MasukLILA’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 first explosion hit before we even reached the center of camp.Fire tore through the air in a violent burst, heat slamming into my skin as screams followed raw, terrified, real. My heart dropped into my stomach as I surged forward, golden wings slicing through the air, power flaring
LILA’S POVThe forest was still, almost eerily so, but I could feel it ,the pull of her presence, a crimson thread weaving through my consciousness. My wings twitched instinctively, golden feathers shimmering faintly in the half-light, responding to the invisible storm I knew was coming. My twin. Th
CHAPTER 8LILA’S POVThe night refused to calm.Even after the battle ended, the air still smelled of blood and fear. Smoke curled faintly above the treeline where the rogues had attacked earlier. Wolves moved through the forest, dragging bodies away, checking the wounded, whispering to one another
LILA’S POVThe forest was quiet now, almost deceptively . The rogues who had attacked the pack were either fleeing, unconscious, or dead. But I could feel it like a pulse in the air the red-eyed witch hadn’t left for good. She was out there, watching, waiting for her next move.I sank to the ground







