Chapter 35 - 36
Elodie’s POV~
After leaving the Pack-owned hotel, I took Cara home. She’d drunk too much last night, and I couldn’t bring myself to leave her alone. I stayed over, watching her sleep like some fragile thing that needed guarding.
When she finally stirred, her lashes fluttering open, she blinked at me in surprise before wrapping her arms tight around me.
“Thank you for last night,” she whispered, her voice still hoarse with sleep. “Let me take you out for a meal sometime. My treat.”
I smoothed her hair back and gave her a faint smile. “Go wash up. I made breakfast. It’s getting cold.”
She clung harder, pressing her cheek against my waist. “You’re too soft, Elodie. Too warm. I could stay like this forever.”
A bitter laugh rose in my throat, but I swallowed it down. If she knew how hollow I felt inside, she’d never say that.
She eventually got up, and when she came out of the bathroom, she stared wide-eyed at the plates I’d set on the table. She ate like she hadn’t tasted food in weeks, her joy spilling over in the way her fork clicked against porcelain.
But then her face shifted. Her smile faded, replaced by something tight, uneasy. She froze mid-bite, staring at her phone.
“Elodie...” Her voice wavered. She looked at me like she wasn’t sure if she should say it. “Is Dante... back in the Pack?”
My chest tightened. My throat burned. “Yes,” I said simply.
She slid her phone across the table. My hand shook as I picked it up.