324 Restored will to live

Renato had taken care of her back in the days when she called him Rider. He liked lying in bed with her and cuddling; he liked cooking for her... Or maybe he didn't like it, but he went through the hassle just to share a meal. As such, Samantha couldn't leave him alone.

Even if his was just a plan to dig out her secrets, he had been nice.

Leaving him to die was wrong, all things considered. And it would hurt her more than him: he seemed to have given up on his life, so he wouldn't mind his soul slipping away from his body. The one suffering, once again, would be her, left alone in the world.

«I left my pack,» she said. «I mean, not yet. I'll be one of them a little more until things settle. But then, I'll be exiled and find a new place to live. I'll become a loner.»

«A loner? Why? Can't you find another pack?» Renato asked, reaching out to her hand.

«No, I can't.»

«Are you like her?»

«Who?»

«Samantha,» he said.