Bright The path toward the outside of Dante’s pack meeting hall felt unbearable. Every step beside Sophia was a reminder of what I had left behind: the pack, the brotherhood that had once held me, the oath I had sworn. Now I was a stranger, a traitor in the eyes of many, and I could feel it in the stares that followed us from the moment we stepped into the place.Even so, I didn’t care what they thought of me. The only thing keeping me standing was her, Sophia. She walked stiffly, her chin lifted as if that simple gesture could shield her from everything. But I knew her too well: behind that façade of strength was a storm of doubt and fear.I swore to myself, as I had so many times before, that I would never leave her alone in this. That was why I was here, even if this was no longer my place.The murmurs died the moment we crossed the doors. I felt the weight of countless eyes fixed on us, whispers cutting off just as we walked by. I didn’t need to hear the words to know what they w
Sophia The air felt heavier than usual when we arrived in front of the great pack meeting hall. The place where I had so often felt a strange sense of belonging now welcomed me with stares that cut through me like knives. Bright walked beside me, rigid, his expression serious, though I knew he was only here because he wouldn’t let me face this alone. He no longer officially belonged to the pack. I, on the other hand, was still bound by that tie, and that was why I had to be here: to say what I had decided.Every step toward the doors was a silent torture. I didn’t need words to understand what they thought of us. The turned heads, the muffled whispers, the tense faces… everyone remembered the moment Bright had abruptly resigned, confronting Dante and creating a rift too big to ignore. That rift followed us like a shadow.I pressed my lips together and straightened my back. I was tired of feeling guilty for things beyond my control, yet the weight of those stares still weakened me. Br
SophiaThe house was silent, but it wasn’t a peaceful silence, it was the kind that weighs heavily, that hurts, that lingers in the air as a reminder that something isn’t right. Bright and I had been talking for a while about everything that was happening: about the way he reacted, about mine, and about Dante. About the trouble he had gotten himself into, even if he refused to admit it. The conversation never escalated, but the tension was always present. I felt constantly on edge.I sat on the edge of the bed while he changed his shirt. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye: his broad back, the tension in his shoulders, the way he clenched his jaw whenever the silence stretched on too long. He seemed just as uncomfortable as I was, though neither of us could find the right way to bridge the distance. “Are you okay?” he finally asked, his voice deep, without looking at me. I nodded, though I knew the gesture wasn’t enough. “Just a little tired, that’s all.”Bright turned to
Sophia The silence in the car was so dense it could almost be cut with a knife. I had spent the whole ride with my gaze fixed on the window, watching the city lights stretch into blurry lines because of the speed and the weight of my own heavy thoughts. Bright drove without saying a word, and although I noticed him glancing at me from time to time, he didn’t speak until he parked in front of the house.He turned off the engine, and the roar faded, leaving us wrapped in an uncomfortable calm, broken only by my uneven breathing. I pressed my hands against my knees, fighting the urge to let out what was burning in my chest. I didn’t want to argue, but the silence was tearing me apart."Sophia…" his voice was low, tense. "What is it you’re keeping from me? You’ve been silent the entire ride, and I know it’s not just fatigue."I lifted my gaze and looked at him through the dim light. His eyes, blue like a storm-filled night sky, seemed to search for a crack in my armor. I swallowed, feeli
Bright The air in Dante’s pack meeting room was heavy, so thick it felt like invisible smoke seeping into my lungs. I felt it on my skin, in every tense muscle, in the blood rushing too fast through my veins. I had spent years getting used to meetings like this, but nothing compared to this one. There was something darker here, something more personal in the atmosphere. And the worst part was that it all revolved around Sophia, even if no one dared to say it out loud.She was beside me, trying to look composed, though I knew every single one of her gestures too well. Her fingers toyed with a lock of her hair, a tiny movement, almost invisible to anyone who didn’t know what it meant. But I did. It was nerves, anxiety, she was fighting to control, so she wouldn’t break down in front of everyone. It tore me apart to see her like this, fragile in the middle of a room full of wolves who seemed more eager to judge than to protect.Two days had passed since Stefan’s death. Two days since th
Sophia The air in Dante’s pack meeting room was heavy with a tension that seemed to pierce my skin like countless invisible needles. I couldn’t tell if it was just my anxiety or if everyone else felt the same way, but the atmosphere was suffocating, impossible to ignore. The dark wooden walls, the tall windows, and the carved symbols in every corner of the place seemed to watch us, silent witnesses to every word spoken. It had only been two days since the interrogation with the police, two days since Stefan’s death, and though I kept trying to convince myself to stay calm, I couldn’t. The thought repeated itself over and over in my mind: his death might not have been some random crime with no connection to me, but a warning. I believed it almost with certainty. The threatening letters I had received before screamed it at me. Everything fit together too perfectly, and even if no one else seemed to see it, I couldn’t stop feeling like I was the real target of this whole disaster.I r