PTE

EN'S

ent she stepped o

y chest. Pain, laced with something sharper than longing. It burned thr

war maps forgotten. The air in the war room thic

s tightly and closing my eyes in frus

lifted his hea

wer him, feeling the pain in my c

. "That's suicide. If she gets caught then..." He

get caught. "She's not that foolish." I

d to the map. "Are you going after her

I muttered, not

ly. "You always do when it's abou

doesn't mean I should." I gro

away. Away from her. Or away from the truth.

s. The guards parted as I passed, no one daring to speak. I was Alpha, but rig

me, sensing my unrest. I barely saddled him before

The wind whispered through the trees, brushing against my skin like a warning. M

ose. I cou

rs, scorched doorframes, cracked windows staring out like hollow

y horse and moved t

ight and pine. Smoke and fire. Her. It clung to the air, fresh and

my mind: 'You always d

oots crunching over old ash and shattered glass. Th

nd the sigil. My father's secret. The secr

rnal wa

s the

host of her presence still alive in the a

sing my eyes and breathing he

d. His last words, spoken in fury and des

ay, she'll awaken t

underst

now

mpty. She'd taken it all. The scrolls. The coded g

who it was, without seeing him

ooking at me carefully. I can feel his gaze on

" I replied honestly, because I s

s he stepped beside me. "You chose to st

enteen. What could I have done?" I tried to reason w

for her. You were Alpha even then." He says and

of the window, trying to catch even

asks, stopping me

Because the truth

time, the fea

he wind twist through the broken estate. Somewhere out ther

blood.

to the wind, wishing I had chos

ad cho

tween us would