Jolie POV

I don't sleep.

Instead, I sit by the window watching the moon move across the sky, trying to make sense of what happened at dinner. The mate bond hums with Ryder's anxiety and guilt, but I keep my shields up. I can't deal with his emotions on top of my own right now.

He knew her. He knew Seraphina, and he didn't tell me.

The betrayal sits heavy in my chest. Not because he has an ex—everyone has a past. But because he looked me in the eye and pretended she was a stranger, he let me ...