LOGINRainThe strangest part about everything that happened was that I had been happy.When I looked back on those days now, it almost felt wrong to admit it.El had nearly destroyed all of us. He had manipulated people, hurt Aaron, torn friendships apart, and turned our lives into a nightmare. Yet after the wild wolf ripped him out of Aaron's body and finally ended his hold over us, a weight seemed to disappear from my shoulders.For the first time in what felt like forever, I could breathe.The future no longer seemed terrifying.The constant fear was gone. Yet somehow, most of that peace came from the creature everyone else feared.The wild wolf looked like something out of a nightmare. It was enormous, covered in dark spikes, with glowing yellow eyes that could make even the bravest wolf nervous.Yet whenever I was with it, I felt safe.Not safe because it would protect me, although I knew it would.Safe because being near it made the world quieter.The anger inside me faded. The hurt
MalcolmThree days after Rain returned, Ryan remained exactly the same. His body didn't decay but he was cold as ice with no pulse At some point, I stopped expecting miracles every time I walked into his room.The first day after Rain's rebirth, everyone had convinced themselves it was only a matter of time before Ryan woke up too. It seemed logical. Rain had died and somehow found her way back. The wild wolf had returned with her. Surely Ryan couldn't be far behind.But every hour that passed chipped away at that hope.His condition never improved. His eyes never opened. His breathing never changed.The occasional flicker of shadows beneath his skin still appeared from time to time, but nobody understood what it meant. It wasn't enough to tell us whether he was alive, dead, trapped, or something in between.All it did was keep us guessing.Unfortunately, the rest of Septha wasn't interested in waiting for answers.The kingdom was becoming more unstable with every passing day.The cr
MalcolmBy sunset, my head felt like it was going to explode.Ever since Rain appeared with the wild wolf, the chaos outside Aaron's house had only grown worse.More wolves kept arriving.More questions kept coming.Nobody seemed satisfied with the answers they were given.Not that we had many answers to offer.I stood on the front porch, staring out at the crowd gathered across the field.Hundreds of wolves were still there.Some sat in groups discussing what they had witnessed.Others argued loudly about what Rain's return meant.A few simply stood staring toward the house as if they expected another miracle to happen at any moment.I honestly couldn't blame them.A day ago, I would have called anyone insane for suggesting somebody could come back from the dead.Now I wasn't so sure about anything anymore.The front door opened behind me.Lydia stepped outside carrying a cup of coffee.She handed it to me.I accepted it gratefully."Thanks.""You look terrible."I laughed weakly."I
MalcolmI nearly knocked Aaron over trying to get past him."Malcolm, what happened?" he shouted as I rushed through the hallway.I didn't stop."Rain!"The name came out before I could stop it.Aaron's eyes widened."What?"By then Lydia had already caught up behind me."She's alive!"The second those words left her mouth, everyone in the house froze.Aaron stared at her. Hannah stared at her.Even Priscilla, who had been sitting quietly in the corner all morning, shot to her feet.For a moment, nobody moved. Then everyone moved at once.We hurried toward the room where Rain's body had been placed.Hope surged through me so strongly that it almost hurt.Please. Please let this be true. I reached the room first and threw open the door.Then I stopped. The bed was empty. My heart dropped.The blankets had been pushed aside. The room itself was completely vacant. Rain was gone. Aaron appeared beside me. "What the hell?"Lydia pushed past both of us. "I saw her!"The panic in her voice
MalcolmI barely slept.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Ryan's face.Every time I drifted off, I heard my own voice agreeing to Kade's plan.By morning, I felt exhausted. Not physically. Emotionally.The kind of exhaustion that settled deep in your chest and refused to leave.I was sitting alone in Aaron's living room when shouting erupted outside.At first I ignored it.People had been gathering near the house since sunrise. News of Ryan's death had spread across Septha overnight, and wolves were arriving by the hour.I figured it was more grieving. More questions. More people looking for answers I didn't have.Then the shouting grew louder. And louder.Soon it became impossible to ignore.I stood and walked toward the window, but the sight outside made my stomach drop.Hundreds of wolves filled the grounds surrounding the house.Some stood on rooftops. Others crowded the streets. More were still arriving.The crowd stretched farther than I could see."What is this?" I muttered.A
MalcolmThe room felt different now.Earlier, there had still been hope. Desperate, fragile hope, but hope nonetheless. Everyone had been waiting for Ryan and Rain to wake up, even if nobody wanted to admit it out loud.Now that hope was gone.The healers had examined them several times throughout the day, hoping they had missed something, but each examination ended the same way. No pulse. No breathing. No sign of life.Ryan and Rain were dead.Even after hearing it over and over again, I still couldn't make myself believe it.My eyes kept drifting toward Ryan's bed.He looked peaceful, almost like he was sleeping after one of his exhausting training sessions. If I stared long enough, I could almost convince myself that he would open his eyes and complain about everyone crowding around him.But he never did.Neither did Rain.Nobody in the room seemed to know what to say. Lydia sat quietly beside Rain's bed, holding a tissue in her hands that was already soaked through from tears. Han
MalcolmKade stood silently near the wall. For once, he wasn't arguing. He wasn't mocking me. He wasn't pushing. He simply waited for my decision.That scared me more than anything.Because it meant he truly believed his plan was their only chance.Aaron broke the silence first."What happens if we
MalcolmNobody spoke for several seconds after Kade's statement. An hour had passed, Lydia had spent most of her time checking on Ryan and Rain and also cursing Hannah out for being complacent about her sister's predicament. And Priscilla… Well… Priscilla just sat outside the room without saying
MalcolmA week.It had been a whole week since El was destroyed.A week since that monstrous wild wolf had torn into Aaron and somehow pulled the blue corruption out of him without killing him.A week since Aaron had woken up confused, alive, and completely free of El's influence.A week since I th
RainThe moment I gave the command, the giant wolf moved.It was so fast that even Aaron looked caught off guard.One second he was standing there staring at me, and the next, the wolf slammed into him with enough force to shake the ground beneath us.Aaron crashed hard against the earth.The wolf







