02

Kessa

I woke to the muffled sound of someone sobbing.

"Kessa... please, please wake up..." I heard the voice say.

My eyes fluttered open to a washed-out ceiling and the faint antiseptic smell of the pack infirmary. When I turned my head, pain didn't shoot through me like I expected. I didn't feel broken. I didn't feel bruised. I didn't even feel sore.

I felt... more alive than I've felt in years.

"Mia?" I whispered as I took in the figure beside me.

Her head snapped up. Her brown eyes widened and flooded with relief before she launched herself onto me, nearly knocking the breath from my lungs.

"Oh, Goddess...Kessa! You're awake! You're actually awake!" She pulled back, wiping her tears with shaky hands. "I thought you were gone. We all thought you—"

"Died," I finished for her.

Because I should have.

I should have shattered at the bottom of that cliff. I should have been buried under a blanket of snow and ice.

But I wasn't.

And that truth made me feel like I was reborn.

"Mia," I said quietly, "how long have I been out?"

"Three days." Her voice cracked. "They found you at the base of the cliff with no broken bones, no frostbite, nothing except a faint bruise on your shoulder. They brought you here and you just... wouldn't wake up."

Three days.

Three days of darkness.

Three days of floating somewhere between death and life.

"I'm fine," I murmured, still stunned at how true those words felt. "I shouldn't be, but... I'm fine."

Mia sniffled. "I'm so glad you're alive."

I squeezed her fingers, grounding myself. She was the only friend I had left. The only one who hadn't stabbed me in the back, slept with my mate, or pretended to love me while quietly wishing for my downfall.

Mia's expression changed, and I saw anger replace her tears. "Do you want to know who didn't even come to see you?"

"Your father," she added before I could ask who. "He forbade your mother from coming, too."

My heart sank.

"He told her and everyone else that you survived only because you're too weak to even die properly." Mia's fists clenched. "He said if you had been killed, the pack would finally have peace."

I closed my eyes, letting the words settle in my heart. They didn't  break me. Instead, they fueled something inside me. Something sharper than any pain.

"He really said that?" I asked quietly.

"Loud enough for anyone with ears to hear," Mia spat. "Your mother cried, Kess. She actually cried. But she didn't come. She obeyed him. She always does."

That hurt more than seeing Quinn and Fiona together in bed.

My own mother couldn't defy him, not even for me.

Mia's expression softened. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you, but you deserve the truth."

I nodded. "Thank you. For staying. For being here."

"Of course I stayed," she said fiercely. "You're my family."

The words warmed something inside me, but beneath that warmth, something else thrummed.

It was determination. Whoever pushed me wanted me dead. Someone followed me to that cliff, knowing I was broken, vulnerable, and alone and that someone had whispered in my ear before shoving me into darkness.

"You should have never done it." I replayed those exact words in my head.

Never done what?

Have you never been born?

Never confronted Dylan?

Never seen Quinn's betrayal?

Almost everyone in my life had a reason to want me gone.

My father.

Dylan.

Fiona.

Quinn.

Even pack elders who saw me as a threat to tradition.

A chill ran down my spine but not from fear but anger.

And I wanted answers.

Before I could ask Mia more, the door swung open, and our pack doctor, Dr. Lennard stepped inside. His eyes widened when he saw me sitting upright.

"You're awake." He sounded startled. "Incredible. It's truly incredible."

He hurried to my bedside with his tablet, flipping through charts. "We ran tests for internal injuries, concussion, fractured bones and—." He looked up, baffled. "You're completely fine. Not a single abnormality. Your body is in perfect condition."

"That's impossible," I murmured.

He shook his head. "No, Kessa. It is miraculous."

"Can I leave?" I asked.

Dr. Lennard blinked. "Well... yes. There's nothing medically keeping you here."

I turned to Mia.

"Please take me somewhere."

She frowned. "Where?"

"Back to the cliff."

Her eyes widened. "Kess, why would you want to go back there?"

"Because someone tried to kill me," I said simply. "And I'm not leaving it alone."

Mia stared at me for a long moment. Then she nodded.

"Okay. Get dressed."

—

The drive through the forest was silent except for the crunch of snow under tires. Everything looked peaceful. The cliff loomed ahead, its jagged rocks and frozen river waiting at the bottom.

I stepped out of Mia's car, the icy wind whipping at my hair. Standing here felt surreal, like visiting my own grave.

"Are you sure about this?" Mia whispered.

"Yes."

I walked slowly, looking  for footprints, claw marks, or anything that would give me the answer I needed. But my eyes landed on nothing.

Of course, the killer wouldn't make it easy.

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to summon the scent that had been there.

But the wind had stolen it.

I groaned, hating the fact that I had hit a dead end. Despite how annoying it was, I wasn't going to back down. Neither am I going to sit quietly and wait for them to try again.

"We'll find out who did it," Mia said gently.

"I know," I said, surprising myself with the strength in my voice. "I won't stop until I do."

"Let's go to my house," Mia said quietly.

I nodded, and she led me back to the car.

Her house was warm and cosy. I'd always loved it here. It was everything my own home wasn't. Peaceful and Loving.

The minute we stepped inside, her mother burst into the living room.

"Mia! Thank goodness you're back!" she cried. Then her eyes landed on me, and she smiled. "Kessa, you're  awake."

I was about to reply when Mia's  father walked into the leaving room. "You need to hurry, Mia. The reservation is in twenty minutes."

Mia blanched. "Reservation for what?"

Her mother clasped her hands excitedly. "Your blind date, darling! At the high-end restaurant near the pack house. He's a wonderful young man, an Alpha from the Silverpine Pack."

Mia groaned. "Mom, no. I can't. I told you I'm not interested in—"

Her mother waved a hand. "Nonsense. You'll love him. Now go get dressed—"

"I can't go," Mia blurted. "I... I already—"

Her father narrowed his eyes. "Mia."

"Fine," she said."I will go."

Mia's mother smiled. "Hurry up, you don't have much time."

We headed to her room, and the minute we stepped inside, I spoke up.

"Why didn't you tell them that you've been marked by someone else?"

"My parents wouldn't understand. They don't want me to get married to a regular wolf. He has to be an alpha."

"That's..."

"Sad," she continued. "I know."

"What're you going to do now?"

She was silent for a while, and then her eyes widened. "There's actually a way to escape this date."

"You're not planning to elope, are you?"

"No," Mia said. "My plan involves you,"

"Me... how?"

"I know it's wrong asking this from you, especially after what you've been through," she whispered. "But please, kess, can you go in my place?"

As she said those words, I realized a blind date was just what I needed.

It was the perfect  way to observe.

To gather information and hunt for the person who tried to kill me.

Slowly, a smile touched my lips.

"Fine," I said. "I'll go."