Elena POV

Axton and I spent the night watching movies. Or I did because he fell asleep about twenty minutes in, and I have been listening to him snore quietly ever since. Flipping my pillow over, I try to get comfy. However, my mind is on what Marco had said earlier about us being under suspicion for my parents’ murder when in fact, it was a murder-suicide. One done out of my mother’s love for us, but I now wonder if it was also to put herself out of her own misery of living with a broken mate bond. I couldn’t imagine that torture.

My mind didn’t want to switch off, conjuring up every scenario from the past couple of days, how rapidly our lives have changed. I can’t remember how we got here. How did our lives get to this point? It seems more like I am thinking of someone else’s memories, not mine. Or maybe I am still in shock and grief that is making me feel like an outsider in my own life. I wanted to find a way to make sense of the chaos, but it felt like I was grasping at straws. I felt like I had been living in a parallel universe with no control over my life. I just wanted to go back to the way things were. The way things were when our lives weren’t so broken. So once again, in the dead of night, sleep eludes me.

My mind keeps churning, working in overdrive, and my body refuses to rest. I can’t shake the feeling of restlessness that has kept me awake, and I know I need to find something to occupy myself.

My mind fixates on the files Marco had left for me at the council chambers. It is almost as if they hold the answers to all of our problems, and I need to find a way to access them. I know I won’t be able to rest until I have those files. As I sit up in bed, my eyes adjusting to the darkness, I know I need to go get them.

So, I slipped out of bed, being extra mindful not to wake Axton, who always seemed to have a way of sensing when I was up to something.

The only problem was they were sitting untouched in my filing box. at the council chambers. So, with a sense of guilt, I get dressed as quietly as possible, not wanting to wake Axton. He stirs but rolls over, blissfully unaware of my escape. I tiptoe to the closet and grab some clothes. I grab a pair of dark jeans, a black sweater, and a pair of black sneakers. Glancing over my shoulder toward the bed, I quickly dress and grab my keys from the bedside table before heading out the door.

Guilt washes over me as I snuck out of the house, but my need for answers outweighed everything else. The night air is cool and crisp as I step out of the house, the moon casting its pale light over the world around me, and I gently pull the door closed and rush to my car. Putting the car in neutral, I let the car roll down the driveway and onto the street. With one last parting glance at the house, I start the car. He won’t even realize I left, and it is like a ten-minute

drive.

and silent, the darkness only illuminated by the occasional streetlight. I can feel the tension in the air, and I feel a chill

unnerving, making my senses on high alert as

I exhale, having forgotten all about the city being on lockdown during the night.

violating my mate’s rules for the city, but my curiosity

No

parking lot. The darkness of the night is only broken by the pale moonlight. The fog seems to add to the sense of dread as I look up at the huge building cast in shadow by the skyscrapers surrounding it. As I approach the council chambers, the

alarms and flip open the box to turn the alarms

damn,

move to the next set of doors and unlock them with my card. I

again, I use my card to open the door and flick the lights on. They flicker and buzz before turning on and illuminating the place. Rows of hardwired cabinets line this room. Each pack has its own row. Mine is at the back by the far window, covered in steel bars

where my

are.

filing cabinet. I slide my card through the swipe code, and it turns green and opens the door for me to slide out and rummage through. I find the envelope sitting at the top and grab it out. Shutting it with my hip, the cabinet bings telling me

reach for the lamp on the desk. It doesn’t turn on. “Well,

Lexa tells me. My eyes adjust to the darkness, and I move back to my handbag, cramming the file into it. I pull the strap over my hip when I notice the parking lot

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