Mag-log inArthur’s POVI should’ve torn this place apart the second I walked in.Every instinct in me wanted to—walls, doors, throats, anything standing between me and ending Angelica's life. But I forced myself to wait, because losing control wouldn’t end this.The office door creaked.Lumian entered.And her scent hit me. He was covered in it.My hands curled into fists so tight they shook.He froze when he saw my face.“Arthur… is something wrong,” he said.I stepped forward once.“Tell me where she is.”Lumian blinked slowly. “Liz?” he asked. “Is everything okay? Did something happen?”I could hear the mocking tone in his voice that he wasn't trying very hard to hide. I stepped toward him, cold fury tightening every muscle in my body. His hand slid into his pocket.“Lumian,” I warned.He kept moving.I didn’t wait.I slammed him into the wall, ripping his hand free and tearing the knife out of his grip before he even realised what happened. The blade clattered onto the ground.Kill him.
Liz’s POVEveryone in the room looked at me like I was crazy.And maybe I was.Maybe everything I’d been through had finally cracked whatever pieces of me were left. Maybe this was the moment I officially fell apart.But Melissa didn’t flinch.She stepped closer, like she already understood what I didn’t.“You’re not going crazy,” she said. It was like she knew what I was thinking before I spoke. I stood there staring back at Melissa, wanting to argue with her to convince everyone that I wasn't and maybe never was worth saving. But there was something in Melissa's eyes that stopped me.“Angelica has been inside you longer than you realise,” Melissa said softly. “She blocked your witch side before you were even born. She didn’t want you accessing that power, not then, not now.”“But why? Why would she do that?”Melissa took a slow breath. “Because your power and Alice's together. It is stronger than hers. Always has been. She knew if you ever awakened it, she wouldn’t be able to use
Liz’s POVI stood with my hand on the bathroom door handle, turning my head, and I took one last look at my reflection.I took a slow breath in holding it in for a second before letting it out.I wasn’t ready to face Arthur, but hiding in here forever wasn’t an option. I needed to step out. I needed to pretend I was fine, even if every fragile part of me felt like it might crack the second he looked at me.Just… don’t fall apart, I told myself.I opened the door. Slowly looking around the room.My eyes landed on Carlos.He shot up from the chair like he’d been waiting for the door to move, his shoulders stiff, hands dropping awkwardly to his sides.“Liz,” he said. I stepped out fully, pulling the sleeves of my shirt down over my wrists without thinking. “Carlos,”.He moved toward me like he wasn’t sure whether to hug me or keep his distance. “How are you feeling? Do you need anything?”“I’m fine.” I lied. I glanced around the room. “Where’s Arthur?”Carlos hesitated. Just for a split
Angelica’s POVHe collapsed beneath me with a shuddering breath. Eyes soft, dazed, drunk on the fantasy he’d built around me.I let him hold me.Let him believe.Because men. God, men were the stupidest animals to ever walk this earth. It didn’t matter what form they took. Wolf. Vampire. Witch. Human. All of them were driven by the same pathetic hunger.The need to matter to someone.To feel chosen.And Lumian… oh, Lumian was the easiest of them all. He lay here beneath me, chest rising and falling, a small, foolish smile tugging at his lips. Completely open. Completely mine. If I told him to tear out his own heart, he’d ask which hand I preferred.Pathetic.I slid off him slowly, letting my fingers trail down his chest. His breath hitched at the touch.He truly believed I was her more than Arthur ever had.He wanted the fantasy so badly, he didn’t even question the pieces that didn’t fit. I opened my mouth to toy with him again, but his body suddenly tensed. His eyes became unfocus
Lumian’s POVThe road home was empty, swallowed by the storm that had come out of nowhere. Rain hammered against the windshield, each strike a reminder of how wrong everything felt, how wrong everything had been ever since Liz left me.Liz.My mate.My Luna.My wife.The woman I couldn’t let go of, even when she rejected me.I tightened my grip on the steering wheel until my knuckles whitened. I’d spent weeks chasing ghosts, old spells, ancient bloodlines, anything that might give me an edge. Something I could use to become strong enough to take back what was mine.Arthur thought he could take her from me. But I would fix this.I would become enough.I looked over at the package resting safely on the seat next to me, a smile coming to my face. This was it. In that package was the answer to all my problems. It would make me better than him and make Liz see that I'm the one she's meant to be with. Not him. Turning back to the road, my heart leapt into my throat as I slammed the brakes
Arthur’s POVI closed the bathroom door behind me, forcing myself to step away even though every instinct screamed at me to stay. It broke me deep inside that she didn’t understand. I didn’t love her for what she looked like, I thought I had made that clear. I loved her for who she was.Her soul. Her fire. Her strength. Her gentleness. And most of all, her kind heart that always found a way to forgive the people who did her wrong. Her scars didn’t scare me. Her broken pieces didn’t make me flinch.If anything, they made me want to hold her tighter.I pressed my palms against the wall and let out a slow breath.Goddess, I wished she could just see herself the way I saw her. A woman who walked into death and back again and still had enough of a heart left to comfort a dying monster.I would wait outside the door all night or the rest of my life if that's what she wanted.But pounding exploded against our room door hard enough to shake the frame.I ripped it open.Carlos stood there, a







