Chapter 18

The clothes I left on the bed are gone. The place is spotless. Clean linens on the bed. My nasty old backpack leans against the wall, looking out of place in this pristine room. I really need to get rid of the old thing – there’s nothing in it that I need or particularly want, but it’s my only possession, and I find the idea of parting with it strangely painful.

“I have to go down for supper,” Edric says. “It will look strange if I miss another meal with the pack.”

“Okay.”

“You can stay here, if you prefer. I’ll send someone up with food.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You have to eat,” he grumbles.

“Why are you so obsessed by how much I eat?”

“Because you don’t eat enough. You are a wolf; you need double the calories a human needs. You are starved and weak. Please, Maya, for me.”

He stares at me, his golden eyes troubled. I wish he’d let me go. Reject me, so he can find himself a worthier mate. He’s good. Kind. He deserves better