"I swore to your mother I do whatever I could to keep you safe. I swore I would do whatever I thought to be in your best interest," Oliver pleads, grasping the at the chains holding him down, calling out for me to set him free. "Trisst was only a pawn to bring the storm-"
"You killed members of your own pack just to see me alpha. You committed treason." Oliver looks to me with wide eyes begging for me to forgive him, to hear him out. "You were never acting on the promise you made my mother."
I can still remember the feeling of Trisst fidgeting beneath my body as I slid that blade into his throat, cutting through his flesh and arteries as he took his last breath from under me, those lavender eyes staring up at me. Every night for the last three days I have woken up screaming, dreaming that I was not the one on top, but the one on bottom with a knife pressed into my throat. Oliver hired an elven assassin, Trisst, to do his dirty work, but I know there is much more at play here.
"Start from the beginning, Oliver," I growl, stepping back from my once trusted advisor as he stands in the center of a room, his hands shackled as a chain linked to the floor limits his range. I stand just out of reach from the disgraced advisor, his body just a meter from my own, those bloodshot eyes staring at me with a lost sense of hope.
"You already know how this all started."
"There is more you are not telling me. Bryson is dead because of you. Alpha Vaughn is dead, Alpha Ryker's own head was severed from his body, both of those alpha's men were found slaughtered...Cedric nearly lost his life and yet you told me Asger did this. Do something right for one, Oliver, and tell me what all of this is about."
The silence which runs between us tells me Oliver is pondering just if he can tell me what he knows. He fears someone – and if that someone is Asger, then I need to find out. "Pack members needed to see Crimson Lock struggled under Steward Cade's rule...his daughter's death would only act as a catalyst. Crimson Lock needed you. Everything I did was because I believed in you."
I scoff, crossing my arms as I cannot believe what Oliver has just said. "You did none of this just because of me. Why Asger? How is he tied up in this? If you hired Trisst then why did he attack?"
"I did all of this for you. Leala, for you to become the strong and beautiful woman you are," Oliver cries out, reaching out for me as the chains only hold him back sharply, reminding him of his recent limitations. "I did what any advisor does...I offered you my council."
"And what did Asger want? Or are you so afraid of Asger even with death looming around your corner that you dare not speak of him?" I snap, walking up to Oliver as I grab the chains holding his hands, tugging at them as Oliver is pulled down to his knees sharply, still weakened from the attack. "Why did Trisst come after you..." I stop in my sentence, looking away from Oliver as I briefly laugh. "I cannot believe how dumb I have been. Cedric was right that someone had to let Trisst in. You allowed Trisst to slip past warriors guarding pack territory and you let him attack the guests of Crimson Lock and you fought with him. You kill Bryson, didn't you?"
"I swear-"
"You killed Bryson, did you not?"
My growl swallows the room whole, Oliver's eyes widening as his skin turns pale as snow. Cowering at my feet, Oliver begs me to not take his life, begging for me to have mercy, telling me he was foolish. To think my own advisor and the very man I thought I could trust all along was the very one who killed my Beta and almost died in the process.
"What the fuck did you want out of all of this? What did you want, Oliver?!"
Grabbing a handful of his graying hair, I sharply pull his head back so his eyes meet mine as I repeat my statement. Oliver's eyes begin to water his bloodstained face from the attack becomes so tense I could swear he had turned to stone. "I wanted to see my alpha sitting on the throne. I wanted to be your royal advisor and-"
"The master of puppet masters," I sneer as I cannot believe just how much Oliver thought he could manipulate me. "Why did Asger agree to hire an assassin? What does Asger get out of this?"
"I swear, Leala, I do not know."
"Do you take me for some pathetic fool?"
"I swear I do not know," Oliver cries, crawling to my feet as he balls up, tears streaming down his face as a sob escapes his mouth. "I am so sorry, Leala, I am so sorry, I only did what I thought best to keep you safe. I brought you here to this pack to rule and become what your mother intended."
Holding my head high, I take a step back from Oliver's fingers which brush across my shoes. "You brought me to this pack, but you have left me here behind. You are not sorry, Oliver...you are just afraid to face the consequences for what you have done."
As I walk for the door of the room, Oliver cries out my name, each cry becoming more desperate. The moment I open the door and my warriors step into the room, he cries out something which causes me to spin around. "Repeat that. What do you mean?" I ask, watching as my warriors grab Oliver's hands and pin him to the floor.
Shaking his head, Oliver swears he does not know what I mean. Looking to my men, they await my orders, but I ask Oliver once more to state his phrase. "I loved your mother, Leala, just as much as I love you. Please forgive me."
"I am not like my mother in every way," I snap at Oliver, looking up to my men as I nod my head and motion for them to proceed. As I step away from the room, the ear-piercing scream can be heard followed by a dead silence which fills the hallway.
Walking from the hallway, I enter the courtyard of the pack house, pack members staring at me with wide gazes as I know that they too heard Oliver's last scream. I hold my gaze and chin high, walking past each pack member as I walk through the crowd as whispers begin to erupt in waves as I move past. As I free myself from the sight of pack members, I rush towards a narrow staircase in the pack house, up towards a secluded bathroom where I slam the door shut and rush to the toilet as I can hardly hold in the vomit.
The sickness which fills my stomach causes me to lay my back against the wall as tears begin to fall down my face. Using a towel, I wipe away the tears and muffle my sobs as I try and calm myself down. I try and steady my breathing as I know I need to keep up a strong appearance outside of these four walls, to make myself seem still capable of making decisions of this pack even though the man I trusted most I have just sentenced to death for his betrayal.
My mother trusted Oliver and I did as well. She trusted him till the end...I could have as well. Oliver let an elf kill member of Crimson Lock and he even killed members of Crimson Lock with his bare hands. I cried over the body of Bryson before Oliver's own eyes and he watched without showing any remorse. He let an assassin into my own personal house to kill two valuable alphas, their men, and almost kill my own gamma. That same elf even tried to kill me. I know Oliver did not intend for that elf to come after me, so it means Asger intended that elf to come after me.
Taking in a shaky breath, I steady myself as I rise to my feet and splash water across my face. How am I strong enough to do this on my own? I cannot trust anyone...at least that is what it feels like now. Oliver was so afraid to tell me anything about Asger that it makes me worried to reach out to River about this attack, no doubt he has heard what has happened.
Looking up, I push my hair back and wipe away a few stray tears. Dark bags form under my eyes, cuts across my face from the attack, and the spark once in my eyes a week ago has faded away. Oliver's words still sound through my head, the words he dare not repeat as he thought those were his last ones.
There is a second wind coming.
<><>
Cedric sits up in his bed, the sheets pooling around his waist as I look to the bandaged wrapped around his chest which the nurse slowly begins to peel back. His face contorts in agony, head turning to the side as he dares not look down to the gash from the attack only a week ago. For three days Cedirc had lay asleep in bed, no movement except for the rise and fall of his chest. Being constantly monitored by the pack doctor, for the past four days I have seen him improve to where we can now hold a decent-length conversation.
Walking into the room, I greet the doctor and nurse taking care of Cedric, taking my seat across from the bed as Cedric looks over to me. "Good morning Alpha."
"How are you today?" I ask, only to observe Cedric flinch once more as the doctor begins to inform me of his recovery. As the doctor drowns me in medical information, I look ahead to my gamma, watching his face grimace with the pain. Stitches run under his jaw and along his left eyebrow, bruises covering much of his face as I try and recognize any sign of major improvement.
As the nurse finishes applying the new bandages and Cedric takes in a shaky breath, I watch the doctor and nurse see themselves out and order Cedric to keep up his fluid intake. Leaving the two of us alone, Cedric shifts himself to face me, his hair tossed about in a mess, dark bags under his eyes, and I can tell just how much he tries to hide the pain he is enduring.
"Any word from Alpha Vaughn's pack?"
"That's why I am here. Vaughn's cousin has taken up the role as alpha. Alpha Mathis has pledged his loyalty to our pack and has sworn to give us as many men as needed to get revenge for the death of who we lost a week ago," I inform, leaning forward in the chair as I run a hand through my hair. "Alpha Ryker's pack should follow with that decision since their packs were close. Now is not the time to declare yourself independent in war without an ally."
Cedric agrees with me, looking up to the ceiling as I watch his jaw stiffen in the pain he senses. "What happened to Oliver's body?"
"What do you mean?"
Cedric looks to me from the corner of his eyes. "I am not foolish, Leala. I know what examples are made with bodies of those who commit treason. What happened?"
Clearing my throat, I look outside to the window as I remember the haunting faces of my warriors when I gave the orders. "His head was delivered in a box to Asger. A warning that we know he is responsible."
I can still remember the sound of Oliver's last scream, how it filled the hallway and made the hairs on my neck stand up. It was haunting to hear the scream of a man I trusted so much sound like that. "I have addressed a letter to Alpha River asking for his attendance at a Summit Meeting between the two of us, no one but the two of us in the meeting. I need to know if he knew about Asger's actions."
"If he knew about Asger's actions with Trisst then he will try and kill you no doubt."
Shaking my head, I look over to Cedric. "I know River, I know how he feels for me. He would not have such an ill-intent for me. If he gets word of his righthand man trying to kill me, he will not turn on me."
"You thought you knew Oliver as well, Leala." As I open my mouth to argue, Cedric raises any eyebrow, warning me that his statement is very feasible.
Once more, I disagree with Cedric. "I know Oliver betrayed us in the end, but I know River so much more. He has opened himself up to me more than Oliver ever could have," I comment, my mind drifting off as I remember the warmth of the fire which ran all night as River and I became entangled in each other's embrace for that night. I have not heard from him since that night, but he knows it had to be that way since our packs were going their separate ways. But now I have reached out to him and have no doubt those feeling will resurface.
"And what about a new beta?"
"I feel wrong picking one before Bryson is buried..." I trial off, pulling my chair closer to Cedric's bedside as I take in a deep breath. "I want to give William's family time to mourn before someone takes their son's place."
"We are at war. They will understand." Cedric's hand takes mine, fingers interlocking with mine as I look up to meet his green gaze. "You are in the right to pick a new beta." Nodding, I already know who will take up the position and that this person will already be expecting the news since Bryson treated them like his own apprentice. "But just think Leala, we have a larger army than ever before. You have Crimson Lock under your own rule, Alpha Penelope, Alpha Yusuf, Alpha Mathis, and whatever Alpha that Ryker's pack appoints. If you take on River now, we will win."
"I am not going to sacrifice tons of men just to get to the throne faster. I want to lose as few men as possible."
"Then this war could drag on. There has not even been a real battle."
"I am not sure if River would be willing to go up against me," I comment, pulling my hand from Cedric's.
"Do not be so sure."
<><>
The flowers have just begun to grow in the garden outside of my kitchen, the tulips filled with bright colors of yellow and pink helping to add some form of color to my life at the moment. Leaning back in my chair, I look past my flower beds and towards the forest, a small pinch in my shoulder still bothering me. My fingers hold the Advil, my brain wondering if I should take it. A week and a half ago my pack was attacked and I realized that Oliver was the very man who I could not trust.
New alphas have been sworn in to replace Vaughn and Ryker, both new alphas pledging their allegiance to me, but also demanding that in return for their loyalty, Asger and whoever else was responsible for the death of Vaughn and Ryker must pay. I sent the head of Oliver to Asger, a pack member with five warriors accompanying the member to River's boarders to have the box delivered. I know it was risky, but I knew Asger had to receive a warning. My pack members returned safely home saying that Asger did not flinch at the sight of Oliver's head, but he remained silent and tense. No doubt Asger will try and come after me once more, thus I need to find out if Oliver was the only one working with Asger in this pack.
"Alpha Maxwell," Brie calls out, drawing my attention to one of my new advisors who is barely a few years older than me. She was Bryson's righthand woman, thus I trust her to be part of my inner circle. "I just received your message."
Taking a seat across from me, Brie Kilmane looks nervous, her golden locks pulled back in a tight ponytail, her pale blue eyes staring ahead at me, and her leg fidgeting. "I was wanting to meet with you this afternoon before the ceremony tonight," I reply, welcoming my next Gamma to my kitchen table. I did not make Brie beta, for I knew that I needed someone I trusted most for that position. I trust Cedric most to be my beta and he believed Brie would make a fine gamma. "Just to go over some of the more recent events so you are up to speed by the time you take your oath as gamma."
The tall blond nods, eager to hear what I have to say as I begin to explain to her not only her duties as gamma, but also who has pledged their loyalty to who and what Crimson Lock is up against. I will tell her we need to search for my traitors after tonight. With Cedric almost making a full recovery, I know the three of us will soon become a force for Edward, Emmitt, and River.
"I was sad to hear about Elder Oliver's betrayal. We were all shocked," Brie comments, talking fast as I can tell just how nervous she is. She should be nervous, for she is taking on a position she never thought she would have during times of war and betrayal.
"He knew the consequences for if he got caught," I remark, breaking eye contact with my eager new gamma and looking out to the flower beds. "Thankfully he had to family to mourn his loss or protest his...dismemberment."
"I heard rumors of a Summit Meeting being called between you and Alpha River...is this true?"
Looking back to my gamma, I rise to my feet and collect myself. "Go and get ready for the ceremony. I will fill you in on more once you have officially been made gamma."
Brie acknowledges that there are some things I must hold back until tonight. I watch the tall blond scurry out of my kitchen and find her way back to the front door, thanking me for the conversation. As I shut the door behind my next gamma, I take in a deep breath and lean my head against the wooden door.
Lavender eyes flash through my mind, a ghost feeling of Trisst's body fidgeting beneath my own causing me to cringe as I close my eyes tightly. Bryson's glossy eyes are all I can see in my head and I move away from the door and look to the grand entrance of my house. The blood was all cleaned up, the bodies removed carefully, and Trisst's body taken to the morgue for our pack doctor to examine. This house was cleaned thoroughly, yet the memories are still stained in my mind. I have not stepped into the living room since that day, having the double doors pulled shut as I do not want to see the spot where I found Bryson's body. All furniture in that room was replaced, but that is still not enough for me to forget what happened.
Pack members who knew my mother told me that my own mother was once attacked in this grant entrance as well. King Zion and his men had come after my pregnant mother, bullet holes placed in the walls and the chandelier falling two stories below. My mother was able to return back to this house after almost losing her life and my own. If should could do it, then so can I.
"Everything okay?"
I jump, looking up to the top of the stairs where Cedric leans against the railing. He grabs the railing tightly to steady himself, still in pain from the attack as I watch how he winces with every movement. "I'm fine."
Running up the stairs, I wrap Cedric's arm around my shoulder and help him back towards the guest room he has been staying in since the attack. I wanted him to stay closer to the pack doctor's house and to me. We survived that attack together and I need someone I can trust close. I had insisted he stay in my home, though I am sure Cedric saw it more as an order.
"I am sure Brie will make a fine gamma. She would have made a fine beta."
"I wanted you to be my beta. Besides, you can offer her advice as she navigates her new position."
As we enter into the guest room, Cedric releases himself from me and walks over to the couch in front of his bed. Placing his feet up on the ottoman, he lets out a deep sigh and crosses his arms. "And what comes next, Leala? A new gamma gets appointed, two new alphas give you their loyalty, and you have questions about Asger. What do you plan on doing now?"
"River will meet with me."
"I still do not think it is such a good idea."
"And you have no true evidence towards that," I point out, tired of Cedric telling me he does not think that River and I meeting is a safe idea. "I trust River, I have personal experience with him."
"You just trust him because you are attracted to him."
My jaw tightens as I cannot believe what Cedric has just told me. My shoulders tense, I take in a steady breath as I remind myself to remain calm. "His actions have gained my trust. You have no right to speak to me, your Alpha, the way you just did."
Cedric scoffs, shaking his head as he rises to his feet slowly. "Do you not remember the way we have spoken to one another in the past...how we have allowed our bodies to grow close-"
"It was wrong," I snap. "I should never have allowed myself to give into my emotions the way I did that night. We need boundaries if our partnership is to properly work out for the good of this pack and those who have sworn allegiance."
Shaking his head, Cedric walks over to me, reaching out to take my hand only for me to pull away. "Yet you do not set boundaries with the very Alpha you are now on the verge of war with, Leala? It makes no sense. I see the way the two of you look at one another."
"Why should it matter how I look at him? You are not part of that relationship - whatever it may be - with him," I argue, taking another step back from Cedric as my beta begins to laugh.
Throwing his head back, Cedric lets out a deep laugh as he clutches his chest still in pain. "You cannot be serious, can you Leala?" I raise an eyebrow as I watch Cedric look at me as if disappointed. "You fucked that alpha, didn't you."
"You are talking to your alpha in the wrong tone," I hiss, turning around on my heel as I head for the door of the room.
"I think I am in the right to point out when my alpha has done something stupid. I mean, sleeping with the very man you now plan to go to war with...how drunk were you with lust?"
Snapping my head around, I can sense my wolf surfacing. "You have no right to comment on the relationship I have with River."
"No? Because it seems like you sleeping with him has led you to believing he would never attack you...that you can somehow trust him because you let him see you in your most vulnerable form."
"It meant nothing to him or me," I growl, the paintings on the walls beginning to shake as I watch Cedric back away from me. "From now on, you should know when to keep your trap shut." I slam the door behind me, leaving my beta alone to his thoughts as I charge down the hallway of my house and towards my own private room.
Did it really mean nothing to me? I still dream about the man with the golden eyes, the feelings of his fingertips brushing across my bare back, his lips running down my neck, and the way he held me tight that night. Did it really mean nothing to me or was I lying to Cedric? I wake up some nights grasping at the sheets, searching the room for a quick few seconds before I realize I am no longer back in River's embrace, but alone in my own bed. Does he feel the same way?
<><>
"He's a little rat," Penelope interjects, taking another sip of her red wine which matches the exact hue of her lips. "Going into a meeting with him...is that really what you want to do?"
"There are things I want cleared up," I reply, pinning my hair back in a loose bun with one of my mother's old pearl beret clip. Sliding my feet into my ebony black heels, the stiff material pinching the sides of my feet as I become four inches taller. "I need answers and visiting his pack territory would place me in danger."
"Find a weak link in his advisory board then," Penelope advises, rising to her feet as she comes to stand beside me, meeting my gaze in the mirror. "Spies are common in war. No doubt he has placed some here unless he is as trustworthy as you think...for now."
I know what she means, for everyone around me has been warning me that even if I am right that I can trust River now, there is no such thing as trust once someone plots the first attack. Whoever attacks first, it will show who feel from grace first. Penelope runs her fingers along the plum fabric of my sleeves, examining the soft and silky touch as she cocks her head to the side. "If he does trust you still, Leala, and if he is still just as helpless as you make him out to be - do not be afraid to use that to your advantage. You two are both young leaders, no doubt in need of extracurricular means of relieving stress." Penelope clicks her tongue, stepping back from me as she watches my eyes roll.
The two of us walk out of my master bathroom and down to where a car is parked with Brie awaiting to escort me. "It has been quite a while since you saw him last, relatively speaking."
As we walk from the grand entrance of my house, I spot Cedric looking at me from the forest where he patrols with other warriors. "It's been a month. Crimson Lock needed to recover from losing their beta. I needed to recover."
Penelope follows my gaze to Cedric. "Quite the charmer, I'm sure, seeing by how you look at him with a scowl."
"He said some things to me I found inappropriate."
"A much more fine partner than River - one who is on your side."
Looking back to Penelope, I shake my head. "There are boundaries which must be placed between an Alpha and her Beta."
"But not a Queen and her King."
"I do not have to take a husband to become the Queen. All we have to do is win this war which has barely begun and set up a solid foundation for the government. If I survive the war, I would honor the wish of other alphas who pledged their loyalty to me and take the crown - a crown with limited power."
"To think River wanted you as his Queen," Penelope chuckles, "to think you would be the very person he would be fighting against for that crown."
"I am not sure we know the entire story. Asger being involved with my ruling as Alpha and then attacking, it makes me wonder about the composition of River's pack." Looking back to the car awaiting me, I wish Penelope a good rest of her day and open the passenger door. As I buckle myself in and thank Brie for driving, a light tap at the window draws me back to Penelope.
Rolling down the window, Penelope offers me one last piece of advice which causes my cheeks to turn bright red. "Try to not get knocked up."
<><>
The castle is as haunting as the last time I was here, the rubble around the once great walls, the ash and dust collecting in every room, and the broken crown standing before me, it all begins back memories. Taking in a deep breath, I walk up to the broken throne, my fingers running along the dusty surface as I wonder how much my mother suffered before her last breath.
"You left."
I whip my head around to see the familiar golden eyes of River. He stands in the entrance of the room, hands clasped behind his back as he looks straight at me.
"You left that morning without giving me a chance to say goodbye."
"You know saying goodbye was something we could not do," I remark, stepping down from the throne as River stops in his steps. "It would have been too hard."
River shakes his head, looking away from me as he walks into the throne room. "You were scared of what saying goodbye could do." I hold my head high, not wanting to accept what River has just said. "You were afraid. I understand though, I have been afraid of saying goodbye before."
"There was an attack on my pack," I begin, pulling us back to a more professional topic. "My beta was killed, my gamma almost killed, and two alphas who opposed you also slaughtered. Elder Oliver payed for his betrayal but not before he spoke a name which caused me to reach out to you."
Without missing a beat, River is stating his case and trying to clean his name. "I would never have called such an attack, Leala. I would never have tried to injure you."
My lips purse together as I shake my head gently and look away. "Are we not trying to injure one another, River? We are at opposite sides of a war here, both wanting something else. Soon enough, one of us will have to attack the other."
"Lea, I would never call such an attack."
"And what of Asger?"
River looks clueless, taken back as I mention Asger's name. "Asger does not have such an authority to call an attack in my name."
"He did not require your men to do so. Did you ever know an elf with lavender eyes by the name Trisst?"
"What are you accusing my most trusted advisor of?"
"Oliver spoke Asger's name when I asked who ordered the attack, both when the Steward's daughter died and when my own beta died. Asger seems to have a hand in this game after all."
River stands just a few feet away from me, his scent enveloping me as I recall the last time we stood in this exact spot. River came to know who I truly was that day in this very room, in the very places where we stand. I called the Summit Meeting to be here, as if some poetic reasoning behind it, for it is where our parents fought their own battles with one another. Are we really doomed to repeat history? It is as if it is our destiny that we are on opposite sides, yet we have wanted to rewrite destiny.
"Asger is my most trustful companion, Leala...what you have accused him of, it baffles me."
"Do your own digging then, River. I want to know why an elf wanted me to be Alpha of Crimson Lock and then want to kill me."
"We cannot continue like this."
I stand silent at River's comment, unaware of what he could mean exactly. Stepping forward, River reaches out his hand and takes mine in it. His shadow looms over me a I can almost feel the magnetic pull between the two of us growing stronger. "Like what?"
"We both are after the crown. We both have different allies. We both want something different for the world...do you not see that we cannot continue to see one another just like this? You said it yourself, how one day one of us would attack the other, it is just a matter of time."
"We never had to be at opposite ends. You could have joined me, you could have understood why packs no longer want to serve a king who holds absolute power. Do you not see just how bad of a job you have done already? Skipping meetings, getting in arguments, allowing other alphas to make decisions on your council...it is like history would be doomed to repeat itself if you were king."
"I know what it takes to be a wise king."
"Do you? Your ancestors spent more time fondling noble women than they did in their own war rooms. You have spent more time attending to personal business than you have attending to the meeting of those who offered you their loyalty. If you were to become king, it could only be a matter of time before someone just like my mother would come along once more and try to tear you down."
"Let me guess, that would be you?" River snaps, grabbing my arm tightly as I hold my head high. "You would be the one to try and tear me down from my throne if you lost this precious war?!"
My jaw tightens as I find myself laying a hand across River's face. The alpha reacts with darkening eyes as he looks back to me, the back of my hand sore as I pull myself out of his hold and set distance between the two of us. "I would not allow you to sit on the throne as a monarch without killing me on the battlefield."
"Don't say that," River whispers, his voice broken as I know my last comment has got to him.
"War means death, River. Kill or be killed...that is the way to win back the crown. You have already stated you would never just give up complete control to have some limitations placed. People will die, people close to us and perhaps even ourselves."
Lips meet mine roughly, hands gripping my waist as I do not pull away, but give in. My fingers dive into his hair, grasping at the locks as River lifts me up for my legs to wrap around his waist. As my chest is flush against his, my fingers move to the buttons at his shirt. The cold feeling of marble meets my back as I realize my body is placed upon the wide stairs leading up to the throne. River's body is pressed firmly against mine, his lips brushing against the skin of my neck as my fingers manage to undo the buttons of his shirt. My heels become kicked off and my skirt lifted up as his warm fingers trace my upper thighs.
This time is different from the first, for the first was filled with a gentle touch, but today it is all about the frustrations we have felt with one another and the world around us. This time, every movement is fast, rough, aggressive, and filled with a passion I had not expected to express before.
Yet the thing which stands out the most to me...it is that I am not the one who left first without a goodbye.
As I wake up from my short nap to the sound of my phone buzzing, I notice the warmth which was once beside me has disappeared into the ruins of this palace. Sitting up, I hear the sound of a car driving off and I answer the call of my gamma to tell her I will be out shortly.
This time he left without a goodbye.