Undone

Chapter One

The fire burned bright, eating away at the mahogany wood in the fireplace. Three, painfully long months had passed since that dreadful day, the longer Elora looked upon the fire, the emptier she felt of anything good.

Only pain came from seeing such a thing, and truthfully, the fire just made things worse. It was supposed to keep her warm. Instead, it tore her insides apart.

"Angel," Leif came out behind her, placing his hand on the back of the armchair, watching his mate stare off into space, without so much as an inkling of his presence. He didn't mind her lack of acknowledgement, for she was away in that beautiful mind of hers again, he only minded that he couldn't help her.

He hated that he couldn't take away even an ounce of her pain.

"Don't say that. You're saying goodbye, don't you dare."

Hundreds, thousands of images flashed through her memory, each and every one of them just as painful as the day it happened.

"You're not going to die, Cale. You're the strong one, you've always been the strong one. So be strong right now, for me, Cale."

Be strong. She had begged him for just that and he had been, but it didn't make a difference. She took it hard when her parents passed, and her relationship with them was strained, even as a child. But Cale was the only family she had. Without him, there was always going to be something missing.

Both Leif and Lex had stepped up to be there for anything she could possibly need in the aftermath of the events at The Lily. They had even convinced her to move into Lex's house in an attempt to get her to open back up. She had shut herself in her flat for the three months following Cale's death, barely managing to respond to text messages.

But, getting her out of the flat was a small step in the right direction, even if she was still barely speaking.

"Talk to me," Leif urged. His expression was pained. He loved Elora, mate or no, and he hated seeing her this way. Before going to The Lily, he could barely get her to stop talking. Now, it was a chore to get a simple 'hello' out of her. He would do anything in his power to take that burden away from her, because he knew what it was like to lose a brother. He would've never wished that pain on her.

"I'm fine, Leif." There was an edge in her tone, and when she glanced in Leif's direction, he could see it all over her face. Under the exterior, which she had locked up tight, she was angry. Who could blame her?

"Go away, Leif." She didn't mean it, not really. She feared if either of her guys left her sight one, if not neither of them would return to her. Leif had died once, after all. Elora refused to watch him, or Lex die. It was also why she had kept Leif at a distance.

It had been a constant battle in her mind, let him in, let him love you but hang on, he's too close to you, push him away just a little, just in case he leaves you too. It won't hurt me so much. If he doesn't get too close. But Gods, she wanted him.

She wanted him all the time, being away from him hurt as much as being so close. Lex, however, he was a man she could not and would not shake. Something about him filled her with need. Need to be near, need to touch, need to just...be.

"I bet you'd let–" Leif stopped himself, mentally scolding himself for what he had been about to say.

Elora's dull gaze left the fire, only briefly for a moment, it found her mate, her...whatever he was. The look told Leif all he needed to know. Elora meant business.

Leif shoved his hands into the deep pockets of his coat. He was about to head out again when he had seen her, felt her need to feel anything other than what it was she was feeling.