Selene's POV "Three years should give you enough time to adjust to freedom, and your status as an Alpha's spouse will guarantee you lifelong protection even if we don't stay together. You would be free to choose another mate." Bastien confirms. In that moment a flip switches inside me, and the riot of emotions threatening to surge forward shuts off, leaving me feeling blissfully numb. "If that's what you want." I hear myself say. “I think it's for the best." Bastien sounds very far away, and I turn back to the mirror, staring at the stranger again. The light is gone from her eyes now, and I wonder how it ever appeared in the first place. My future is clear now. The ray of hope I've slowly cultivated over the last few weeks is beginning to flicker; if I can't win over Bastien before our