Nessa~
Shock, disappointment, and fear slammed into me with a force that physically staggered me backward.
My knees buckled slightly, and I caught myself against one of the support columns, my hand pressed against the cold metal as the world tilted sideways.
This can't be real. This can't be happening.
But it was.
Cole, the boy I'd laughed with in calculus, the one who'd made me believe in love, standing there with the Shadow Fang symbol tattooed on his neck, surrounded by masked warriors who clearly answered to him.
Not as their prisoner.
As their leader.
The betrayal cut deeper than any physical wound.
I must have staggered forward without realizing it, my body moving on autopilot as my mind struggled to process the magnitude of this betrayal. I found myself walking toward him, though I had no conscious intention of getting closer to the monster wearing Cole's face.
