LOGIN~DAMIEN~The first thing I notice when I get to the training forest is the full moon hanging high in the sky…. bright, cold, and unforgiving.Its silver light spills across the training forest, turning everything into shadows and sharp edges. Every tree, every movement, every breath feels exposed, watched, and judged.I stand still, my senses stretched to their limit, every nerve alive, every instinct screaming.Beside me, Gabriel is silent—but I can feel it.His tension. His anger. His fear.Then, I feel her.A sharp, fragile pulse through the bond….weak, but alive.My heart slams violently against my chest.Holly.Before I can even process it fully, the air shifts, and he appears.Nicholas is stepping out from the shadows like he owns the night itself.And he’s not alone.My entire body goes rigid.Because she’s there.Holly is in his arms.Her body looks smaller… fragile… drained. Her skin pale under the moonlight, her movements sluggish like she doesn’t have the strength to fight
~DAMIEN~Packing doesn’t take long.Gabriel and I move in silence at first, the tension between us still there… still raw… but different now.It's focused and purposeful now.I grab what I need—clothes, weapons, a few essentials. Nothing unnecessary.This isn’t a trip.This is war.Gabriel finally breaks the silence.“What’s the plan?” he asks.I zip up my bag, my movements calm.“We go to him,” I say simply.“That’s it?” he frowns.“That’s it.”He exhales sharply.“He’s expecting us,” he tells me.“I know.”“That means it’s a trap,” Gabriel adds.I glance at him. “Of course it is.”“And you’re still walking into it?” he presses, his voice tightening.I hold his gaze. “Would you rather I don’t?”His eyes flash. “That’s not what I’m saying.”“Then say what you mean.”He pauses.Then, quieter, and rougher….“I’m saying… we don’t know what he’s already done.”The words hang heavy between us.I don’t respond immediately, because I do know.Or at least… I know Ni
~HOLLY~I don’t know how long I stay like that on the floor, crying, shaking and breaking.Time feels… wrong here. Like it stretches and bends just to make everything hurt longer.At some point, my body gives in.The tears slow, and my breathing steadies just enough.And exhaustion drags me under.~~~I see darkness and it feels alive.It wraps around me, not cold like the castle, but heavy, thick, and pressing.Then, it hits me.A sharp, violent pull in my chest, and I gasp.My hand flies to my heart, fingers digging into my skin like I can hold it together.“What… what is that…?” I whisper, my voice echoing strangely in the void.It’s not pain.It’s something deeper…..raw and burning anger.It crashes into me first, sudden and explosive.Fury so intense it makes my knees buckle.My breath stutters as it floods through me like it belongs there.But it doesn’t.It’s not mine.“I…” I shake my head, disoriented. “This isn’t….”Then comes the next wave.Desire.I
~HOLLY~I wake up with a sharp gasp, my body jolting upright before my mind even catches up.My heart is racing too fast, too loud…..like it’s trying to break out of my chest.Where am I?The thought slams into me as I throw the covers off and stumble out of the bed. My feet hit the cold floor, and I spin around wildly, panic already clawing its way up my throat.“How did I get here…?” My voice comes out shaky, barely above a whisper.I press my hand to my head, trying to remember…..trying to piece it together.The hotel. Gabriel. The darkness. That hand….My breath hitches violently.No. No, no, no.I look around quickly, my eyes struggling to adjust to the dimness of the room. It’s… beautiful. Painfully so. Elegant furniture, intricate carvings, soft fabrics, everything carefully placed like something out of a dream.But it feels wrong, cold and empty.Like a cage dressed as a palace.Fear tightens around my chest.I take a step back, then another, turning
Hours pass.Hours of pacing, thinking, breaking, rebuilding, breaking again.The sky shifts slowly outside, darkness creeping in, and Gabriel is still there, still trapped in his own head, still fighting a war inside himself.“Go back.”“Don’t go back.”“Tell him.”“Don’t tell him.”“Handle it alone.”“You can’t handle it alone.”His body aches. His wounds burn. He knows the more time he wastes, the more time Holly is prone to more danger.But he still can't bring himself to make a decision.Gabriel drags a hand through his hair, pacing harder now, his steps uneven, restless. He stops abruptly, staring at the wall like he can see through it.“Think!” he snaps at himself harshly. “There has to be another way… there has to be something.” His mind flashes with images of the mountains, of a place he barely knows but has heard about—cold, ruthless, controlled by power. Nicholas’ territory. Nicholas’ rules.“You go there alone… you die,” Gabriel mutters bitterly. He lets out a broken laug
~DAMIEN~The knock on my door is soft and hesitant.I barely register it at first, too buried in my thoughts, but it comes again. Louder this time.“Daddy?”It's Ella, who something in her voice pulls me upright instantly.“Come in,” I call, already swinging my legs off the bed.The door creaks open, and she steps in slowly, clutching the hem of her nightshirt. Her brows are drawn together, her lips pressed into a thin, uneasy line.“I can’t find Holly.”My heart stutters.“What do you mean you can’t find her?” I ask, sharper than I intend.“I checked her room,” Ella says quickly, her words tumbling over each other. “She’s not there. I looked upstairs too… and in the kitchen. I thought maybe she couldn’t sleep.” She hesitates, then adds in a smaller voice, “I wanted to talk to her about you both. You know… girl stuff.”A cold weight settles in my chest.I’m already moving before she finishes speaking.“Stay in your room,” I tell her as I brush past, my voice tig







