BrightThe violent crash of shattering glass ripped us out of sleep like a nightmare turned real. My eyes snapped open, my heart pounding wildly in my chest. Sophia, lying beside me, shot up too, her face pale and her eyes wide with panic."Did you hear that?" she whispered, her voice trembling.I nodded, my jaw clenched tight. A second noise followed —louder this time— something metallic crashing to the floor downstairs.I jumped out of bed, adrenaline flooding my system, but Sophia grabbed my arm before I could take another step."Don’t go down there, Bright. We don’t know who it is. It could be dangerous!""Stay here," I said firmly, already scanning the room for anything I could use as a weapon."No," she insisted, her grip tightening. "What if something happens to you? What if… if it’s someone like the ones who killed Sabrina?"Her voice cracked, and tears welled up in her eyes.My chest ached, but I couldn’t stay still, not when there was a possible threat in our home. Not while
Sophia Tension completely took over our home when Dante finished speaking. His words still hung in the air like a thick, dense fog, difficult to dissipate. Bright didn’t say a word. He stood rigid, arms crossed, eyes fixed on Dante with a mix of disbelief, annoyance, and challenge.I stood between them, feeling how the air was growing heavier with each second, as if a single spark could set everything off.Dante had come to my house worried about what had happened with Sabrina, but that wasn’t the only reason. He had brought an unexpected proposal, one that echoed in my head like an unrelenting drumbeat: join his pack. Accept his protection. His leadership.I didn’t know what to say at first. Seeing Bright so serious, so distant, so hurt by everything we had gone through in the last few days... it paralyzed me. But there was also fear. The fear of not having a safe place. Of being unprotected. Of not being able to protect my child.“What do you want, Dante?” Bright finally asked, bre
Bright The silence in Sophia’s house was so thick I could barely hear my own breathing. The door closed behind me with a dry click, like a final warning that there was no turning back. The silence of our home was so heavy I could barely hear myself breathe. The door shut behind me with that same final click, unmistakable, irreversible. The house was warm, peaceful even, but I felt cold in my chest, a heavy weight that had settled there since the conversation with James. We had been cast out. Her too. And no matter how hard I tried to stay upright, to stay strong, my soul cracked every time I looked at her, every time I remembered that her entire life, everything she had ever known, had also collapsed because of me.Then I saw him.Dante was standing in the center of the living room, as if the place belonged to him, arms crossed, watching the staircase. When he noticed me, he turned his head slowly, like he’d known I was coming all along. His expression was calm, composed, but I c
Bright The air outside was colder than I remembered. Or maybe I was the one who had changed. I walked beside Sophia in silence, my footsteps echoing on the porch tiles as we descended the stairs of that house that no longer felt like home. The knot in my throat burned with every breath, and even though I forced myself to keep my head high, I was falling apart inside. I knew leaving was the right thing to do. I couldn't keep letting them humiliate us, treating us like we had done something wrong. But none of that mattered to James or his father anymore. When the door closed behind us, I paused for a moment. Not out of fear. It was pride that burned in my chest. Was this really how it ended? With a damn exile sentence and the turned backs of those who once called us family? That’s when three figures emerged from the shadows of the garden. I recognized them instantly: Caleb, Marcus, and Noah. They had been patrol mates, pack brothers, confidants. I didn’t know what to expect, maybe a
BrightThe weight of each step down those stairs was torture. I felt like I was dragging not only my body but also shame, pain, and rage. Sophia walked beside me, and her mere presence was what kept me standing. I didn’t know how to thank her for staying by my side when it seemed like the whole world wanted to crush us.In the living room, James and Sophia’s father was waiting for us like judges delivering a sentence. They didn’t speak, didn’t move. They just watched us, as if we were intruders in a house that had once been our home.I had already come to accept the silence. I didn’t expect apologies, or comfort, or even understanding. But what James said just as we were about to walk out the door sent fire rushing back through my veins.“You’re no longer part of the pack,” he declared, coldly, without even looking at us.I froze in place. I could feel Sophia holding her breath beside me.“What did you say?” she asked, turning slowly.“You heard me,” James repeated, as if not a single
SophiaThe creaking of the stairs beneath our feet broke the heavy silence that hung in the house like a fog. Bright walked down beside me, without saying a single word, but his expression said it all. His face was gaunt, his lips pressed tightly together, his eyes fixed on some distant point, as if he were carrying an invisible weight that was crushing him from within. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, wishing with every fiber of my being that I could do something to take that pain away. But I didn’t know how.I knew leaving early was the right thing to do. I couldn’t stand another second in that house where pain, anger, and indifference lingered like poisonous air. My chest burned from everything that had happened, but what hurt the most was seeing Bright like this: silent, frustrated, wounded… and alone. Because even though I was right beside him, he felt like everyone had turned their back on him.When we reached the bottom of the stairs, we crossed the living room to gr