I couldn't tell you how long we talked in the center of that field, but I could tell you that as my brother uttered those words, it felt like the world stopped to listen. Elijah and I were staring at each other, and I searched his face. I waited for him to laugh and say it was a joke, but the complexities in his expression warned me otherwise. Not that I thought he'd ever joke about mom so easily, but the information felt too coincidental or insane. Then again, the mark felt like insanity too. "... Mom had this? You're sure?" I asked. I had never heard of mom bearing a mark like that, but how could I judge? I hadn't known of mine either. I was walking forward to retrieve my arrows, hands surprisingly less shaky after my furious practice. Some of the anger had left my bones. As I scooped up a few more, I glanced back at Elijah. He was taking his time answering, but he nodded. His face was grave. "You were too young to remember but I'm the one who found her body. She ... used to ha

"I...think it should be good news to everyone, sir." I answered, treading carefully with how I addressed him. I could feel everyone's eyes on me and it was making me self-conscious as I stood there, keeping my expression schooled. I felt like I had possibly blurted out something that offended the Alpha, but it was kind of tough shit considering he had bluntly brushed me off just the previous morning. I kept that in mind as I kept talking. A frown fitting on my lips. "Of course, I'm happy he's awake, not only is he your Beta, but he saved my life and Timmy's remember?" I answered him with my chin held high, not backing away from his public displeasure. A few murmurs of agreement went through the crowd, before a man I faintly recognized as the same one who complimented me the other day came forward. "I have to agree with the girly, I think we all miss your sidekick! He's always in a good mood and gives me snacks, ya know?" He laughed, and the tension deflated from the air. A few mo

"I..." My tongue fell flat as I hesitated to describe what I was seeing. Honestly, I thought of possibly shutting up altogether. But as Morax touched the small of my back, I sucked up my courage. I didn't want to come off as crazy or delusional, but my eyes weren't deceiving me. That little light was still dancing on my brother's shoulder. But I had no idea what it was. Still, I could sense energy about it. The scent that flowed from the red embers told me that it was alive. It twirled around like it was dancing. A petal in a world that couldn't be seen by the naked eye. "... You're going to think I'm crazy, but there's a red light. It's sitting on Elijah's shoulder right now, I saw it earlier too. It was in the forest before I started hallucinating that we left." I knew I sounded insane, even as the words left my lips. But as I turned to peek at my unclaimed mate, he wasn't looking at me with judgment. His handsome face was scrunched in thought as if he was racking his brain. El

Coming home should have been rewarding, welcoming even. But as I stood there, why did I feel like I was lost in the background? I watched as the celebrations took place, as the villagers gathered around in rowdy crowds of excitement at our victory and safe return. Alpha Morax held up the relic for all of them to see. Food and drink were given among the masses, laughter filling the air. Wood that was being used to rebuild cottages from the fire had been repurposed as dance floors, and I had never seen the Aconite Clan so lively. So why, even though I was a key part of our almost unblemished victory, was I standing off to the side? While they all celebrated… her. I watched as Angelica took the center of the field, surrounded by people who were shocked and delighted to see she was still alive and well. Her hair was laced with flowers and threaded like silken rope throughout her strands. While I couldn’t fault them for being happy, what stung the most was that Morax was standing tall

I reached out to touch her, but Miqella’s hand held mine. He was seizing it in mid-air as my watery gaze landed on his somber face. My limbs were heavy and rigid like a statue, my digits locked inside his palm.“You can’t touch her, you’ll contaminate the evidence.” He said the words heavily, and they sat in my mind, drenching it with sorrow. She wasn’t a person anymore. She was just evidence. The leftovers of someone’s crime.Though, I knew who did it. My mind just didn’t want to believe it. I wanted to jump to improbable scenarios of someone coming through the window and hurting her, to somehow explain Brandon’s absence. But my nose didn’t lie.Even if my thoughts did.“I’m sorry,” I whispered, my hand shaking when Miqella’s cold touch released my palm. It fell limp to my side.“I…should have believed you and Morax, I… trusted him, I never thought…” My thoughts were getting hard to communicate. Everything was racing a mile a minute. My regrets, my frustrations, and everything from t