Two days later;Connor stood at the window, staring down at the quiet courtyard.He had failed.Not just Ivy—but himself. His pack. Everything he was supposed to protect.And now, he was paying the price.He had rejected her back then. The one person who would have loved him more than any other. And now he has lost her completely. Nothing he said or did would bring her back.So he would live with that. The only thing he can do is to let her go, and carry the regret like a scar for the rest of his life.But he wouldn’t carry it alone.No.Lila would burn with him.She started the fire—he would make sure she felt every single flame.And it starts now.****The scent of rot was thicker on the east side of the dungeon.The damp, suffocating air clung to Connor’s skin like guilt, yet it was nothing compared to the rage simmering just beneath his surface. He’d contained his wolf. Barely. For two days, the beast within him had clawed at his insides, demanding blood, demanding vengeance.But
Ivy’s POVThere’s something about cocoa. The way it warms you from the inside out. How it makes you feel like maybe—just maybe—you’re safe.But safety is an illusion.The warmth doesn’t reach the cold that’s starting to creep up my spine.Because while Rosa hums softly in the kitchen, while the world is soft and full of light again, something inside me is unraveling.Thread by thread.Flash by flash.It starts small.A flicker of darkness.Then mold. Thick, black, suffocating. I can smell it.My stomach twists violently.Then the room—Small. Windowless. The kind of place that forgets sunlight exists. My breath shortens and I feel it in my bones before I even see it again: the cold.The air was wet and heavy. The walls wept with condensation and the ground was slick beneath me. I was barefoot. Bruised. There was a chain around my ankle. Tight. Rusted.I couldn’t scream. I couldn’t speak.But worse than the mold, the dark, the filth——was her.That humming.That terrifying, sing-song l
Ivy’s POVThe morning sun filters through the curtains like melted gold, soft and quiet against my skin.I stir beneath the blanket. My body aches with the kind of weariness that doesn’t come from physical strain—but from the weight of dreams that cut too close to bone.I blink up at the ceiling.The warmth beside me is gone. My father must’ve left sometime before dawn—the imprint of him still faint on the sheets.My father... The word still felt foreign on my tongue. Strange. Unfamiliar. It feels like I had spent my whole life not knowing where I came from, never imagining that I had a family out there.Before the man who claimed to be my blood brought me back here, everything I knew about myself came from Rosa—her stories, her love, her version of who I was.But I couldn’t explain the presence I felt inside me. Sometimes, a voice would whisper from within—saying things I couldn’t quite remember. Other times, it went silent, like it had been ever since we left Mr. Ryland’s home.And
Back in her room, Ivy slept.Peacefully at first.The kind of peace that felt stolen—borrowed from another life. The air held the scent of something warm and nostalgic, like old gardenias beneath a summer rain. Her pillow cradled her cheek with strange tenderness, and the darkness behind her eyes wasn't oppressive for once.It was… quiet.But then something shifted.A chill. A breath too cold.And her body—her spirit—began to remember.The walls of her mind warped, melting like wax, reforming into stone. Rough and ancient. Ivy stirred, limbs twitching under the sheets as her breath hitched.Stone walls rose around her.Chains clinked.The floor beneath her was wet with something thick. Her wrists were shackled above her head, metal biting into her skin, and before her… black roses.Hundreds. No, thousands.They sprouted from cracks in the walls like a living mockery. They pulsed, almost breathing, their petals sharp, curling, laughing. She could hear them whispering in a language she
Blackwood Estate — Just After MidnightRichard moved quickly through the house, the weight of the last few days sharpening every edge of his thoughts. He mounted the stairs two at a time and turned left toward Marcus’s room, pausing only to listen for any more movement outside. Nothing. But the air felt… wrong. Unsettled. As though the walls themselves were holding their breath.He knocked once, sharply. “Marcus,” he called.There was a rustle, then the door creaked open. Marcus stood there in sweatpants and a black shirt, eyes half-lidded and groggy.“Something’s not right,” Richard said quietly. “Get dressed. I need you to come downstairs.”Marcus stiffened at the tone. He didn’t ask questions. He nodded and turned to grab his boots.By the time Richard descended the stairs again, Marcus was beside him, alert and armed. The hallway lights cast long, twitching shadows as Richard moved toward the main living area and barked toward the guards’ quarters near the side exit.“Full perimet
Blackwood Estate – Late EveningThe halls were finally quiet.Most of the house had retreated into restless sleep, the kind that didn’t heal but at least silenced the noise for a few hours. Ivy had been tucked into the master guest suite—not alone, but with Rosa gently brushing through her hair with motherly care until she dozed off. She still hadn’t spoken. But her breaths had evened. Downstairs, the scent of burning wood and ash from the old fireplace clung to the air.Richard stood with his hand pressed against the marble counter in the kitchen, eyes unfocused, when Rosa padded in behind him barefoot, arms folded into the shawl she wore like armor.“You’re still awake,” she said softly, in that thick, accent that had begun to feel oddly grounding to him.Richard turned. His eyes were bloodshot. “Couldn’t sleep.”“She’s safe now,” Rosa said.“I know.”But that wasn’t what kept him awake, and they both knew it.He gestured to the stool at the island. “Please, sit. I owe you… more t