XXX

I'm not even sure what the person at the door said, I just heard my name and the panicked way they in which they said it, so I'm able to put two and two together.

"Chingados," Mateo curses under his breath, putting me back down on my own two feet.

"Oh, my Goddess, what do we do?" I mouth at him in a panic.

More pounding on the door resonates through the room, startling me.

"Mateo, ¡abre! Sé qué estás ahí dentro. ¡Esto es serio!

Oh no, that's Lucía.

I look at Mateo in trepidation, silently asking what he wants me to do or where he wants me to go.

"Balcony," he mouths, jerking his head in the direction of the sliding glass door.

He guides me over to the door and slides it open as more pounding sounds behind us. I climb over the railing and stay there, trying to ascertain how far the drop is.

"It's only twenty feet," Mateo murmurs in my ear. "I've jumped down a million times."

I shake my head at the fact that I'm really about to do this.

"This is insane," I laugh. "Won't they be able to smell me on you when you open the door?"

"No, I've got that covered. Now get out of here," he smirks playfully and gives me a chaste kiss on the lips before going back inside and sliding the door closed. He winks at me through the glass, and I roll my eyes, trying but failing to hide my amusement.

Without a second thought, I leap off of the balcony, and, shifting midair, I land gracefully on the snow covered ground. I shake off the impact and take off running into the woods behind the house.

*****

"Uh huh, and where did you say you were again?" Lucía asks me with one brow raised.

"In the forest behind the house," I lie with ease. "I was feeling a lot better, so I decided to go out for a shift and run in the woods."

She nods, but the suspicious look on her face remains. After a moment, it drops and an easygoing smile spreads across her face as she pulls me in for a hug.

"Good. I'm glad you're feeling better."

I hug her back, feeling guilty for lying, but acknowledging why I have to—at least for the time being.

When we separate, the sound of pounding, fast approaching footsteps catches my attention. I spin around, coming face to face with a very livid looking Cecilia.

"I know this was you, you bitch!" She shouts in my face.

Wow, Mateo made quick work of that—if that's what she's even mad at me for. Who knows, she could be yelling at me because I took a breath.

"Woah, woah, Cecilia," Lucía says, putting a hand on Cecilia's shoulder and pushing her back and out of my face. "Calm down. What's your problem?"

"My problem is her!" She screams, pointing at me. "She's ruining everything, and everyone's so blind to it!"

"What are you talking about?" Lucía asks.

"Mateo called off our engagement! That's probably why he couldn't be bothered to show up to the celebration last night!"

Lucía's mouth drops in shock. She glances at me and then back to Cecilia. "Why would he call off the engagement all of a sudden?" She mutters, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"BECAUSE OF HER!" Cecilia screeches.

Lucía looks back at me, clearly piecing together what Cecilia is insinuating.

I look at her and shrug, shaking my head. I don't know what Mateo told Cecilia, but clearly she knows that her no longer marrying Mateo is my fault. Which it is, but... why would Mateo tell her that?

"Lucía, use your head. They were the only two not at the celebration last night. First, she's not anywhere to be found this morning, and then Mateo's telling me he's not going to marry me. It's her! She's getting inside his head and screwing everything up. She's doing exactly what she was sent here to do: dismantle our pack from the inside."

"Is this true?" Lucía asks me quietly.

"Of course it—!"

"Cecilia, cállate!" Lucía commands, glaring at her. "I'm not speaking to you." She turns back to me. "Is this true, Savannah?"

I scoff, irritated by the fact that Lucía could believe even for a second that I would intentionally harm Las Estrellas.

"No, of course not, Lucía I..."

"You what?"

I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. If I tell Lucía the truth about Mateo and I, it'll potentially ruin our friendship, especially since she'll know I lied to her about it first. On the other hand, if I continue lying, I'll dig myself a bigger grave, and Cecilia's accusations will be more believable.

I take a deep breath.

Fuck it.

"Mateo and I had sex last night," I blurt out. The looks on both Lucía and Cecilia's faces would be comical if this was an entirely different situation. Silence follows my words as they both try to grasp what I just admitted.

"YOU WHAT?" Cecilia bellows.

Lucía looks away but remains quiet, and I can't tell what's going on in her head.

It's scaring me.

"My fucking Goddess. No puedo creerlo," Cecilia continues. She keeps muttering Spanish words to herself as she paces back and forth across the hallway, looking down, one hand on her forehead and the other on her hip.

Suddenly, she stops and looks up at me.

"¡Te voy a matar!" She screams, rushing towards me. Caught completely off guard, I have no time to react before she's on me, pinning me against the wall with her hands in a punishing grip around my throat.

I gasp for air, clawing at Cecilia's hands, but she's no weakling, and she got the upper hand by catching me off guard. She throttles me, spitting Spanish words that I can't understand at my face. The back of my head bangs against the wall several times, and my vision begins to blur.

Right before I feel like I'm going to pass out, Cecilia is wrenched off of me and thrown against the opposite wall.

"ENOUGH," Lucía roars. "Cecilia, leave now!" When she doesn't move, Lucía growls, her irritation growing exponentially.

"GET OUT!"

This sends Cecilia scrambling down the hall and out of sight. I slide down the wall to the ground, hands around my aching throat. "Lucía..." I croak. She whips around, crouching down in front of me.

"Are you okay?" She asks softly.

I nod tears forming in my eyes. "I'm so sorry, Lucía—"

She holds up a hand. "Don't."

"Lucía, please—"

"Savannah," she sighs, "what were you thinking? My brother?"

"I know, I know, but—"

She shakes her head, effectively making me stop short. I don't know what to say to make this right.

"Tell me one thing..." she begins.

I nod eagerly, willing to do anything to fix this.

"Are you in love with him?" I pause, pondering her question. It was the last thing I expected her to ask.

Am I in love with Mateo? I'm most definitely attracted to him. I like being around him, and the thought of him marrying Cecilia made me sick to my stomach... holy shit. I think I am.

I nod slowly, the realization overcoming me.

She sighs, shaking her head. "Good, because if you were both willing to put the future of the pack at risk over this, it better have been for a good reason. Goddess, Savannah, why didn't you tell me? I mean, I had my suspicions, but I never thought they would come into fruition."

"It was so sudden," I rasp. "One minute he was telling me that he didn't want to marry Cecilia, and then I told him I understood what he was going through and that I would be there for him. The next thing I knew we were kissing."

She eyes me. "Was that the first time?"

"First time having sex? Yes. First time kissing? No." I disclose.

She purses her lips, trying to process all this new and very surprising information.

"I didn't tell you because, one, Mateo said not to until the heat from him calling off his engagement to Cecilia died down, and, two, I didn't want to ruin our friendship. You're the best thing that has happened to me since I left Saint Ives, Lucía. Without you, I would be lost. You're my best friend," I choke out.

She looks at me, a saddened expression on her face. "You're my best friend too, Sav. And I'm glad you and Mateo found each other, but... the pack. We have rules. He would never be able to marry you. He'll eventually have to marry someone, even if it's not Cecilia. The Alpha bloodline needs to continue. If it doesn't, our pack will be in shambles. Our members are all about the law and tradition."

Here comes the conversation I've been dreading. "I know..."

"Are you willing to accept the fact that he'll have to marry and mate with someone else?"

My gaze falls to the ground.

Am I?

Mateo told me he wouldn't be marrying Cecilia, but we didn't talk much about the future.

"I guess I'll just have to suck it up."

Lucía pulls me in for a hug. "I'm sorry," she whispers.

"It's not your fault, Luce." Taking my hands, she helps me get to my feet.

"What about Cecilia? Is she going to go tell the rest of the pack what happened?"

"She'll probably tell them that the engagement has been called off, but I doubt she'll go into detail as to why—it's too embarrassing for her. We'll have to watch out for her, though. She's good at holding grudges."

"I can imagine."

Lucía chuckles softly. Footfalls catch our attention, and we look over to see Parker heading our way.

Noticing the angry red marks that must be covering my neck, she gasps.

"What the hell happened to you?"