Chapter 52: Ruthless People

I went back to my cottage, thoughts of Arthur pounding in my brain as I watched the torrential rain outside my window. It was a gloomy night, and every flash of lightning made me shiver in the darkness.

I felt more alone than ever. I had frequently been alone when I was with my former pack. But that was a state of being that had grown used to enduring. No one had ever shown me kindness there. I'd never had a friend or even a parent who truly cared about me. As such, I'd grown used to it and had never dared to hope for anything more.

There had been a cold comfort in that, in the understanding that this was how things would be for me. My heart had grown cold and closed off to the outside world. I had protected myself, and that shield I had used to keep the world at bay had worked well. I was numb to whatever torments the pack could come up with to hurt me. I was someplace beyond myself, and it had enabled me to survive.

But now, ironically, since I had come to know affection,