Sleep that night was a cruel thing, an elusive thing.Each time I closed my eyes, my mind relived the conversation with Gabriel — the desperation in his voice, the regret in his eyes, the way he had said I lost you already.I tried to shut it all out in bed, tossing and turning. But my body remained static, my emotions wound tightly like a coil.Damn him.I had spent years practicing living without him. And now? He thought he could just come waltzing back into my life and screw everything up all over again?No.I wouldn’t let him.When morning finally arrived, I almost had not slept. But fatigue had never phased me — I had fought battles half-dead on my feet. I could get through one more day of this.I threw on my training gear and secured my hair in a tight ponytail before walking out of my room. The house was already waking up, the pack members bustling around, getting ready for the day.I walked down the hall, and when I got to the staircase—“Angel.”His voice.I cursed quietly t
I should’ve felt triumphant.Walking away from Gabriel without looking back should feel like a victory.” Like freedom.But that night, lying in bed staring at the ceiling, I felt nothing except restless.My body was tired, my muscles aching from training, but my brain was awake, and it wouldn’t settle.Because no matter how hard I tried not to, no matter how much I hated it —I could still feel him.His presence. His stare. His regret.And worst of all?The way my wolf, Slade, longed for him.Enough. I threw the covers off and rubbed my face. This is ridiculous.I needed air.I snagged my jacket, stepping out of my room and wandering through the pack house's inky darkened hallways. The silence was comforting. Peaceful.I shoved the back door open and stepped out into the night.The stars were bright, the sky was clear, but I hardly noticed. I just needed to breathe.To shake this feeling.To remind myself that I was no longer that broken girl.I stood at the training post, arms crosse
Walking away should have felt liberating.It should have felt as if finally closing a door that had remained ajar for too long.Instead, it felt more like being in the eye of a storm, awaiting the chaos to catch up.I had made it halfway across the training field when I noticed my hands trembling.Damn it.I doubled them into fists on my sides, trying to breathe my body down. I was fine.I had survived worse.I had survived him."Angel!"Kayden’s voice broke the night, pulling me from my thoughts.I turned just in time, right as he reached me, his sharp blue eyes scanning my face, searching. He initially didn’t say anything. He just looked at me.And somehow, that was worse.Because Kayden knew me.He knew every scar, every wound, every thing I buried with the elevation dust and spit, the things I tried so damn hard to hide.And right now?He could see everything."Did he hurt you?" Kayden’s voice was steady, but there was an edge to it—a tight, lethal promise.I let out a humorless l
I should have walked away.I wanted to walk away.But I didn’t.Instead I stood there like a deer in headlights while Gabriel’s words draped themselves over my body like a delayed fire.“But then why do you still look at me as if this isn’t over?”My throat tightened.Because it wasn’t over.Not for me.Not for him.Not for us.I could deceive myself as much as I wanted, could tell myself I’d moved on, that I didn’t care, that the past was buried, my ears filled with dirt —The bond between us, though, had never really broken.It had frayed.It had bled.But there it was, no matter how hard I fought it.And Gabriel knew it.It is what he felt, as I did.“Say it,” he whispered behind me. His voice was low, rough. “Say you don’t feel it, and I’ll let you go.”I clenched my jaw.He was calling my bluff.Because he knew — he knew — that if I turned around right now, if I made eye contact with him, that would be it.I would shatter.I would shatter once more into a million pieces.And I co
I continued walking until I was in the pack house, fingers digging into the edge of the sink in my bathroom, my breaths too fast, too shallow.I could still feel him.Even when we were separated by walls and even when my back was turned, the weight of Gabriel’s stare tugged at my neck, an imprint of his presence wedged into my brain like a brand I could not rub off.Why?Why now?Why, after all these years, after all the pain, after I had built a life without him, was he doing this?I closed my eyes tight, gripping the porcelain so hard, my knuckles turned white.I wanted to be angry.I wanted to hate him.But the truth — the ugly, brutal, terrifying truth — was that my anger wasn’t as powerful as it had been.Not when he looked at me like that.Not when his voice broke at every mention of my name.Not when he confessed he never stopped loving me.Damn him.Damn him for making me remember.For years, I had convinced myself that Gabriel Rennon never cared. That it had come easy for him
Living without Gabriel was meant to be a piece of cake.I had done it before.For five years, I’d created a life in which he didn’t exist — in which his voice didn’t rattle in my head, in which his fragrance didn’t stalk my dreams, in which his rejection wasn’t a wound I kept reopening to see if it still bled.And yet, here I was, lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling, convincing myself that I hadn’t just splintered into a thousand pieces behind that goddamn door.I had done the right thing.I had walked away.Again.So why did it feel as though I had just lost everything?A loud rap on my door made me jump.I took a deep breath and forced my voice to remain steady. “What?”“It’s me,” Kayden said. “Open up.”I hesitated before dragging myself out of bed and unlocking the door.Kayden walked across the threshold, his blue eyes sizing me up frame by frame.“You look like shit,” he said plainly.I let out a humorless laugh. “That’s a theme that’s developing, isn’t it?”Kayden didn’t re
Running wasn’t doing it anymore.Not when Gabriel was right there, golden eyes fixed on mine with that look — the one that sent my pulse spiking, the one that made my wolf skittish, the one that whispered we’d never really been over.And I hated him for it.Hated him for knowing me, for seeing me, for understanding the way I resisted this, even when I claimed not to care.Because the reality was I did care.I always had.I tightened my jaw, willing my voice to remain steady. “You think you know me, Gabriel?His lips barely twitched. “I do know you.”I scoffed. “Then you must know that I never stop. I don’t break. And I damn well don’t return to those who left me in the dirt.”A muscle in his jaw ticked. “You think I don’t know what I was doing?”I crossed my arms. “You’re only playing the tortured hero, Gabriel.He breathed out, dragging a hand down his face, exasperated. “I’m not trying to.”“Then what exactly are you doing?” I challenged.Gabriel stepped closer. Too close. His pres
I didn’t look back.Not when his voice still hung in the air, low and rough and dangerous.Not when my heart pounded against my ribs as if it were trying to escape my chest.Not when every fiber of my being was urging me to turn back.Because I knew.I knew if I glanced at him again, I would break.So I did what I was trained to do.I walked away.And this time, I didn’t stop.I was shaking by the time I returned to my room.I shut the door behind me, leaning my back against the wood and taking sharp, ragged breaths."This isn’t over, Angel."His voice reverberated through my skull, racing in circles like some tempest I couldn’t escape.I pressed my eyes shut, angry at myself.I had let him get too close.Again.And worse?I had wanted to.I sucked in a breath, running my fingers through my hair. I needed space. I needed air.From him.Before I forgot the reason I had hated him for all those years.A knock on my door had me snapping my head up, the rest of my body going tight.No.I w
The Abyss’s cold hum faded as we climbed from its depths, the black path dissolving into sand beneath our feet, the desert’s vastness swallowing the void’s chaotic stars. The mark on my chest pulsed, a sharp reminder of the shadow, the flame, the void, and Lyra, the spark, whose steady steps beside me matched my own. Her shard glowing softly, her blue eyes, my eyes, reflecting the same weary resolve. The dagger at my hip felt heavier, its symbols dim but alive, pulsing in sync with her shard, tying us to the Veil’s fragile balance. The bond with Lucian thrummed, his heartbeat a lifeline through my exhaustion, our shared fight a flicker of hope against the weight of the trinity, no, the quartet: lock, spark, flame, void. The flame’s plea, "hurry," and the void’s hollow whisper, "you woke me", lingered, pushing me forward, toward the pack, toward the choice we couldn’t escape.Lucian walked ahead, his blade sheathed but his hand ready, blood crusted on his arm, his silver eyes scanning
The Abyss swallowed us, the black path beneath our feet pulsing with a cold, relentless hum that vibrated through my bones. The desert was gone, replaced by a vast, endless void where stars flickered like dying embers, their light swallowed by shadows that moved, not random but alive, watching. The mark on my chest burned, a fierce tether to the shadow, the flame, the void, and Lyra, the spark, who walked beside me, her shard glowing faintly, her blue eyes, my eyes, wide with fear but unyielding. The dagger in my hand felt alive, its symbols flaring, syncing with her shard, binding us to the Veil’s edge, its heart. The bond with Lucian thrummed, his steady heartbeat anchoring my spiraling dread, our shared defiance a fragile shield against the chaos closing in. The keepers’ visions haunted me: one stays, one guards, one ends, one breaks. The trinity, now four, was ours, and the Abyss was its final test.Lucian led, his blade drawn, blood crusted on his arm, his silver eyes scanning
The Hollow’s sands crunched under our boots as we left its glowing crystal behind, the desert stretching endless and unforgiving under a sky streaked with fading violet, the Veil’s pulse a faint hum in the air. The mark on my chest throbbed, a relentless tie to the shadow, the flame, the void, and Lyra the spark walking beside me, her shard glowing faintly, her blue eyes my eyes haunted but resolute. The dagger at my hip was warm, its symbols flickering, syncing with her shard, binding us to the Veil’s fragile heart. The bond with Lucian burned his steady heartbeat, my wavering courage, our shared defiance but it couldn’t erase the keepers’ test, their visions of sacrifice: one stays, one guards, one ends, one breaks. The trinity now four was ours, and the choice loomed, a shadow as heavy as the war we fought.Lucian led, his blade sheathed but his hand close, blood crusted on his arm, his silver eyes scanning the desert’s dunes for threats. The air was dry, sharp with the scent of d
The pack’s compound rose like a fortress from the forest’s embrace, its wooden walls battered but unyielding, torches blazing against the creeping dusk. The air was cold, heavy with the scent of pine and the faint metallic tang of the city’s lingering echo, a reminder of the mirror’s chaos, the void’s white eyes, and her scream—my scream—still clawing at my mind. The mark on my chest pulsed, a relentless tether to the shadow, to the flame, to the void, and now to Lyra, the spark, walking beside me, her shard glowing faintly, her blue eyes—my eyes—etched with the same dread and determination I felt. The dagger in my hand was warm, its symbols flickering, syncing with her shard, binding us to the Veil’s fractured heart. The bond with Lucian thrummed—his fierce heartbeat, my unraveling courage, our shared resolve—but it couldn’t silence the truth: the trinity was a lie, not three but four—lock, spark, flame, void—and the choice, one stays, one guards, one ends, was a weight I could bar
The Cradle’s glow lingered in my vision as we trekked back through the mountains, the plateau’s black stone and pulsing crystal now a memory, but its weight clung to me like damp earth. The mark on my chest throbbed, a steady pulse tying me to the Veil, to her—the shadow—and to the flame, whose fading words, hurry, echoed in my mind. The dagger at my hip hummed faintly, its symbols dim but restless, mirroring the shard in Lyra’s hand, her blue eyes—my eyes—fixed on the path ahead, her presence a constant reminder of the trinity: lock, spark, flame. The bond with Lucian burned—his unwavering strength, my fragile resolve, our shared defiance—but it couldn’t silence the choice looming over us: one stays, one guards, one ends. A sacrifice I wasn’t ready to face.Lucian led, his blade sheathed but his hand close, blood crusted on his arm, his silver eyes scanning the rocky trail for threats. The air was cold, the mountains’ peaks sharp against a sky streaked with fading violet, a remnant
The Cradle swallowed us whole, the tear’s violet light spitting us onto a plateau of black stone, its surface veined with glowing runes that pulsed like a heartbeat. The air was heavy, charged, not with the city’s metallic tang but something older—earth, blood, time itself. The mark on my chest burned, syncing with the dagger in my hand and the shard in Lyra’s grip, their symbols flaring in unison, tying us to this place, to the Veil’s first node, its forge. The bond with Lucian thrummed—his fierce resolve, my trembling courage, our shared defiance—but it couldn’t drown out the flame’s voice, it’s time, or the shadow’s distant laugh, a cold thread weaving through my blood. The trinity—lock, spark, flame—was here, and the Cradle was waking, its echoes stirring, ready to test us.Lucian stood close, his blade drawn, blood crusted on his arm, his silver eyes scanning the plateau’s edges, where cliffs dropped into a void—not sky, but chaos, stars and shadows churning, the Veil’s raw edge
The pack’s compound loomed ahead, its wooden walls scarred but standing, torches casting flickering light against the encroaching dusk. The forest was quiet now, the hum of the city’s bridge gone, the shadow’s scream—my scream—fading into memory, but the mark on my chest pulsed, a relentless tie to her, to the flame, to the Veil’s trembling heart. The dagger in my hand felt heavier, its symbols faintly glowing, syncing with the shard in Lyra’s grip—the other me, the spark, her blue eyes wide with the same exhaustion and fear I felt. The bond with Lucian burned—his steady resolve, my unraveling certainty, our shared fight—but it couldn’t silence the flame’s words: lock, spark, flame, the Veil’s trinity, to choose. A choice I didn’t understand, but one that held the world’s fate.Lucian led, his blade sheathed but his hand close, blood crusted on his arm, his silver eyes scanning the compound’s gates for threats. “We’re here,” he said, his voice rough, a mix of relief and tension. “The
The forest’s edge was a jagged line between us and the pack’s compound, its smoke curling into a sky bruised with fading violet, the last trace of the fracture’s glow. The mark on my chest pulsed, a steady ache tying me to her—my shadow—and now to the other me, the spark, standing beside me, her blue eyes mirroring my exhaustion, her shard glowing faintly in her trembling hand. The dagger at my hip was warm, its symbols dim but alive, a quiet reminder of the power we’d wielded—and the cost. The bond with Lucian thrummed—his fierce heartbeat, my fraying resolve, our shared determination—but it couldn’t silence the Architect’s voice, "bring them to me", or her laugh, "you’re mine", still echoing in my bones. We’d pushed them back, but the war was closing in, and we were running out of time.Lucian’s hand rested on my arm, his silver eyes scanning the trees, blood crusted on his face, his wounds raw but ignored. “We’re almost there,” he said, his voice low, rough from the fight. “The pac
The forest stood frozen in the aftermath, the glowing runes on the ground now ash, their light snuffed out like a dying star. The gate was gone, its collapse leaving only a faint hum in the air, a ghostly echo of the city beyond the Veil. My chest heaved, the mark pulsing with a dull, insistent ache, tying me to her—my shadow—and now to her, the other me, the spark they’d hidden, standing before me with my face, my voice, but blue eyes brimming with fear and a shard glowing in her trembling hands. The dagger in my grip felt heavier, its symbols flickering, as if unsure of the new presence—her shard, my dagger, two pieces of the same fractured whole. The bond with Lucian thrummed—his fierce resolve, my spiraling shock, our shared need to survive—but it couldn’t quiet the truth screaming in my mind: I was not one, but many, split by a ritual, bound to the Veil, and now reunited in a war I barely understood.Lucian’s blade stayed raised, his body a shield between me and her—the other me—