 10
Elodie’s pov
My chest was still raw from the cold, but the moment Mila heard Carmela’s name something in her snapped. Her face went red so fast it looked like someone had lit a match behind her skin. Her jaw clenched. For a second I thought I’d seen her fangs...just a flash..and my whole body reacted like I’d been warned.
She crouched quickly and helped me up, fingers gentle as she guided me to sit on the low pavement of the corridor. “Can you breathe?” she hissed, checking me like I was the only thing that mattered. Her hands were steady, but her shoulders were wound tight with fury. She made sure I was steady, then, without a backward glance, she stormed off toward Calhoun’s office. My heart slammed against my ribs so hard I thought it would burst.
“I can’t let her do this,” Mila mouthed over her shoulder, eyes fixed on the door. “Not to you.”
I pushed off the ground with shaking hands and stumbled after her. I couldn’t, wouldn’t, let her go alone. If Mila got into trouble for me, I would never forgive myself.
She didn’t knock. She slammed the door so hard it rattled in its frame and the whole hallway seemed to flinch. Before I could catch up, she was inside, voice already shredding the air.
“Where the fuck is that bitch who dared to touch my girl?” she screamed, wild and raw. “Oh—there you are, you stupid, silly slut! How dare you?!”
Carmela stood there like a porcelain doll tipped into motion, perfect hair, a smear of faux-innocence plastered across her face. She widened her eyes so perfectly I could have vomited. She acted hurt as though I had plunged a dagger into her lily-white heart.
Mila didn’t stop. Her words spilled in a torrent. “You hear me, Carmela? How dare you lay a hand on her! Elodie did nothing to you. She works for Calhoun, she’s not your property. Stop acting like some senseless woman clawing for a Luna position you don’t deserve. You’re not worthy of him. You’re not worthy of anything!”
Calhoun’s expression changed in a single breath. The air tightened. He growled then bared his fangs as his eyes flared amber. “Enough!!!” he thundered, and the sound hit me like a physical blow. Mila froze mid-sentence, the muscles in her neck working as she forced herself to stop.