LOGINTyler’s POV:“Why did you do that?” I finally broke the silence that had been suffocating the room.Her gaze drifted toward me, steady but unreadable. She didn’t answer, didn’t even flinch. That somehow made it worse.“Did you really… commit suicide because of me?” I asked, the words coming out slower than I intended, heavier too.It had been clawing at my mind ever since we found out. That thought, no matter how irrational, refused to leave me alone.Her brows pulled together immediately, confusion flashing across her face, followed quickly by disbelief.“Why would I commit suicide because of you?” she shot back.The tone of her voice, sharp, almost offended, knocked the air out of me. I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Nothing that made sense, anyway.“The marriage thing… and everything that followed,” Nicholas stepped in, his voice quieter but firm, like he was trying to bridge the gap I’d just failed to cross.She turned to him, then glanced around at all of us, o
Tyler's POV:I knelt beside her, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. Her skin was deathly pale, slick with the icy water of the river. Without thinking, I placed my hands on the center of her chest, lacing my fingers together.I began to push. One, two, three—the rhythmic thud of my palms against her sternum was the only sound I could hear over the rushing of my own blood. I leaned over, pinched her nose, and covered her mouth with mine, breathing my own life into her lungs before returning to the compressions.“Stephanie!” I yelled, my voice cracking. “Wake up! Do you hear me? Open your eyes!”But she remained limp, a terrifyingly beautiful ghost. Just as I was about to deliver another breath, a shoulder collided with mine. I was shoved roughly to the side, my palms scraping against the dirt.Caden moved in with clinical precision. He didn't waste a second. He took over the compressions, his face a mask of grim determination. He counted under his breath, his mov
Tyler's POV:Finding Seraphina had been a grueling trek through terrain that seemed to shift with every step, an ordeal made worse by the fact that she was on one of her usual, enigmatic trips into the fringes of the spirit realm. But I had found her. I had dragged her back through the thickets and the silence, and now, we were here.She had been staring at Stephanie ever since we arrived, her eyes fixed and unblinking, doing absolutely nothing. The inactivity was like a slow-burning fuse in my chest. Stephanie lay there, suspended in a state that defied logic, and Seraphina just watched.“Why aren't you doing anything?” I finally snapped, the silence breaking under the weight of my frustration.“We shouldn't touch her,” she said, her voice eerily calm. “It's dangerous. I don't know exactly what force is at work here, but we must wait for the cycle to complete before we intervene.”“What if she dies while we’re busy observing?” I questioned, my hands clenching into fists. “We can't
Nicholas’s POV:The kind of pain I had felt last night, and especially this morning upon hearing that Stephanie had jumped into the River of Lilac, was a visceral, soul-tearing thing. In all my years of existence, through every battle and every loss, I haven't felt a fraction of that agony. It wasn't just a heartache; it was as if my very essence was being shredded by invisible claws, leaving me gasping for air that refused to fill my lungs.There was a prophecy about her, a dark shadow that had loomed over us since we first realized who she was. It whispered that she would be our doom, the catalyst for the destruction of the entire realm if we dared to claim her as our mate. For a long time, that fear had dictated my pulse. But now, staring out at the blurred landscape as we raced toward her, I wasn't so sure of that prophecy anymore.What could be a greater doom than this?What apocalypse could be more final than the hollow, echoing silence in my chest where her presence should be
Alex’s POV:“It was strange seeing her on that side of town so early in the morning, but I didn’t think much of it at first. Not until I asked where she was headed, and she said the River of Lilac,” the cab driver explained, his voice trembling just enough to grate on my nerves.“River of Lilac?” Caden echoed, his brows pulling together in confusion.“Yes, Alpha,” the man replied quickly, lowering his gaze.“I still took her anyway. I thought maybe she just wanted to see the place,” he continued, wringing his hands. “When we got there, she paid me, but I didn’t leave immediately. Something felt… off. I wanted to know what she was up to. She noticed I was still there and got uncomfortable, so I pretended to drive off. I parked at the far end of the road and hid behind the trees, watching her.”His words dragged on, each one scraping against my patience.“I had a bad feeling about the whole thing,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure she was okay. She stood there for almost an hour, ju
Aiden’s POV:The night refused to end.I had driven through every street I knew, and then the ones I didn’t. The town, usually alive with late-night laughter and flickers of light behind drawn curtains, felt hollow, like something had been scooped out of it and left behind a shell. Even the wind seemed reluctant to move, dragging itself along the empty roads as though it, too, was exhausted from searching.“Stephanie!” I had called her name more times than I could count. My voice had grown hoarse hours ago, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.My wolf wouldn’t let me.It paced restlessly beneath my skin, clawing, howling, thrashing in a grief I could barely contain. The bond, our bond, wasn’t severed, but it was… strained. Faint. Flickering like a dying flame. And that was worse than anything. Worse than knowing she was gone. Because it meant she was still out there. Somewhere. Hurting.Or worse.A sharp pain tore through my chest, forcing me to stagger against my car. My hands gripped the
Tyler's POV:The hallway leading to Caden’s room stretched endlessly before me, each step feeling heavier than the last. My stomach churned, a hollow ache settling in my chest. Something about this moment felt unbearable, as though the walls were closing in around me. My breathing hitched, and I fo
Aiden's POV:The cool night air rushed past me as I sprinted through the woods in my wolf form. My paws pounded against the soft earth, the rhythmic thud blending with the symphony of the forest. The moon hung high above, its silvery glow spilling through the canopy of trees, illuminating my path.
Stephanie's POV:My gaze locked onto Tyler's, then flicked to the bags he was clutching, and back to his face again.There was guilt and sadness in his eyes. It was as if he was carrying not only his luggage but an invisible burden that made his shoulders sag.Without uttering a single word, I step
Stephanie's POV:I tossed and turned in my bed, frustration building with every passing second. Sleep was impossible. My eyes darted to the ceiling, tracing the faint patterns of shadows cast by the moonlight streaming through the curtains. My mind refused to quiet down, spinning relentlessly as t







