(Derek's POV)
The weight of Sarah's words crushed me like a physical blow. I stood frozen in Aria's apartment, the echoes of her accusations ringing in my ears.
"She's gone, Derek. Aria is dead," Sarah repeated, her beta voice trembling with barely contained fury. "She underwent the Silver Return ritual yesterday. It's done."
I shook my head, unable to accept what she was saying. My ice-blue eyes darted around the empty apartment, searching for any trace of silver hair, any whisper of violet eyes.
"No. Alexander would never allow it," I argued, grasping at straws. "He loved her too much. He would have tried to save her."
Sarah's bitter laugh cut through the air.
"It wasn't his decision to make. It was Aria's request to undergo the Silver Return immediately after her wolf faded," she spat, her beta wolf bristling with protective rage. "Her final wish was to return to the ancestral hunting grounds as quickly as possible."
The implication struck me like a silver dagger. Aria had be
