“I know that now,” Ally says quickly, “but back then I didn’t know anything about your world, and neither did he. Not until he called me and told me what you are. I thought he was a raving lunatic. But he showed me proof of werewolves. Photos of people shifting into wolves.”
“So he built his own version,” I say.
She nods. “He started watching her. Showing up places. Asking who she was with. Asking if she ever seemed confused or tired or distant.”
Axel’s hands curl into fists. “Did you tell him to stop.”
“I tried,” Ally says, her voice cracking. “I told him he was crossing lines, that Bella could make her own choices, but he kept saying she wasn’t herself anymore, that something had changed.”
My pulse hammers harder. “Did he ever talk about taking her away.”
Ally hesitates.
“That’s n
