---- 7 Garrett picked up the ring with trembling fingers. It was cold. So cold. Garrett's heart gradually sank, all the way to rock bottom. He looked around at the familiar surroundings with confusion, yet everything felt so strange. The photos on the walls looked different now. In every picture, I was smiling. But looking closer, he could see the sadness in my eyes. When had I stopped looking happy? When had the light died? Sadness and fear surrounded him from all directions. The old Alpha showed no signs of awakening. ---- All the pack's affairs, big and small, could only be handled by Garrett. Business meetings. Territory disputes. Alliance negotiations. But Garrett's entire heart was focused on me. He couldn't concentrate on anything. Before, the old Alpha had managed pack affairs. Thad taken care of home matters. I'd organized his schedule. Managed the household staff. Hosted pack dinners. Garrett didn't have to worry about anything. He spent every day partying carelessly. Now he realized how much I'd been doing behind the scenes. How much I'd been holding together while he tore it apart. ---- But overnight, the two most important people in his life-his entire foundation-had both left him. Garrett couldn't support the massive burden of the pack. Documents piled up on his desk. Calls went unanswered. Even less could he support a home that was already in ruins. The servants whispered about leaving. Bills went unpaid. In desperation, Garrett chose to escape. Every day he drank himself into oblivion. Whiskey for breakfast. Vodka for lunch. Whatever he could find for dinner. Holding my photos, he would cry his heart out. "Come back," he whispered to the pictures. "