Chapter Eighteen - Strings of Glass
The ride back from Celestia was thick with silence at first, the kind that prickled like thorns under the skin. The road curved beneath the SUV’s tires, the steady hum of the engine the only sound for miles. Jalen sat in the passenger seat, jaw set, eyes fixed out the window. His beta, Rowan, drove with careful precision, his gaze flicking between the road and the mirror.
Chelsea sat in the back, her hands folded neatly in her lap, but her gaze never left Jalen’s rigid shoulders. She could feel the storm in him, see the tension vibrating in his jaw. And though she could command his temper easily when the mirror was near, now she had no such luxury.
Finally, Jalen broke.
“She’s a w***e now,” he spat, his voice thick with venom. “That’s what they’ll al
