MasukThe crowd continued to applaud as Thea took one final bow before exiting the stage. The moment she was out of sight, Elijah grabbed my hand.“Come on,” he said, already pulling me toward the aisle. “Let’s get backstage before everyone else.”We made our way through the crowd, accepting congratulatio
AgnesEight years had passed by.The concert hall was packed to capacity, not a single empty seat in sight. My spine ached like hell from sitting on the hard wooden chair for the past two hours, and my pregnant belly made it impossible to find a comfortable position. Elijah kept rubbing his neck and
“Mom?” Thea’s voice called. “Everyone’s waiting. Are you ready?”I took one last look in the mirror, adjusted the mask slightly, and turned toward the door.“Ready,” I said, opening it to find my daughter standing there in a midnight blue dress that she had designed herself. Her own mask, shaped lik
AgnesOne year later.I stood in front of my mirror, hardly recognizing the woman staring back at me. Two years. It had been two years since I met Elijah—not counting that foggy night we conceived Thea seven years before that, a night neither of us could fully remember thanks to whatever drugs had b
Initially, I resisted. The thought of sharing my pain with a stranger when I had spent so many years being treated like a madwoman for my trauma scared the hell out of me. But Elijah was persistent, reminding me that we all carried burdens that were too heavy to bear alone.And so, twice a week, we
AgnesThe weeks following the destruction of the Lunaris Stone passed in a blur.Elemental Enterprises, of course, was immediately shut down by the authorities. Every known international law enforcement agency descended on Richard’s territory, working alongside Richard and us to document the crimes
AgnesAnd so the plan was set. Tonight, at midnight, I would approach the facility with Thea—just the two of us, alone in the darkness.Richard had spent the afternoon rallying his pack warriors, and they would wait with Elijah in the forest surrounding the facility. They’d wait for my signal to say
Narrowing my eyes, I watched her face carefully, searching for any sign of deception. But all I could see was hurt and confusion. Lena’s cheeks were flushed, and her eyes had filled with tears.“You said we were friends,” she said softly, and the tears spilled over. “I would never betray you like th
AgnesThe stone was gone.Stolen right from under our noses.“Elijah,” I breathed, whirling around to face him. “It’s gone.”“What do you mean it’s gone?” he demanded, pushing past me to see for himself. His eyes widened when he saw the empty space where it should have been. “Fuck.”My mind raced. I
Richard.He stopped in the doorway, dressed in an expensive black suit. Our eyes met, and my brows lifted with surprise. Even Elijah momentarily paused his eulogy to share, and a few people turned to look.We hadn’t been expecting him to come to James’ funeral of all people, especially not so soon a







