Everywhere I went, there were whispers. The small town wasn’t as disconnected from pack politics as I had hoped. My name was on everyone’s lips.
“She was thrown out of her own pack.”
“She cheated on her mate with his stepbrother.”
“She’s nothing but a disgrace.”
Catherine made sure my name was dirt. I could hear her voice in the rumors, the way she twisted the truth to paint herself as the victim and me as the villain.
“She’s a whore,” someone muttered as I passed.
I clenched my fists but kept walking.
They didn’t know the truth. They didn’t know what I had endured.
But it didn’t matter. The world had already decided who I was.
I kept my head down, focusing on work, trying to survive. I worked at a small café, blending into the background, avoiding unnecessary attention. But even here, the whispers followed.
I caught people staring. Judging. I pretended not to care, but every glance was a dagger, every hushed conversation another wound.
The worst part? I was alone.
Vander had promised to stand by me, and he did, but his responsibilities kept pulling him away. He had his own pack, his own problems. He couldn’t always be here, protecting me.
I had to be strong.