Josie
I stood there, frozen, as the last of the pack members drifted out, their murmurs trailing like faint echoes behind them. My throat felt dry, my palms clammy. The words I had spoken—those impossible, irreversible words—kept ringing in my ears like bells I couldn't silence. I had said it. I had actually said it. And there was no way to claw them back, no matter how badly my stomach twisted, no matter how much I wanted to bury myself under the earth and pretend it had never happened.
When I turned around, the alphas were still watching me. Their gazes weren't hostile—not exactly—but there was amazement there, something unreadable that made my insides feel like a tight knot. My tongue felt too heavy to speak, so instead I caught Marcy's sleeve and forced my voice steady. "Let's go home."
