I can still hear them talking, much calmer and quieter now as I walk away trying to find a way out of this house. I’ve had enough for today. I’ll text Sniffer later and let him know I’m fine. At least, he still seems to care.

This is so humiliating. How do I go back to school? I’m sure everyone will know by this time tomorrow that my Mate, the Alpha no less, doesn’t want me. At least, the sting of embarrassment helps mask the acid-like burn radiating through my chest.

I find a door that I think leads outside. When I open it, I find myself in the middle of an atrium. The walls are made of a light blue glass while the ceiling looks like one giant retractable skylight. There aren’t any plants, but there is a platform about the size of a king-size bed with a cushioned back and sides like a sofa that hangs from the ceiling hovering a few feet from the ground. Like a giant swinging bed? There are pillows and a few throws strewn about. It’s all ivory and the palest of blue, the exact shade of his eyes. This must be another place he’s made for her. Did she pick the color to remind her of his eyes? Shit, I need a bathroom. I’m gonna be sick.

I run from the room hoping like hell I find a way out or at least a place to unload the fire ants churning in my belly. The first door I try opens to a game room. Shutting it quickly, I move on to the next. It’s dark, but I manage to see rows of seating, a media room? “Ugh.” Next is a set of double doors with a deadbolt lock. Sweet Jesus, this must be it. Pulling the door open, I find a huge four-poster bed, sitting in the exact center of the room. My heart drops. This must be his room, his scent is everywhere in this house, but in this room, it’s the strongest.

I see an open door to the left, with no time to think I throw myself through and fall on my knees vomiting everything I’ve eaten the past, oh I don’t know, year, maybe. When the dry heaves stop and my liver is lodged in my esophagus, I fall to the floor and thank all that is Holy it’s clean. It could be worse, right? At least, I’m not lying in sticky pee and pubes. I shudder.

I give myself a few moments before standing to rinse my mouth out. When I look in the mirror, I see myself all those years ago, young, scared, lonely. And lost.

“Piss off!” I’m not the same girl anymore. If I’ve learned anything, it’s I can survive. I wipe the small smudges of mascara that have smeared under my eyes, thankful I don’t wear much makeup. Unlike the devil woman, she looks like a spokesperson for Sephora. Jealous much, Sophie, I scold. I straighten my back and walk back through the room that I didn’t have much time to study. I don’t need nor want to see evidence of them both in here.