Nicole, Seraphine, and Corvine squeezed into a high-end restaurant just a short walk away from the Ashkael Towers. The place smelled of warm bread, wine, and quiet money, the kind of restaurant where conversations stayed low and emotions were expected to behave.
Once their orders were placed and water glasses filled, Seraphine leaned back in her chair and fixed Nicole with a calm, assessing look. "Now," she said evenly, "tell me exactly what happened."
Nicole let out a sad, brittle smile and lifted her glass, draining half of it as if courage sat at the bottom.
"I had an argument with Daisy when she demanded the formula for the Bryan's cure, and my position was suddenly the reward for whoever was able to come up with it." She paused, her throat working. "So I resigned. I didn't want to live in the pack anymore."
She paused, her look far away. "I planned to stay with my boyfriend until I found a new job." Her lips curved bitterly. "But guess what?"
