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He tugged his arm free. “Well, you clearly wasted your time, babe.”

“Don’t,” she warned, eyes narrowed.

“Don’t what? Don’t ruin what we have?” he scoffed. “We have nothing but pain, Fee. We fucked each other and it’s not like the earth shifted. We didn’t lock in some mystical bond. It’s all been bullshit from the start.”

Fee flinched. “Liar.”

“I guess we both are.”

“You can’t punish me because I tried to do what was right for all of us.”

“Oh, please, Fee. Don’t pretend you’re all noble. You got what you wanted.”

“And what is it that I wanted?”

“I hurt you. I lied to you, went back on my promises.”

“You think I did this to get back at you? You think I’ve stuck around as your friend for a year just waiting for revenge?” Her voice rose with every word and Theo knew it was insane, knew that absolutely none of this made sense, but he was angry and hurt and lashing out like an animal caught in a trap.

Theo shrugged, like none of it mattered, like his soul wasn’t screaming at him to stop, to fix it, to take Fee in his arms and make it right. There was nothing to make right. She’d destroyed them. “Nymphs are vengeful little creatures.”

She sucked in a sharp breath. “Fuck. You.”

Theo sighed, tugging his fingers through his hair hard enough to hurt. That pain was a welcome distraction from the absolute devastation wracking his body. “Fine. It’s on both of us,” he bit out. “We have hurt each other too many times. And this was it. The last time.”

“Theo—” Her voice broke but he didn’t stick around to listen. He shifted and was gone before Fee could hurt him anymore.

From her place in the tree, Phoebe could see back to the lake house. She could see Rafe and Ruby and Knox and Lena still standing on the old porch. Their body language was different now, like maybe they’d come to some sort of understanding.

If she looked in the other direction, she could still catch glimpses of a white and copper wolf tearing through the trees, but she had watched him for long enough.

Theo was gone.

She didn’t know where he was going. Maybe back to his pack. Maybe home to the little hunting cabin she’d found for him. She knew only one thing for certain: he would never forgive her for this.

She sighed and tipped her head back against the sturdy, moss-covered trunk, letting the tree’s calm flow into her. From up here, she could almost pretend it didn’t matter. She could pretend she was separate from the world, from the pain.

The sun filtered through the leaves and the dappled light danced across her legs, warming her even in the cold air. It was a beautiful day.

But inside she was broken.

She had known that agreeing to Gert’s plan was a risky idea. But she’d let herself hope that Theo would see past her lie, that he would forgive her. Or she had at least hoped that her best friend would understand that he would know she would never want to hurt him.

But she’d been afraid all along that the brothers’ eternally fucked-up relationship would ruin everything. And her fear had come true. It was the reason a distraction was needed in the first place. Knox didn’t want Rafe and Theo storming in and making a mess of things before he had a chance to talk to Lena.

But it all got messed up anyway.

For her and Theo at least.

She couldn’t stop the tears anymore. They slid down her face, and she wiped them furiously with her hands. All this time she’d thought it was Theo’s fault they weren’t together. Theo’s excuses and Theo’s broken promises. But she’d torn them apart for good.

And now there was nothing left for her to do but go home. Alone.

She sniffed and wiped her face. It was time to remember who she was. A fucking forest goddess. She didn’t need Theo. She didn’t need anyone.

The branches were rough beneath her palms as she swung down from the tree. She relished the sharpness of the bark along her skin. She landed without a sound and began her journey home.

Chapter Thirty-Three