Talira leaned against his shoulder and began to sob quietly.
Ronan's expression shifted instantly. He turned to me: "Seraphina, what did you say to her?"
I let out a disbelieving laugh. "How would I know what I supposedly said to her?"
Ronan frowned.
Talira grabbed his hand, her eyes rimmed red. "Ronan, please don't fight with Ms. Thornfield. This whole thing is my fault."
She turned to me and lowered her gaze, dropping her chin in a show of submission. "I'm sorry, Ms. Thornfield. If I'd known sooner that you were the designer, I never would have come to you for a mating gown. But please believe me, I never meant to provoke you. I'm grateful that three years ago you gave Ronan and me a chance. These three years have been the happiest days of my life. In seven days I'll give him back to you, and you'll never have to see me again."
Watching her little performance, I scoffed. That magnolia scent rolling off her in waves, sweet enough to choke on. "If I'd known it was you, I wouldn't have taken the commission either. As for Ronan—"
I paused, looked him dead in the eye, and said, word by word: "You two don't need to break up. I'm handing him over to you. He's yours."
Ronan's face drained of color. He seized my wrist. "Seraphina, what the hell do you mean by that?"
I wrenched free of his grip. "Exactly what it sounds like."
"What do you mean, 'exactly what it sounds like'?"
"What do you mean, 'handing me over'?"
"I'm your intended mate. Your bonded Alpha. Not something you can give away."
Ronan was losing it. His scent had gone sharp, all acrid metal and burnt juniper, flooding the atelier. "You'd better explain yourself right now, or you're not leaving."
Every trace of warmth left my face. "You're not my intended mate. You're sure as hell not my bonded Alpha. And I'm already mar—"
"Ronan, please stop arguing with Ms. Thornfield." Talira cut in abruptly. "Ms. Thornfield, none of this would have happened if I hadn't insisted Ronan give me a mating ceremony."
She looked at Ronan with glistening eyes. "Ronan, forget the ceremony. I don't want it anymore. I'm leaving right now."
She spun around and bolted for the door.
"Talira!"
Panic flooded Ronan's face, then pure fury as he whipped back toward me.
"Seraphina! You waited three years. There are seven days left. Was it really so hard to cut her some slack?"
He spat the words and took off after her.
I tugged at the corner of my mouth, picked up my bag, and walked out.
I had barely reached the entrance when Ronan's voice ripped through the air: "Talira! Behind you!"
I looked up.
A cargo hauler had blown through the intersection and was barreling straight toward Talira.
She had no time to dodge. The impact launched her off her feet.
She lay in a spreading pool of blood. The magnolia scent was gone. What rose from the pavement was only copper, hot and wrong.
"Talira!"
Ronan sprinted forward, scooped her into his arms, and ran for the Healing Hall.
I pressed my lips together. I had just turned to leave when hands shoved me into a car.
"Ms. Thornfield, Alpha Ashvane told us to bring you along."
The Healing Hall was chaos. Voices clashing, wolves everywhere.
"Healer! Save her! Please, somebody help!"
Ronan stood rigid, both hands slick with Talira's blood, his face white as bone.
The pack sentinels deposited me in front of him. "Alpha Ashvane, she's here."
Ronan lifted his eyes to mine and snarled: "Seraphina! Talira is in there because of you! Are you happy now? Is this what you wanted?"
I let out a cold, quiet laugh.
I was about to turn and walk out when the moon-healer's voice came from behind me: "The patient has lost too much blood and has a clotting disorder. The reserves don't have what she needs for emergency supply. She requires a continuous blood-letting throughout the procedure, or her life is at risk."
Ronan snapped back to himself. He grabbed my wrist again, wild-eyed. Something flickered gold in his irises, unstable, animal.
"She's a universal donor. Compatible with every blood type. Use hers! Get her into the ritual chamber now! You save Talira, no matter what it takes!"
I stared at him in disbelief and started fighting to break free. "Ronan, have you lost your mind? Her accident has nothing to do with— Ah!"
