19. Turning Point (Luke POV)

Sitting alone in the darkened room of my apartment, I couldn't escape the weight of Lexi's words, gnawing at the marrow of my thoughts. She said I had a chance—a chance I had thoroughly sabotaged. The silence was so absolute it almost had a texture, a thick, viscous liquid that drowned every rational thought. I was submerged in a world of what-ifs, how-comes, and if-only's.

I recalled asking her to the ballet over and over. It had been a calculated move. But her agreement? That couldn't have been entirely contrived. I had to accept that beneath her polite exterior, there was some glimmer of interest in me, a fragile spark I had foolishly extinguished.

The realization struck like lightning, inciting a ferocity lurking under my skin. In a sudden, uncontrollable impulse, I stood up and lunged at the wall, my fist connecting with it in a satisfying yet painful thud. My eyes turned a shade of blood red, a visible manifestation of my internal chaos and my wolf's desire to break free.

Shifti