Just Not Meant to Be

"Hang on. Let's wait a little longer. I'm holding all the tickets. None of you are getting on that train without me," Byron Reynolds said with a voice as cold as ice, ignoring the anxious faces around him.

Still reeling from my death and rebirth, I forced down the fear and anger bubbling inside me. I let go of Byron's hand and watched from the side with an indifferent expression.

That ticket had cost us our entire savings—30 thousand dollars. And we'd waited three years for a shot at Centraford, where we'd finally be able to rise from being low-tier civilian werewolves to official Silvren Talons workers—registered, salaried, and numbered.

If we missed this train, we'd be stuck forever in Sidersville, a chaotic melting pot, never able to enter the heart of the werewolf city-state.

Without a ticket, we couldn't even step on the train. This made everyone anxious.

"We've waited over ten minutes. Is she messing with us?" someone asked.

"The train's about to leave. If we wait any longer, no one's getting on," another chimed in.

"Forget this. We need to go now!"

"Byron, if you want to die here, fine, but don't drag us down with you. Hand over the tickets!"

But Byron stood tall, smug, completely unmoved.

The arguing grew louder by the second.

Someone even lunged at him, trying to snatch the tickets from his hand.

But Byron lit his lighter and shouted, his face twisting in anger, "Don't touch me! If anyone comes closer, I'll burn all the damn tickets!"

Everyone froze in shock. No one dared make another move as fear and frustration filled the air.

"Are you insane?! Don't be so damn selfish!"

"If you want to wait for Lisa, go ahead. But why drag us down? Give us the tickets already!"

Still, Byron didn't budge.

Someone lost their patience and charged forward.

Byron dodged fast and held the flame closer to the tickets, eyes dark and furious.

"One more step and we all stay in Sidersville. We'll die here together!"

Everyone went still. No one dared take another step.

Then Byron snapped again.

"You're the selfish ones! We're friends. We're supposed to leave together! How could you all think of abandoning Lisa?

"I'm holding her ticket. If we leave, what happens to her?"

When we first bought the tickets, we all handed our money to Byron. He was the strongest among us, so we trusted him to handle everything.

After getting the tickets, we were worried rogues might try to steal them, so we let him hold onto them.

Now, everyone was regretting that choice.

Someone turned to me, panic in their eyes.

"Bethany, please, get your mate on the train. We're running out of time!"

I lowered my head and stayed silent, hiding the pain in my eyes.

In my previous life, I had our friends forcibly drag Byron aboard. We made it to Centraford and became Silvren Talons workers.

But Lisa missed her chance. She was left behind in Sidersville and became a rogue, a plaything passed around by countless men. A few years later, she was tortured to death.

Byron looked fine on the surface. But on the day of our marking ceremony, he drove a silver blade into my stomach, killing the pup growing inside me, and tore out my heart.

His eyes had burned red as he growled through clenched teeth, "This is all your fault. You're the reason Lisa never made it to Centraford.

"She suffered so much before she died. Why do you get to be happy?"

It was then that I finally understood—he never loved me. The only one he cared about was Lisa.

All those years of kindness were just an act. He had used me to climb the ranks in Silvren Talons factory, gaining my trust just so he could kill me and avenge Lisa.

After killing me, he chopped my body up and fed it to the stray dogs.

Then I opened my eyes—and found myself right back at the train station, before it departed.

This time, I'd stay behind with him and wait for Lisa.

And I'd make him pay for everything he did to me and my pup.

Every wound, every betrayal, every drop of blood—he'd pay them all back in full.