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LILA’S POVIt didn’t break.That was the first lie.Because I felt it break.Just not where I expected.The network didn’t collapse.It shifted.Like something inside it had been rewritten while I was still holding it.Nathan noticed it too.His grip on my shoulder tightened instantly.“No,” he said sharply. “That’s not stabilization.”I swallowed hard.“I know.”The backchannel Ryker created hadn’t disappeared.It had merged.Not fully.Not cleanly.But enough.Enough that I could feel something new inside the system now.A foreign rhythm.Slightly offbeat.Like a second pulse pretending to match mine.The rejected mate network shuddered.Not violently this time.Confused.Like something in them had just… changed direction.A whisper of discomfort passed through the connection.Then another.And another.My stomach tightened.“They feel it,” I whispered.Nathan nodded once.“He didn’t just observe the structure,” he said quietly.“He introduced variability.”My eyes widened slightly.
LILA’S POVThe smile wasn’t mine.It wasn’t Nathan’s either.It didn’t belong to anyone I could see.But I felt it.Cold.Calculated.Wrong.A ripple moved through the network again slow this time, like someone dragging a finger across water.Testing.Learning.Ryker.He was inside.Not physically.Not fully.But threaded into the edges of what I had built.And the worst part?He wasn’t breaking it.He was studying it.Nathan stepped closer instantly, his energy flaring beside mine.“I feel it too,” he said quietly.My chest tightened.“Then you understand,” I whispered.“He’s not attacking us.”“He’s mapping us.”The connection shifted again.A rejected mate screamed somewhere in the distance of itNot pain from injury.But recognition.Fear.Like something inside them had been touched.Tampered with.My stomach dropped.“No…” I whispered.I reached inward instantly, searching the link.“Stay calm,” I sent through the network.“Stay together.”The response was fractured.Uneven.Beca
LILA’S POVSilence.Not peace.Never peace.But a fragile, trembling stillness like the moment between heartbeats.That was all that remained.I stood in the center of it.Of them.The connection pulsed through me not violently anymore, not tearing but… anchored.Barely.Like threads holding together something that wanted to unravel.My breathing was uneven.Too shallow.Too slow.I could feel it.Every single one of them.Thirty-two hearts.Thirty-two minds.Thirty-two broken pieces trying to exist again.And nowThey were connected through me.Not bound.Not controlled.But linked.A bridge.That’s what I had become.A living bridge.And it was killing me.My knees buckled slightly, but I forced myself upright.No.I couldn’t fall.Not now.Not when they were just beginning to stabilize.“Stay with me…” I whispered.Not to myself.To them.The connection flickered in response.Soft.Uncertain.But there.And for a momentI almost believed it would hold.UntilPain.Sharp.Sudden.It
LILA’S POVThe moment the network lost controlEverything turned wrong.Not chaotic in the way we expected.Not like battle.Not like war.Worse.Unnatural.The shadows didn’t just moveThey twisted.Like something alive but broken.Hungry.“Lila…” Nathan’s voice was weak against my shoulder.I tightened my grip around him.“I’ve got you,” I whispered, though my heart was pounding hard enough to betray me.Because I didn’t have anything under control.Not this.Not this.The remnants of the network pulsed violently around us.Disconnected minds.Broken links.Energy snapping like stretched wiresEach one releasing bursts of power that tore through the void.A scream echoed.Not one voice.Many.Layered.Shattered.The rejected matesThey weren’t at peace anymore.They were waking up.All at once.And the painIt hit them all at once too.“No…” I whispered.My chest tightened painfully.Because I could feel it.Every single one of them.Their confusion.Their fear.Their agony.All cra
LILA’S POV“No…”The word barely left my lips.Because thisThis couldn’t be real.Nathan.Trapped.Suspended in the center of the network like prey caught in a web.His body was still.Too still.But his energyI could feel it.Flickering.Fading.“Stop this,” I whispered.My voice shook.Not with fear.But with something worse.Desperation.Ryker tilted his head slightly, watching me like I was something fascinating.“You already know I won’t.”The network pulsed again.And NathanHe flinched.My chest tightened violently.“Don’t touch him!” I snapped.But the moment I stepped forwardThe shadows surged.Blocking me.Holding me back.“You wanted to save them,” Ryker continued calmly.“So save them.”My hands clenched.“You don’t get to do this,” I said, voice shaking with rising anger.“You don’t get to turn this into a game.”“It’s not a game,” he replied softly.“It’s reality.”The glowing eyes shifted.All of them watching me now.Waiting.“You can’t have both,” he said.And that
LILA’S POVI knew the moment I saw his smileWe had made a mistake.A terrible one.“You shouldn’t have come here together,” Ryker said softly.His voice echoed through the void, calm… almost pleased.Nathan’s hand tightened in mine.“Stay behind me,” he muttered.I almost laughed.Because there was no behind here.No front.No direction.Only him.And them.Hundreds of eyes glowing in the darkness, all fixed on us.Watching.Waiting.“No,” I said quietly, stepping slightly in front of Nathan instead.“If anything happens, you pull out.”“Not happening,” he shot back instantly.I clenched my jaw.Stubborn.Always.Ryker chuckled softly.“This is interesting,” he murmured.“You brought light into a place that thrives on surrender.”Nathan’s energy flared brighter at that.Golden.Blazing.“I’m not here to surrender,” he said coldly.Ryker tilted his head.“No,” he agreed.“You’re here to save her.”The words hung in the air.Because they were true.And we all knew it.“But the question
LILA’S POVThe forest held its breath.No wind.No movement.Just the heavy sound of the Devourer’s breathing as the monstrous creature remained bowed toward the darkness beyond the trees.Toward something none of us could see yet.But we could feel it.The power.It rolled through the clearing lik
LILA’S POVThe forest felt smaller.Like the trees themselves were closing in, listening, waiting.No one moved.No one spoke.Every wolf, every soldier, every creature in the clearing stared toward the distant treeline where the massive shadow had appeared.Even the battle that had nearly erupted
LILA’S POVThe forest held its breath.Thousands of eyes were locked on me.The High Council warriors stood like an iron wall across the clearing, their silver armor reflecting the pale moonlight filtering through the trees. Their spears and swords gleamed, raised and ready.Behind me, the rogue wo
LILA’S POVThe forest seemed to hold its breath.Every wolf in the clearing froze.Even the wind stopped moving through the trees.The enormous creature that stepped out of the darkness made the ancient Alpha look small.That alone was terrifying.But what truly made my blood run cold were its eyes







