Lorcan & Evette

Chapter Fifty-One

She stared at the spot where he'd been in disbelief and figured the tears must've started up when her sight blurred. Huh. She didn't know she had it in her to cry over the bastard.

She missed him already.

Because he'd lied, over and over again. And yet she still missed him.

Why did she always miss the shitty ones?

But Lorcan wasn't shitty. So he'd lied, yes, and he was a hypocrite, yes—but there were other things too.

He listened to her in ways no one ever had before. Over the last week, there'd been countless times where he'd listened to her ramble on about nothing. Where other men had grown bored of her chattering, Lorcan had stared at her as though she were the most interesting thing in the world.

And he cared about her.

No one- not even the werewolf himself- could convince her otherwise.

She remembered his face when she woke up in the road after that hunter had said those words to her. After he'd somehow kick-started her visions.

The werewolf had looked like he'd die if she didn't wake up. As if he'd gone to sleep with her. As though he were suffering as much as she'd been. She remembered his face in the night when he'd pat away the tears from her nightmare and the way he'd hold her as if she was the only thing that mattered.

Lorcan was her ruthless protector. For her, he'd fought as if she held his heart in her hand.

No one could convince her that he didn't care about her.

But damnit. That stupid wolf had no idea how to use his mouth. Not really.

He'd spent too long in those pretty castles, living life without the consequences. Evie knew the consequences better than anyone. She was feeling them right now.

Now he'd dumped her on her ass, he could go back to his castle in the Territories and act like they'd never happened. He had his duties to distract him and servants who would tend to his every need.

What did she have? A wrecked shop, a destroyed home and a broken heart.

"Come back," She said to nothing.

She needed him to come back. To tell her that he hadn't meant it. That his mouth said things that his heart didn't mean.

She stared blankly at the street. At the spot where he'd last been. The corners of her eyes pricked with tears.

Gods—she was pathetic.

"I don't need him. Pfft- I don't need him at all."

She turned back inside and bit back a sob.

She refused to spill any more tears over him. She got it. He was mad. But harsh much?

She decided to do what she'd do if he hadn't been there at all. She grabbed one of the sale bracelets from the window and carried it over to the counter. Then she headed into the back room, at which point she grabbed everything she needed for a special adjustment.

She downed a fair dose of her anti-tracking potion to keep her going for now- but it was no longer a long term fix.

She wouldn't kid herself into believing she could fight off an army of warlocks if they came for her when she was alone. She needed to take herself off the grid. Not as literally as last time, but she needed to go back to covering her tracks.

She grabbed her communication book from her duffel bag.

When she saw Lorcan's last message to Annaliese, she softened slightly. It didn't last long. She reminded herself of what had happened and pushed it aside.