Victor left, and my apartment felt like a tomb-silent, heavy.
I grabbed my phone and opened Twitter. Still "99+" messages, each one uglier than the last.
Autumn, having fun cheating? Need us to stitch you up down there?
I scrolled through the venom, deleting as I went, numb to it by now.
Victor's concert was trending. Two posts mentioned me:
Victor's concert: Ex-mate Autumn shows up.
Victor's still the alpha. Autumn's gotta be kicking herself!
His fans were relentless:
Some gold-digging she-wolf! Stay away from our Victor.
Victor's always kept it real. Thought he was fading? This gold-digger's about to eat her words.
She climbed the ranks on Victor's back, then ditched him for a new wolf. Whoever bonds with her is cursed!
Paging Adrian!
The apartment's silence was suffocating. On impulse, I typed a tweet, hands trembling: Wanting to bond with someone rich and famous sounds shallow, sure. But wanting to bond with a broke nobody? Y'all need a healer for your head.
At 1 a.m., it hit the trending list. And yeah, I got roasted. My Twitter was reported for "violating pack values" and banned indefinitely.
These past three months, the nights have dragged. I couldn't sleep. When I finally dozed, Hannah's panicked voice woke me.
"Autumn! Autumn!"
I blinked, groggy, noticing the crimson staining my sheets. "Hannah, what're you doing here?"
"I called, you didn't pick up. I was worried." Her voice shook.
I waved it off. "Old issue. I'm fine, don't worry."
I changed, and we headed to the agency. Despite the early winter chill, I was layered up like it was the Arctic. Other stars at the agency sneered.
"Such a fake she-wolf. What did Victor even see in her?"
"Look at her acting all innocent. Gross."
"Adrian's just hitting his stride, and she's already latched onto him. Wonder what's so special about her."
I glanced their way, unfazed, and gave a soft smile. "Maybe I've just got more game than you. Wanna learn? Ten million a head, limited-time offer."
As the words left my mouth, I caught sight of Victor stepping out of the elevator. My eyes froze, but I recovered fast, greeting him like nothing was wrong. "Victor."
He paused, his gaze dripping with scorn. "Autumn, we're unbound. Ex-mates should stay dead to each other."
He brushed past me without a second glance. His assistant, Rose Whitman, shot me an icy look.
"Victor's heading to Shalandra Town for his tour in two days. He said he's never coming back. If you've got any pride, Autumn, stop dragging his name through the mud."
Back when we were mates, Victor once told me if we didn't grow old together, he'd vanish from my world forever.
