Astrid checked her phone for what seemed like the millionth time that night. She was pretty sure she and Zac had agreed on seven-thirty for dinner at the ramen place, but thirty minutes after she’d arrived, he still wasn’t here. The hostess said she couldn’t seat her without everyone in their party there, even if it was just two people.

So, she waited. It was getting so crowded inside that she was pushed out to the storm door and soon found herself outside in the freezing rain. Pulling the hood of her jacket over her head, she glanced at the phone in her hand again. Zac was now an hour late.

Did something come up? Was he tied up in a meeting? Or maybe she got the address wrong. How many ramen restaurants were there on Lexington Avenue?

“Astrid.”

The heaviness in her chest lifted when she heard his voice. She whipped around so fast, her hood drew back. “Zac!” She wrapped her arms around him. “Oh, Zac. Are you okay? Did something happen?” He remained stiff with his hands at his sides. “Baby, you’re all wet. Did you walk all the way here?”

“I’ve been walking all day.”

She raised her head to stare up at his face. His expression was tense and his mouth was pulled into a thin line. “Why?”

“I just—” He removed her arms from him and set them at her sides. “We need to talk, Astrid.”

“Of course. Let’s go inside.” She tried to take his hand, but he pulled it away. “Zac?”

“No. I mean, we can talk out here.”

“It’s raining.”

“Please, Astrid. I can’t.” He turned his back to her.

What the hell was going on? She sidestepped to face him. “Zac. Talk to me.”

His eyes turned hard, like shards of blue steel. “My father found out about us.”

It was bound to happen, she supposed. “What did he say?”

“He wasn’t happy.”

“Oh.” Of course not. She knew Nick would have never approved of her for his golden boy after all. Wasn’t that what she’d feared all along?

“Did you know what your father was, before he came to pledge to the New York clan?”

The question came out of left field and left her stunned for a few seconds. “My father? What does he have to do with any of this?”

“My father told me that Daric worked with the mages before he switched sides.”

Her knees buckled, but she caught herself before she fell forward. “No. That’s not true.”

“Why would he lie?” Zac accused.

“I didn’t know! I swear, Zac, I—”

“They lied to us,” he said. “They lied to all of us.”

“Then why are you mad at me?” she asked.

“I’m not mad at you, Astrid,” he said. “But … you need to ask your father about it. And what he tried to do to my mother.”

“What he tried to—Zac, please!” She grabbed at his sleeves. “Just tell me what’s going on?” It felt like she had stepped into another dimension, or a play where she didn’t know her lines. Her world was turning upside down right before her very eyes.

“I’m sorry, Astrid. I just … I can’t do this. Not to her.”

“Zac, I’m sure we could—please! Don’t go. You said … you said I was yours. And that you would never—”

He pulled her hands off him. “Goodbye, Astrid.”

No! Her mind screamed the words. Her wolf was howling in pain, the sound so deafening she couldn’t hear anything else. Not the rain as it fell harder, soaking her through her jacket. Not the cabs as the honked their horns when they passed by. Not even the people who stopped and asked her if she was okay.

No, she couldn’t hear any of them as she watched Zac walk away from her like she meant nothing to him.

The temperatures in New York city didn’t dip low enough to turn the rain into snow, so the city was pounded with freezing rain for most of the night. Astrid wasn’t sure how long she walked in the cold, but she could hardly keep track of the time. Her body was numb and she allowed her legs to lead the way. Perhaps something or someone was watching out for her, because she found herself at a familiar brownstone building on the Upper West Side. She trudged up the stoop and knocked on the door.

A few moments later, the door flew open. “Astrid?” Deedee exclaimed as she held her robe tighter around her. “What are you doing—oh my Lord, it’s freezing out there! Come in now!” She pulled Astrid inside her home. “Did you walk all the way here? Astrid … Astrid, are you okay?”

She stood there, not moving. “Deedee …” As the warmth began to seep back into her body, it was as if her brain had unfrozen too. “Oh, Dee,” she cried before collapsing in her best friend’s arms.