Ron’s POVThe fire crackled in the center of the cold stone chamber, casting flickering shadows on the faces of the Elders seated around the long table. Smoke from the ceremonial incense twisted in the air like warning signs—thick, pungent, and heavy with unease.I stood at the head of the chamber, hands folded behind my back, jaw clenched as the last of the scouts delivered his report.“She shifted,” the scout said. “The Banished girl Rex. They thought she was dead… and I was just about to leave when she came back. Alive. Then she shifted right after.”The room fell into suffocating silence. But he didn’t stop.“She completed the transition without issue. And it wasn’t just any shift. The earth burned, power shook the forest, and the moon itself responded. Her wolf it’s nothing we’ve ever seen before. Towering, glowing, powerful. Easily the size of an Alpha.”I stared at him for a beat. “Are you done now?”He nodded once, eyes lowered.I closed my own briefly. “Damn it, Rex.”“So the
Rex’s POV — The world still glowed faintly when I opened my eyes fully. The brilliant light had faded, but its echo remained—humming just beneath my skin, steady and sure, like a river that had finally found its path. I stood there, cloaked in Aries' shirt, the warmth of his body still lingering in the fabric. My legs trembled, but I planted my feet and squared my shoulders. Around me, the ritual circle was charred, the symbols burned deep into the earth, still pulsing faintly like they knew what had just happened. I had shifted. I had returned. And I was still me. Aries stood in front of me, his eyes locked on mine like I was both the most fragile and the most terrifying thing he’d ever seen. His gaze glistened with unshed tears and emotions I couldn’t name—but I knew he was holding it all in for my sake. I had whispered those words—I’m not done yet—but even as they left me, my body began to sway. The shift had taken everything I had… and maybe more. If I hadn’t come back whe
Aries' POVI didn’t move. I couldn’t move.Her voice echoed in my head like a ghost across the shattered pieces of my world—faint, fragile, but real.“Hey.”One word. That was all it took for my breath to hitch, for my heart to stutter like it was relearning how to beat.For a moment, I thought it was grief playing cruel tricks. That my desperation had finally cracked me open. That I’d imagined it, conjured her voice in my head like a hallucination. That my refusal to let go had become delusion.But then I saw them.Her eyes. Those storm-filled, soul-cutting eyes fluttered open. Slow. Hesitant. But unmistakably hers.It was real. Like a whisper peeling through layers of silence.“Rex…?” I choked out, unsure if I even dared believe it.Her lips moved again. Slower this time, but they moved.“Hey,” she repeated—hoarse, raw, but whole.My knees buckled. I dropped to the ground beside her, my hands reaching for hers as if her touch was the only anchor I had left. My fingers clutched hers,
Darkness.That was the first thing that greeted me.It was everywhere—silent, still.Not cold. Not warm. Just… empty.Like the pause between heartbeats.The moment before a storm breaks.The last thing I remembered was lying inside the circle.The shift—that was supposed to save me.I felt it coming… right before I slipped into whatever this was.I wasn’t floating or falling. I just was.For a second, I thought this might be death. It was peaceful—comforting, even. But that wasn’t me.Not when people were still waiting for me.Not when he was still waiting.And then—I felt it.A tug.Like a thread tied deep in my core was pulling me back.A heartbeat followed.Weak. Faint. Barely there.But mine.And that was enough for me to know:I wasn’t gone. Not yet.If there was a way into this place… there had to be a way out.“Ria?” I whispered into the void.No response.“Ria…” I called again, louder this time. “Where are you?”“I’m here,” came her voice—soft and distant.It echoed around me,
She still hadn’t moved.Not in seconds.And those seconds stretched into minutes—agonizing, endless minutes—without even the faintest breath.I held her tighter, cradling her body as though my warmth could defy death. Her skin was still warm. Her scent still lingered. But no pulse… no flutter beneath her chest. Just stillness.“Rex…” I whispered her name like a sacred chant, again and again, each syllable tearing my throat apart. Maybe if I said it enough, I could call her back. Maybe she'd hear me—somewhere out there—and come home.I bowed my head, pressing my forehead to hers, holding her like gravity alone could keep her tethered to this world. To me.“It was supposed to work,” Rose murmured behind me, her voice hoarse, disbelief cracking through every word. “She was fighting.”“She still is,” I growled, not looking up, my voice shaking with the lie I desperately needed to believe. “She has to be…”No one answered. No one corrected me. Maybe they were too afraid. Afraid I’d break m
Aries PovThe room felt colder than ever tonight.I stood by the window, watching the moon rise—round, silver, quiet. It should have brought comfort. Our supposed source of strength. But tonight, it only reminded me how powerless I truly was.My gaze drifted to Rex’s sleeping form, and my heart clenched at what tonight might mean for her… for us.The circle for the shift had been prepared. Robin and the Banished warriors helped draw the ancient runes—symbols passed down through their tribe, ones said to deepen the bond between wolf and soul. Crystals lined the perimeter, pulsing softly with energy. The thick scent of sacred herbs hung in the air, burning in my lungs with every breath.My mother had checked the perimeter herself. Still, nothing felt enough.“She’s not ready,” I muttered as I crouched down, adjusting the circle’s pattern. “Not when she’s like this. Not when she’s already…”“Fading?” Julian said quietly, kneeling beside me.I didn’t respond. I didn’t need to. The word al