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
We waited in silence, just me and Aries, curled up against each other—his arms steady, his warmth grounding. It felt like hours, but it was only ten minutes before the door creaked open and they all walked in.Lucy. Robin. Julian. Rose. Lily.It was time.Time to hear what they’d found. Time to face whatever hope or risk they brought with them.Aries helped me sit upright against the pillows. His hand hovered at my back like he was scared I’d fall apart again.“Alright,” he said, his voice firm but tired. “Now that everyone’s here, let’s hear it. Robin?”Robin stepped forward, eyes flickering to me, then to Lucy.“Well, Alpha… Elegida,” he began. “Back at the Banished camp, there was a woman—she wasn’t a witch, but she was good with spells. I remembered something she always said, and when I told Lucy, she agreed it might work.”“What did she say?” I asked, my voice dry but steady.“She always said: ‘A new shift has the power to unravel any and all spells.’ And since you haven’t fully
I hadn’t passed out again—not since the reunion with Rose, Julian, and everyone else. My eyes had stayed open, and I intended to keep it that way. It was the least I could do, knowing everyone was turning over every stone to get the globe out of me.Ria still hadn’t spoken, but I could feel her presence inside me now, quiet but steady. And that gave me hope—hope that she was okay, that we were okay.Robin had visited after the others left. Like everyone else, he blamed himself—for not protecting me, for Maron’s death. I had to make him understand: it wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t any of theirs. The blame belonged to Ron, and Ron alone.I hadn’t gone to Maron’s grave yet, but it would be the first place I visited once I could get out of this bed. I’d been here a day now, and Aries told me I could finally move back to our room this morning. I was sitting up, waiting for him to come take me there—to take me home.I was still being drained. I could feel it, like a slow leak in my soul. Ever
Ron’s POVThe stench of smoke still hung in the air—thick, bitter, and suffocating. The taste of failure.I stood in the ruins of the eastern wing, fists clenched so tight my claws cut into my own skin. Blood dripped, unnoticed, onto the cracked stone floor. But even that pain didn’t come close to the fury simmering in my chest.They took her.They took Rex.I could still feel the faint echo of her power lingering in the walls. She was here—chained, broken, mine. I was so close. So damn close to having her the way she was meant to be.Now the cell was empty. Chains shattered. Blood dried. And the air was tainted with the scent of that cursed Alpha—Aries.A roar tore out of me, ripping through the air. The walls trembled, dust raining down from above.Two guards froze at the entrance, too afraid to meet my eyes.“You let them in,” I growled, my voice low, seething with venom. “You let them take her right from under your nose.”One of them dared to speak—tried to explain.“They came dur