ANMELDENIvan.Morning in the community never really felt like morning.It felt like the world hadn’t fully decided who it wanted to be yet. Like even the air was standing there, waiting for permission to either soften… or turn sharp.I stood at the edge of the training grounds, watching the warriors move in steady formation. Boots hitting packed earth in rhythm. Swords cutting through air with clean precision. From far away, everything looked controlled. Almost peaceful.From far away.“Alpha.”Kade’s voice pulled me back.My beta.He wasn’t just assigned to me. He was inherited into it. His father had been my father’s beta, and somehow that line had just… continued like it was written somewhere long before we were born. But Kade wasn’t just legacy. He was choice too. My choice. Because somewhere between growing up beside him and surviving too many things together, he’d become the only person I didn’t have to question.Still, I didn’t look at him immediately.“Report,” I said.He stepped besi
Gianna.One minute we were standing in the foyer of the house, bags barely zipped, tension still hanging in the air like a storm that hadn’t fully decided whether to break or pass. The next minute, we were pulling up at the community gates.Even if a part of me wanted to protest, I couldn’t. Not really. The image of Rue still sitting somewhere alone, Alina somewhere in the shadows… it all pressed too hard against my chest. I hated that I understood the urgency now. I hated that I was becoming someone who didn’t question it anymore.We needed training. I needed training.I had to wake up from whatever soft, fragile fantasy still wanted to believe my sister was just… lost, not gone.So when mum said we had to leave, there wasn’t much arguing left in me. We packed quickly. Too quickly. Like if we moved fast enough, we wouldn’t have to feel anything fully.“I’ll see you around, yeah?” Ivan said beside me, his hand brushing my elbow in that quiet, grounding way he always did without even t
Gianna.Morning came… but it didn’t feel like it.It felt like the night had just… faded into something lighter, not softer. Like the darkness was still sitting somewhere in my chest, just quieter now.I was awake before my alarm.Not fully.Just… there.Eyes open. Staring at the ceiling.Thinking.Always thinking.My phone was still in my hand from last night.I swallowed, my throat dry as I locked it and dropped it beside me, turning my head to the side.Maybe she listened again. Maybe she didn’t. Maybe she heard everything and just—Didn’t care.That thought sat heavier than it should have.I pushed myself up slowly, my body feeling heavier than usual, like sleep didn’t really do anything except pass time.Getting ready felt… off.I stood in front of my closet, staring at clothes like they were supposed to make decisions for me.My hand reached out.i didn't like any of the options I was seeing.I exhaled sharply, running a hand through my hair.Why does this even matter?Still—I
Gianna.Everybody started rushing outside.It wasn’t gradual. It wasn’t calm. One second the music was vibrating through my bones, bodies moving, laughter spilling everywhere… and the next, it all snapped.Chairs scraped. Drinks spilled. Voices rose over each other in sharp, panicked bursts.“What happened?” “Is it real?” “Someone said it’s outside—”My fingers tightened around Ivan’s shirt before I even realized I had grabbed him.Our eyes met.That split second— Silent. Heavy. Saying everything without words.Then we moved.Together.The air outside hit me differently. Colder. Sharper. Like it knew something I didn’t want to see.Murmurs spread like wildfire, rippling through the crowd in uneven waves. People stood in clusters, some on their toes trying to see, others backing away like distance alone could protect them from whatever waited ahead.Ivan’s hand found mine again. Firm. Anchoring.We pushed through the crowd.Step by step.Until—I saw it.And I froze.Not slowed. Not he
Gianna.I didn’t realize I had stopped breathing……until my chest started to ache.Like my lungs had been quietly begging for air and I had just—ignored them.Alina was still standing there.Watching.Smiling.Not a real smile.Not the kind that warms anything.It just… sat there. Sharp. Unsettling. Like it belonged on someone else’s face.Like it knew something I didn’t.My fingers tightened around Ivan’s hand without me even thinking about it.“Ivan…” My voice came out thinner this time, like something fragile had slipped into it. “She’s here.”He followed my line of sight.And I felt it.The exact second his body shifted.It wasn’t dramatic.No sudden movement.No obvious reaction.But I knew him now.Knew the way his shoulders squared just slightly… the way his grip on my hand tightened, firmer… more intentional.Protective.Grounding.“Stay here,” he muttered.Like this was something he could handle on his own.Like he could just step in and fix it.“No—” My fingers tightened aro
Gianna.The party invite sat on my screen longer than it should have.Bright. Loud. Tempting.Like it didn’t understand the kind of chaos it was inviting me into.My thumb hovered over the screen, unmoving… suspended… like if I stayed there long enough, the decision would make itself.A party.Crowded.Loud music.People.And possibly… Rue.My stomach twisted immediately, tight and sharp, like something had reached inside me and clenched.What if she’s there?What if she sees me?What if she looks at me like that again—That look.Not anger.Not even hate.Fear.My chest dipped inward at the memory, breath catching halfway like it didn’t want to go any further.I dropped my phone onto the bed, dragging both hands down my face slowly, pressing my palms into my eyes like I could erase the image burned there.I shouldn’t go.That was the smart decision.Stay home.Avoid everything.Avoid her.Avoid the way my chest tightens every time she walks away from me like I’m something dangerous…
“Ivan… what are you doing?”My own voice sounded breathless—even to me—as I took a step back from him. He moved closer anyway, slow and deliberate, like he already knew I’d never really push him away. My body betrayed me instantly, humming, tightening, aching in a way I didn’t want to acknowledge.
Gianna. Morning didn’t rush me awake. It crept in slowly, settling into my bones like it wasn’t sure I was ready to face the day.I stared at the ceiling for a long moment before sitting up, waiting for the familiar wave of dizziness or nausea to hit. It didn’t. My body felt weak, yes—but steadie
Gianna. “Ivan…”The name slipped out of my lips before I even realized I was saying it. A whisper. Fragile. Like if I said it any louder, he might disappear.I looked up into familiar light blue eyes staring down at me, wide with something I hadn’t seen in a long time—concern. Real concern. Not ir
Ivan. We haven’t spoken.Not since her outburst the other day — the way she looked at me like I was nothing, like I didn’t exist, like I didn’t matter. I told myself I didn’t care. I told myself her words meant nothing, that she was just angry, that she’d cool off eventually.But the truth?The id







