Chapter 78 AURORA

“Oh, goddess,” I whispered in horror. Nausea rose in my stomach. Holden opened his eyes and looked at me in shock. “Aurora?” He looked down at himself. “Fuck.” “I don’t remember last night,” I said. His mouth curved a little at that. “I do.” “Did we…?” His eyes went serious. “Yes. We did. There’s always been chemistry between us. You were…incredible. If anyone says there’s something in you that’s dark, like it’s a bad thing…” It felt like my world dropped out from under me. I leapt out of bed and grabbed my clothes. “I have to go.”

He was out of bed in a moment and grabbed my wrist. His voice was a low growl when he said, “I’ve always wanted you, Aurora. If you think I’m going to give you up to Montague so easily after this, you’re mistaken.” I wrenched free, threw my clothes on and ran for the door, then out. I was too afraid to look behind me.

Chapter 78 EVELYN

My mouth dropped as I watched Aurora hurry from Holden Coleridge’s room in yesterday’s clothes with her hair a mess. Holden came to the door with a sheet around his waist, and I barely stopped myself from gasping out loud. Quickly, I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture. Maybe you could only see a sliver of one side of her face, but with her coloring, height, and build, there was no mistaking her. I stepped back behind the corner, so Holden didn’t see me, and looked down at my phone. There it was, plain as day, proof that Aurora was a whore who was cheating on Dane. I paused, considering that I had also cheated on Dane. But in my defense, by the time I let Archer into my bed, Dane was refusing to sleep with me. I was only seeing to my needs. Aurora could have Dane in her bed–he’d made that clear. He wanted to pursue her, have their perfect little fucking family. Therefore, what she had done was much worse than what I had. So what if I’d also lied about whose baby was in my stomach? At least I was loyal to Blue Ridge. At least I wasn’t running around Chapter 78 trying to kill Dane’s grandfather and his entire family.

I smiled down at the picture again. Aurora suspected my baby wasn’t Dane’s. I had no idea how, but that didn’t matter anymore, not when I had this. Dane would never believe another word she said. I was going to get him back. “Why do you look like that?” I jumped about a mile in the air, but it was only Archer. He sidled up to me. I relaxed as soon as I saw him and gave him a wide grin. “Babe, you won’t believe what I just saw!” I held up the phone so he could see. His eyes went wide, and he snatched at it. I pulled the phone out of his reach. “What are you doing?”

“What are you doing?” he demanded. “Evie, you are going to start a war. You have to let Dane go. It’s over.” “It’s not over,” I snapped. I locked my phone and stuck it in my pocket. “And I won’t let him go.” I strode away from him, heading for my room. Unfortunately, he followed me. “Why?” “You know why,” I said as I reached my door. I pulled it open Chapter 78 and strode inside. When I tried to close it, he blocked it with one of his big, stupid, muscular arms and followed me in. “I know you had a terrible childhood,” Archer said. “More than terrible. But you’re not a child anymore, Evie. You have to stop letting your past control you. You’re one of the chosen of the moon goddess. That should mean something to you! It’s something you should want to live up to.” I bared my teeth. “Do you think she would have chosen me if I wasn’t perfect just the way I am?” But his words…they made me doubt. One of the reasons I hated for people to point out my flaws was because I already knew. Despite the lies I liked to tell myself, despite the act I put on, I did want to be better. But every time I thought about how far I could fall, fear grabbed me by the throat and took control. Archer stalked away from the partially open door, grabbed me by the hips, and pulled me against him. I melted into him, like I always did. No matter how selfish I was, my feelings for Archer were real. I never would’ve made it through the last few years if not for him. If he ever left me, I would fall apart. “Evie,” he whispered, hooking my hair behind my ear with gentle fingers. I was intoxicated by his closeness. “Do you love Chapter 78 me?” His voice grabbed my heart and cracked it open. “Of course, I do.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and laid my head against his chest. “More than anything.”

I heard the lie in my own voice. I loved him more than anything…except myself. And I hated that. I hated that I couldn’t give up the parts of myself I despised and truly be the woman he deserved. He rocked me gently back and forth, and I closed my eyes. For the first time, I tried to talk myself out of needing Dane, of needing a billionaire Alpha when I was a rich woman on my own, and a perfectly good man was right here. “Oh, dear,” squeaked a woman’s quiet voice. “Am I interrupting?” My eyes flew open. The fucking door. We’d forgotten to close it all the way. Mrs. Jamison–the twins’ nanny–stood there, gaping at us. “Fuck!” Archer jumped back. “Mrs. Jamison-” I set my jaw and held up a hand to silence him. “Don’t worry, Archer. I’ll handle this.”