LOGINLILA’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 POVI could still feel them.Even after I woke.Even after the connection snapped back.They were still there.Not distant.Not fading.Present.Like a second heartbeat that didn’t belong to me.I sat up slowly, my body trembling from the aftershock of it.Nathan was still beside me.Of course he was.His hand was wrapped tightly around mine, like letting go would mean losing me completely.“You’re back,” he whispered.His voiceIt almost broke me.Because there was fear in it.Real fear.“I never left,” I said softly.But even as I said itIt didn’t feel entirely true.Because a part of me had gone somewhere.Somewhere I didn’t fully understand.And worseSomewhere that had welcomed me.Nathan searched my face.“You felt it again, didn’t you?”I hesitated.Then nodded.“Yes.”“How bad?” Marcus asked from behind him.I looked up.All of them were there.Ethan.Marcus.Callum.Davian.Watching me like I might disappear if they blinked.“Worse,” I admitted.The word settled heavy
LILA’S POVI didn’t tell them.Not everything.Not the part that mattered most.Not the part that terrified me.Because how was I supposed to say it out loud?That for one secondJust oneIt felt right.That twisted peace.That quiet.That absence of pain.It wrapped around me like warmth.And I almostAlmost let it take me.“Lila.”Nathan’s voice pulled me back.I blinked, realizing everyone was still watching me.Waiting.“Tell us everything,” Ethan said, his tone leaving no room for hesitation.I swallowed.“I saw more of them,” I said carefully. “Dozens… maybe more. And they weren’t fighting.”Marcus frowned.“What do you mean?”“They were calm,” I whispered. “Connected. Like… like they weren’t broken anymore.”“That’s not possible,” Callum said immediately.“It is,” Davian murmured.Because of course he understood.“They’ve stabilized them.”The word landed heavy.Stabilized.Not controlled.Not corrupted.Stabilized.“No,” I said quickly, shaking my head. “It’s not real. It can’
LILA’S POVThe world went silent.Not quiet.Not calm.Empty.The golden light around me flickered once… twice… then disappeared completely.And suddenlyI wasn’t in the cell anymore.I was standing in the forest.But not the one I knew.This one was… wrong.The trees were twisted, their branches cl
LILA’S POVSilence settled after my words.Not the kind that calms.The kind that presses in, heavy and suffocating, like the world itself is holding its breath waiting to see what breaks first.We end this.The words still echoed in my head, sharp and final.I didn’t regret them.But I felt them.I
LILA’S POVPain didn’t come all at once.It came in waves.Slow. Crushing. Relentless.Like something inside me was being torn apart piece by piece, and no matter how tightly I tried to hold myself together, it kept slipping through my fingers.I woke to silence.Not the peaceful kind.The empty ki
LILA’S POVThe forest trembled around us. Shadows stretched like living nightmares, twisting and snapping at anything that dared move. My heart thudded so loudly I was sure the corrupted Nathan could hear it. Every instinct screamed at me to run, to protect my pack, to survive but I couldn’t. Not n







