58

ASTRID

A date, he said.

The words tumbled through my mind, jumbled and disorganized, like a storm of thoughts I couldn’t control as I gently closed the door behind me and walked to my room.

Justin asked me out, and even though I despised him, the thought of spending a day with him made my heart race. It was absurd, really. I had never been asked out before, and the one time it happened, it was him- the same person who had caused me so much pain.

I hated him, that was true. I hated him for the way her made me feel, for how he had seen the truth and now wouldn’t leave me alone. He was asking me out only because I hadn’t killed his sister and I was his mate and not because he had feeling for me. It wasn’t a genuine invitation- it was just something he had to do as per his duty or maybe some misguided form of redemption. Yet, the thought of being with him, even in a purely formal sense made my pulse quicken.

I walked to the mirror and glanced at my reflection in the mirror, trying to