RUBY
I couldn't breathe.
Roman was here. Actually here. After everything that had happened between us—the betrayal, the rejection, our severed bond—he'd come to mourn me.
For one dangerous moment, hope flickered in my chest. Maybe he'd loved me after all. Maybe, in his own complicated way, he'd cared more than he let himself show.
But then she appeared.
Seraphina Sinclair glided into the funeral parlor like a specter in black, her golden hair swept into an elegant knot. She made a direct line for Roman, placing her hand on his arm with such familiarity that my stomach lurched.
I pressed myself deeper into the shadows at the back of the room, Leo's firm grip on my elbow the only thing keeping me upright.
"That's Seraphina Sinclair," Leo whispered harshly in my ear. "Roman's Beta and longtime... companion."
I swallowed hard. "I know exactly who she is."
