The days following Sarah's exile were quiet. No one spoke to her. They looked at the floor when she passed.
She sat by the lake. The water was dark.
"Ella."
She jumped.
Ethan stood there. He looked tired.
"Ethan," she said. "You shouldn't be here."
"I don't care," Ethan said. He stepped closer. "We need to talk."
"About Sarah," Ethan said. "It was magic."
Ella stopped breathing. "She deserved it."
"Maybe. But Roman... he had the files ready. He was waiting."
Ethan grabbed her hand. Warm. Sweat-slick.
"He's isolating you. Look at you."
"He's protecting me!"
Ella jerked her hand away.
"He's the only one who ever has!"
"Where were you, Ethan? When Sarah was tormenting me in the locker room?"
"When she played that video?"
"You just stood there!"
"I tried to come after you!" Ethan pleaded. "Roman stopped me! He told me you didn't want to see me!"
"And you believed him?" Ella laughed bitterly. "You gave up. That's the difference, Ethan. You follow the rules. Roman makes them."
"He's manipulating you," Ethan said, frustration rising. "He's isolating you. Can't you see? He's dangerous."
"Maybe dangerous is what I need," Ella shot back. "Maybe I'm tired of being the victim."
"Is that what you think this is? Empowerment?"
Ethan looked at the jacket.
"You smell like him, Ella. You're his pet."
"Shut up!"
Roman stepped out of the tree-line. He didn't look angry. He looked at them like objects.
He wore a long coat.
"Enforcer," Ethan stiffened, shifting his stance to shield Ella.
"Go inside," Roman said. He touched Ella's hair. His finger sat on her neck.
"Go home, Ethan," Roman said.
"She's not your property, Roman," Ethan growled. A low rumble started in his chest—his wolf rising.
Roman's pupils swallowed the iris. He looked hollow.
The air felt thick. Like before a storm.
"She chose," Roman said.
"Go home, Ethan," Ella said.
Ethan stared at her.
"Fine."
"But when you realize what he really is... don't say I didn't warn you."
He turned and stormed off into the woods.
"Good."
Roman pulled a box from his coat.
"I have a proposal for you," he whispered. "Forget the past. Forget the pain. Be mine. Be my Luna. And no one will ever look down on you again."
Ella stared at the box. Sarah was gone. Ethan was gone. All that was left was Roman.
And the hunger. The hunger for power, for safety, for *more*.
She leaned into his touch. "Show me."