MasukVioletI stood right beside Dante, my hand locked tightly in his. Neither of us spoke a single word. There was simply nothing left to say.The entire pack had gathered outside on the grass. Everyone wore solid black clothing, and the faces I saw every single day looked completely different today. Nobody smiled. Nobody even whispered. Even the usually loud children stayed pressed close against their parents' sides, sensing the heavy grief in the air.I looked down at the plain wooden coffin one last time. Alex was really gone. It still didn't feel real to me.Dante squeezed my fingers, breaking the silence. "You okay?" he asked quietly.I nodded my head, but the truth came out anyway. "No," I whispered.He let out a slow, heavy breath. "Me neither," he replied.Silence settled heavily between us again.Bret stepped closer to us, his expression grim. "It's time," he said.Dante stared at the wooden coffin for a few more seconds before finally nodding. "Let's do it," he said.Four strong
violet The hallway was quiet. Too quiet. People were talking somewhere in the distance, but it all sounded far away and muffled, like I was underwater. I didn't pay attention to what they were saying. I just kept walking, one step after another, my body moving on autopilot while my mind was somewhere else entirely. Somehow, I ended up outside our bedroom. I stared at the door for a moment, trying to remember how I'd gotten there. I didn't even remember walking from Ron's room. I pushed the door open slowly. Dante was sitting on the edge of the bed, his elbows resting on his knees, his hands locked together so tightly his knuckles were white. He was staring at the floor like he'd forgotten how to move, like the world had stopped and he was stuck in this moment forever. He didn't even notice me at first. "Dante," I said softly. His head lifted slowly and his eyes met mine. They were empty. Not cold like I'd seen them before, not angry—just empty. Like someone had hollowed him out
Violet I didn't know how long we stayed there. One minute I was holding Ron, and the next I was crying so hard I couldn't even tell if the tears on my face were mine or his. He was shaking against me, his arms wrapped around my waist like if he let go, everything would become real. I didn't want to move. I didn't want to think. I didn't want to believe she was gone."I'm sorry," Ron said again, his voice rough and broken. "So damn sorry."I tightened my arms around him, pulling him closer. "Stop saying sorry.""I should've—" he started, but I cut him off."No.""I should've gone with the both of you.""No." I shook my head firmly, pressing my cheek against his. "Ron, no.""I should've stopped her." His voice cracked."You couldn't." I could feel him shaking, could feel the guilt pouring off him in waves. He pulled back slightly, his eyes searching mine for something—anything.."I could've tried," he said, and it sounded like a question. Like he was begging me to tell him he was wron
VioletThe balcony door was still swinging slightly in the cold wind when I finally stepped back inside the quiet corridor. Dante left early because he needed to be with his grandmother to.He didn't even wait for the sun to come up before rushing out of the estate compound in his dark SUV. I watched his red taillights disappear down the long driveway, leaving me entirely alone with a massive headache and a brain full of pure panic.I changed out of my ruined silk gala dress and pulled on a pair of oversized gray sweatpants and a thick black hoodie. My hands were still shaking from everything that happened, and the quietness of the place was honestly starting to make me feel completely claustrophobic.I really needed to talk to someone who actually knew how to handle a massive crisis without losing their cool. I left my bedroom and headed downstairs, wanting to meet Ron so we could discuss the security aftermath and figure out a plan for the council elders.The main grand staircase
DanteThe steam hung thick in the air, fogging the mirrors and turning the bathroom into a private sanctuary away from the accusing eyes and whispers that still echoed in my mind. I sat there on the closed toilet lid, elbows on my knees, face buried in my hands as the water pounded against Violet’s body. Her sobs had quieted into soft, broken hitches, but every one of them carved deeper into the hollow space where my heart used to be.Alex was gone. My little sister—bright, fierce, impossible Alex—was nothing but a cold shape under a sheet. And the pack wanted blood for it. They wanted *her* blood.I couldn’t let that happen. Not to Violet. Not after everything.The shower curtain rustled. I looked up.Violet stood there, water streaming down her naked body, her skin flushed pink from the heat. Her hair clung to her shoulders and breasts in dark, wet ropes. The blood was gone, but her eyes were still raw, red-rimmed, and desperate. She didn’t cover herself. She just looked at me like
DanteI ran down the hallway like a man possessed, the sound of my own heavy boots ringing in my ears. The hallways were choked with people from the pack, all of them whispering and looking at me with wide, terrified eyes.I pushed through the crowd filling the medical wing and stops moving when he sees the white sheet pulled over the figure on the table. My feet froze instantly to the cold linoleum floor, and the air left my lungs in one brutal rush.The shape underneath that thin fabric was completely unmistakable. It was small, completely still, and devoid of the vibrant life that usually defined my little sister.The pack doctor doesn't say a word to me as I stand there staring. He doesn't need to say anything because the total silence in the room tells me absolutely everything I need to know.Alex was gone. My little sister was lying dead on a metal table, and I felt like a massive part of my own chest had just been violently ripped out.My grandmother is already in the corner of
DanteI walked into the drawing room, already pissed off.My grandmother was sitting in her usual high-backed chair, looking like a queen waiting to pass judgment. She didn't even wait for me to sit down before she started."You are acting like a child, Dante," she said, the second I walked in. "Th
Violet’s POVI walked down the hallway, my heart still hammering against my ribs from that blow-up with Dante. My mind was a total mess, spinning with all the things I should have said and all the things I wished I could take back. I was halfway to the stairs when it suddenly hit me."Shoot," I mut
Violet's POV. "Alpha Dante?" My voice came out too small for my own good. A squeaky high-pitched tone that I could do nothing to control. If that kept happening he would find out faster than I would like. He tilted his head, watching me with gold-flecked onyx eyes. Is he going to turn? Luc
VIOLET'S POV"That's it, take five," Our instructor said, and I let out a sigh, as I reached the floor like a puddle of slime.I looked around to see that I was the first one on the floor not surprising... I'm the weakest one here.We had been running for hours. Not the dramatic kind with screaming







