LOGINBetsy’s POVEverything about this gent wrong. The air felt too tense. It was as if something was pressing down forcefully in me chest, making it hard to think or even to breath and my heart was pounding furiously and I thought it could burst.I stood in between Drake and Matteo. They are facing each other, neither of them willing to step back.I felt like things would take a wrong turn if I didn’t intervene.“Can you both stop this before it turns into a crazy bloodbath”, I said to them.Neither of them looked at me and it made me feel like I was nothing, like I wasn’t even there and it was the both of them and that pissed me off more than I was willing to admit.“If you both keep pushing yourselves, it’s not likely things will get fixed”, I tried again. I tried to move a bit but my legs felt very weak.Drake didn’t move but what I said must have gotten to him.He clenched his fists and then he moved very fast before I barely had time to react.“Drake”, I managed to say but it was to
Drake’s POVI moved faster even as I was trying to be calm and slow down.Every instinct in me was on edge, and my senses were stretched to the limit as I moved through the forest without giving it more thought. With how fast I moved, the trees were blurred as I passed them.The deeper I got, the stronger the feeling became.But it wasn’t quite steady, but at least I was feeling different.I gritted my teeth and increased my speed.“Hold on a little longer, Betsy,” I said softly under my breath.For a moment, I thought I heard her voice, but as I scanned the first, it was just my mind playing tricks on me.I knew something was wrong, but the feeling was worse now.I slowed down a bit as my instincts led me.I noticed subtle movement ahead. Before I could fully process it, my body reacted instantly.I stood completely still, and I tried to listen more carefully.Then I heard another sound, and it was a bit closer now.Without thinking twice, I moved toward the sound.I moved quickly, b
Matteo’s POVMy eyes were solely on her, watching her every move, and I saw every reaction she was giving without her even realizing it.She had grown stronger. Her willpower had grown stronger than the last time I had an encounter with her.I could see that clearly now. But strength alone didn’t matter here.What she really needed at this point was control. But right now….She was losing every ounce of control bit by bit.“Your resolve is cracking”, I said calmly, my eyes still fixed on her. “It’s not obvious to you yet, but it’s there”.“You’re not moving as fast as you were a few moments ago”, I continued.She looked at me, I’m sure you could have stabbed me to death if she had a chance.She didn’t reply, and that told me all I needed to know. She didn’t want to admit it to give me that satisfaction.But her silence didn’t hide the truth, it only confined what I already knew.I took a step closer to her. I moved slowly and deliberately, closing the small distance little by litt
Betsy’s POVI couldn’t stay at a place anymore. Standing there that way felt wrong, I felt like if I didn’t shift, something in me would take over before I realized what was happening. I was breathing very fast as the strange feeling kept building within me.It was stronger this time. It felt like I was fighting what was right under my skin.I tried to take a step backward, to my surprise, I moved.Then I took another step, trying to create a space between Matteo and me.I wanted to think.“Stay right there, don’t come any closer to me”, I said, my voice trembling no matter how hard I tried to be strong. “I mean everything I just said, Matteo, stay there”.He didn’t even respond to me; he just stood there watching me, like he had seen how things would play out before.“You’re trying to give me a little space”, he said calmly, all his attention on me. “But we both know that distance won’t help you one bit”.“Stay away from me”, I said to him, my voice harsh as I took another step backw
Nick’s POVThings were not normal yet, but the chaos had reduced drastically.I was scanning the area with my eyes. We had a lot of injured people, but we were pulling ourselves together.The thought of my sister filled my head, and I found it hard to concentrate.The air felt heavy and filled with tension; each of us felt it.Betsy was with him, and it put all of us on edge.“Let’s regroup”, I said, immediately raising my voice. “Let’s do a head count of those that are injured and those still strong to fight, I don’t want anyone to be unaccounted for”, I said to them.They nodded without hesitation and started doing as I ordered.One of them came up to me after a moment.“We’ve secured most of the place”, he said. “But we are still noticing some movement deeper inside the forest; it seems like his men pulled back on purpose”, the guard said.“Of course, this wasn’t a random attack but a trap”, I said firmly. “They wanted to scatter our formation and weaken us”.“This was planned very
Drake’s POVI tried to stay calm, but I couldn’t. The anger was still burning strongly inside me. It was sharp and made my chest tight, no matter how hard I tried to be calm.Nick’s hands were still on mine firmly; it was a reminder for me to think clearly before acting.“Think about this for a moment,” Nick said calmly. “You’re still quick to act. If you go rushing in like this again, we’ll be making a very big mistake”.I took a deep breath, clenching my teeth tightly as I tried to reason with him.“I know exactly what I’m doing”, I said to him. “All I can think of right now is her with him”, I said forcefully.“I want her right back, too”, Nick said softly. “That’s the reason I’m here, holding you back from acting rashly”.I took my eyes off him for a second as I scanned around the forest.The fighting was coming to an end as many of Matteo’s men were already retreating, and the volunteers from my pack were regrouping. Some tended to those who were injured, and the rest stood guard
Drake's POVThat afternoon was strenuous training.As we glided over the ice, the icy air of the rink nipped at my skin. The repeated whack of sticks hitting the puck, as well as the sound of skates slashing straight lines into the surface, reverberated all around us. The league was virtually tied
Author’s POVThough Monday morning had its usual schedule, nothing about it seemed perfectly natural.Though each of them had something different in their minds, they all left the house together.His jaw tight, Nick walked a little way ahead of the others with his hands firmly in his pockets. He se
Drake's POVFor a brief period after I had recounted everything to her, the space appeared too tight for both of us.Sitting on the side of her bed, Betsy looked at me as though she was attempting to reorganize every recollection she had of me. I stood a few feet away, not sure whether to retreat o
Drake's POVThe silence at the residence that morning struck me wrong.It was the sort of silence that dug against my chest and forbade me from breathing normally. Normally, weekends were noisy. There was always movement, even if no one was shouting. Nick is debating about a trifle. Peter was laugh







