LOGINCHAPTER 129 NOVA'S POV"You think the compass is pointing to a place?" I ask, turning the old brass compass over in my hand for what has to be the fiftieth time."It is not pointing north anymore," Jason replies from the driver's seat of the truck. "It is pointing to something."Cassian glances down at the needle before returning his attention to the narrow forest road. The needle has not moved once since we left the compound.It remains fixed toward the dense stretch of woodland north of the pack lands.Whatever it is searching for, it knows exactly where it wants us to go."We are close," Beatrice murmurs."How can you tell?" Killian asks.She looks out the window. "The trees."We all follow her gaze. The forest has changed. The pines grow older here, their branches twisting together until they almost block out the afternoon sun. Moss covers ancient stones, and vines crawl over fallen trunks that look as though they have not been disturbed in decades.The air itself feels... older.
CHAPTER 128CASSIAN'S POV The closer we get to the compound, the quieter everyone becomes. The motorcycles cut through the mountain roads in a steady line, with their engines echoing off the cliffs before fading into the cool afternoon air.Normally, by now, I would hear the pack before I see it. Children racing through the courtyards, warriors arguing over sparring matches, and the clang of metal from the forge.Someone is always laughing too loudly.Home is never silent. Today, it is.I slow my motorcycle as the gates come into view. Nova, riding beside me this time instead of behind me, looks over with the same uneasy expression twisting inside my chest.At least I am not the only one feeling that way. "You feel it too?" she asks through the helmet communicator."Yeah."She glances toward the walls. "They are open.""They should not be." Every instinct I have screams that something is wrong. I accelerate.Killian and Jason follow close behind while the others spread out automatic
CHAPTER 127 KILLIAN'S POVThe drive to the coast feels longer than two hours. Maybe because none of us speak. Or maybe because every mile carries another question none of us are prepared to answer.I ride ahead of the convoy, the cool sea breeze replacing the familiar scent of pine as the road descends toward the shoreline. Fishing boats bob gently against old wooden docks and white gulls circle overhead.Children chase each other along the beach, laughing as though the world has never known war.It feels... wrong. Like we have crossed into another life entirely. Jason finally slows his motorcycle beside a weather-beaten cottage overlooking the ocean."This is it." I remove my helmet and look at the tiny house."This is where the man who's been hiding for twenty years lives?"Jason shakes his head. "He was not hiding. He was forgotten."None of us have an answer to that.The old man is already waiting on the porch. He could not be younger than eighty. His gray hair is tied loosely
CHAPTER 126NOVA'S POVThe room stays silent long after I speak. Nobody rushes to answer me. Nobody tells me I am mistaken.The weight of what I have remembered settles over everyone like a heavy blanket, stealing the air from the room.Cassian still has not let go of my hand. His fingers are wrapped around mine so tightly that I can feel the slight tremor in them.He is trying to stay calm. Trying.Jason is the first to move.He pulls a chair closer to my bed and sits down, his expression gentler than I have ever seen it. "Nova," he says quietly. "Tell us everything.""I... I do not know if I can." I stutter. "You do not have to remember it perfectly." He leans forward, resting his forearms on his knees. "Just tell us what you saw."I close my eyes.Immediately, the memories return. Not in order, and not complete.Just broken pieces floating through the darkness. "I remember..." I whisper. "My mother was crying." The room becomes impossibly still. "I could not understand why. My bro
CHAPTER 125 CASSIAN'S POVHospitals have a way of making time meaningless. Minutes stretch into hours, and hours blur into an endless cycle of footsteps, whispered conversations, and the rhythmic beeping of monitors that remind you someone is still fighting.Nova has not opened her eyes in twelve hours. Twelve hours since she collapsed in my arms inside that ranger's cabin.Twelve hours since she whispered my name like she was remembering how it sounds.I have not left her side once.Jason stands at the foot of the bed, reading through pages of notes for what feels like the tenth time. His brow furrows deeper with every page he turns."Well?" I finally ask.He looks up. "Physically, she is fine." I exhale a breath I had not realized I was holding. He does not let that last long. "But..."There is always a but. Jason closes the folder."Her brain is doing something I have never seen before."I frown. "The healing ritual did not erase her memories. It... disconnected them." He searche
CHAPTER 124NOVA'S POV The first raindrop hits my cheek just as I look up. The second splatters against the windshield of the patrol jeep. Within seconds, the sky opens. Sheets of rain crash through the forest, turning the narrow dirt road into a river of mud.I barely have time to curse before the windshield wipers begin struggling to keep up. "This came out of nowhere," I mutter.Cassian glances toward the dark clouds rolling over the mountains. "It was not supposed to reach us until tonight."Thunder cracks overhead. The sound echoes through the valley, and another flash of lightning illuminates the trees.I instinctively flinch. Cassian slows the vehicle."The road is flooding."I lean forward, trying to see through the curtain of rain. "Can we make it back?"His jaw tightens. "Not safely."My fingers dig into my palm. Maybe I have become so fucking obsessed with knowing who I am, that I am forgetting how I am supposed to act. I am putting him at too many risks. It is not fuckin
CHAPTER TWO.Nova’s POVCassian had taken me in while his men worked on my car.Kept me in a room that I haven’t had the privilege of exploring. I had assignments to do. Things to take pictures of. Documentary to film.That was what brought me to the dessert.I held my camera tightly with my elbow
CHAPTER ONE.Nova’s POVThis evening has a cruel sense of humor. I realize that just as my car starts moving slowly, pushing me forward with every gallop.I watch as my car dies the way every bad relationship I’ve ever had does—loud, dramatic, and right when I need it least.Steam curls from the ho
CHAPTER FOUR.Nova’s POVI should have ran when I had the chance.Cassian hasn’t said it, but I can feel it in the way he won’t meet my eyes, the way his jaw works like he’s chewing down on something. Every step he takes toward the clubhouse feels final. Heavy. Like he is dragging me into the kind
CHAPTER THREE.Nova’s POVThe night feels wrong.I don’t know how else to describe it. The desert is supposed to have noise crickets, wind skimming over dry brush, the occasional things. Instead, it’s dead quiet, the kind of silence that prickles my skin and gives me goosebumps.Cassian walks ahea







