Chapter 23: Shadows of the Past. Anna POV

I was so confused and angry that I walked out of Lucas' quarters. Even though the cool night air felt like a slap, it couldn't stop the tempest that was growing inside of me. I walked with hard feet on the dirt road, my hands locked at my sides.

After everything, how could he just stand there and stay silent? His penetrating look still haunted me, and my heart hammered with a mixture of fear and rage. 

The dim moonlight showed the wooden walls of the modest house Leo had built, dark and inhospitable. I took a deep breath to steady myself as I paused. I couldn't allow Maia to see me in this state; therefore, there was no more place for crying. 

I pushed the door open and saw her sewing patches into an old blanket while sitting cross-legged on the floor. Beside her, the gentle glimmer of a lantern flickered, making dancing shadows on the walls. 

"Anna!" Maia's face brightened, but as soon as she saw my answer, her grin vanished. "What's the matter?" 

"Nothing," I answered sharply and quickly. I threw my scarf on the chair and shut the door behind me. 

"Stop giving me that." She put the cover down and stood looking at me with her arms crossed. "What happened?" 

"Do you believe he will tell?" With hardly more than a whisper, I asked. 

Maia's frown softened as she met my eyes, looking up from the ripped piece of fabric she was sewing. "Lucas? I'm not sure. He is tough to read."

Leaning against the wall of the modest home Leo had built years before I let out a sigh. Like the uneasiness that was twisting inside of me, the wooden planks felt cold against my back. I kept thinking about the scene—Lucas catching me in Oliver's rooms, his glaring eyes, his agonizing silence. 

I mumbled, "I feel like I'm walking on a thread." 

"Look, Anna, we'll work this out. You're not by yourself in this." Maia remarked, trying to calm me down. 

Although her words were kind, they were unable to calm the storm that was inside of me. 

Since Leo's passing, the house had been eerily silent. Since then, Maia had stayed here, unwilling to leave me in my sorrow. But I wanted something more permanent tonight. 

"Maia," I said, my voice shaking a little. 

She brushed a lock of hair out of her face and said, "Yeah?" 

“Would you stay here? For good, I mean. Move in?"

She opened her eyes in shock. "Are you sure? I don't want to cause trouble or..."

"You're not a burden," I cut in, sounding more assertive than I had expected. "I need you here," I said. I can’t do this alone.” 

She smiled, her face relaxing into something maternal, something warm. “Of course, Anna. I’d be pleased to.” 

The night stretched on as we sat together, talking about everything and nothing at once. Maia related stories of her youth, her ambitions of leaving the pack one day, and her hatred for the suffocating weight Oliver put on everyone beneath him. 

However, I didn't share much. I felt as though my words were imprisoned behind walls that I wasn't prepared to break. 

“Do you ever feel like... you’re stuck in a nightmare you can’t wake up from?” I asked eventually, my voice shaking. 

Maia gazed at me, her face serious. "Every day." 

For a brief time, I felt less alone because of her openness, which soothed my raw feelings. 

Eventually, she cuddled up on the old couch with a blanket wrapped over her and fell asleep. I sat near the window and looked out into the dark woods outside. 

However, sleep refused to come. 

Every time I closed my eyes, I could see Leo's face and hear his words. 

When I last saw him living, he had said, "Anna, you have to be strong." However, how could I be? 

Tears burned at the corners of my eyes, and my chest tightened. I snatched my blanket and hurried out of the home before I knew what I was doing. 

As I went more into the darkness, the chilly forest air pricked my flesh. Above me, the branches of the great, motionless trees entwined like a canopy of judgment. 

Before I stopped at that tree, the one where the mark had appeared, I had no idea where I was going. Even though the glowing sign had long since faded and its surface was smooth, I could still feel its weight pressing down on me. 

Before I could stop the tears from running down my face, I fell to my knees. 

"Why?" With my voice breaking, I whispered. "Leo, why did you leave me?" 

Night didn't reply. 

My mind was filled with thoughts of Leo, his soft chuckle, his protective attitude, and the way he always seemed to know just the right thing to say to soothe me. He was my family, my only family, not only my support. 

And he was gone now. 

My cries reverberated across the forest as I sobbed more strongly. I said, "I don't know what to do," without addressing anyone in particular. "Without you, I'm lost." 

The leaves surrounding me were moving as the wind rose. I believed for a second that I heard something, a weak, short murmur. 

However, it was most likely the wind. 

I stayed there for what seemed like hours, wetting the ground with my tears and sinking my knees into the dirt. 

When I finally looked up, the stars overhead were starting to fade, the first glimpses of dawn seeping into the sky. I wiped my face, the weight in my chest lighter now, but not quite gone. 

“I’ll figure it out,” I answered softly, more to myself than anyone else. "I must."