LOGINAmber parked the car, but none of us got out immediately. We sat there for a few seconds, listening to the engine die.My heartbeat had become so loud that it almost drowned out everything else.Amber reached over and took my hand.“You remember what I told you?”I nodded.“Good.”Maltilda smiled at me.“No matter what they say in there… you are still our Lily. Do not break down.”I swallowed the lump in my throat.“I know.”The three of us stepped out together.The moment we reached the entrance, two guards approached us.“They’re waiting.”One of them pushed the large chamber doors open. The room was already full.Unlike the public verdict held after the festival, this one was quieter. Only members of the council, important families, and a handful of invited witnesses had been allowed inside.Even so… it still felt like every eye in the room landed on me.I lowered my head and followed Amber inside. As expected, my eyes first searched for Rex.He was seated beside his mother. He lo
Life in Raven had continued, but mine hadn’t. Ever since Rex left that day, everything inside me had gone quiet, even my wolf.I kept telling myself the same thing over and over.Move on, Lily.You have to move on.He deserved someone who didn’t begin your relationship with a lie. Someone who didn’t make him question every memory the two of you shared.I inhaled slowly. I wanted to be that someone, but I wasn’t.“I’ll move on.”The words sounded convincing, but I didn’t mean them, not one bit. My chest became so heavy so suddenly that I had to press a hand against it.“I can’t…”I whispered the truth before I could stop myself.“I can’t move on.”My wolf must also be curled up somewhere inside me, quietly carrying the same sadness. Our chances of being close to our mate were gone now.“Lily? It’s time for dinner.”Maltilda’s voice came from outside my room.“I’m not hungry.”“You’ve said that for three meals now.”I closed my eyes. I really didn’t have any appetite for food right now.
Rex hadn’t opened his bedroom door since he returned from Amber’s house, even when the room had become suffocating.He had all of Lily’s stuff scattered around him, just staring at them. The ribbon she had tied around his wrist weeks ago was still there.The half-written birthday letter he had hidden inside a drawer because he wanted to surprise her after the festival was also by his side.He had planned everything to be perfect, but all he could think about was the way she looked at him before walking away.“Maybe we should give each other space to heal from this.”Those words refused to leave his head.He sat on the floor beside his bed, his elbows resting on his knees while he buried his face in his palms.A knock came from outside.“Rex?”He didn’t answer. His mom had been knocking earlier, and now she was back.“Honey…”Paula sighed outside the door, still knocking.“I know you’re awake.”She leaned against the door.“You haven’t eaten since yesterday. You don’t even want to shou
Maltilda sat outside the house with a basket resting on her lap.The morning breeze carried the scent of fresh herbs through the small garden. Normally, this would have been one of her favorite parts of the day. She would hum to herself while separating leaves and roots for Amber before Lily came outside to keep her company.Today…It was just her, the following days had been weighing a lot on everyday and today was even a mixed of bitter and sweet , Amber still had to attend to patients even with everything going on , she had obligations to do so . She had gone to Raven Academy earlier today to pack her things while the students were still awake , she couldn’t bring herself to shed tears because she knew it wasn’t goodbye , it can’t be . But for now, she was just going to face the consequences of her actions, it’s not like she really had a choice. She carefully plucked another leaf from its stem before dropping it into the basket.A shadow suddenly fell across the herbs, it was a m
The festival had ended days ago, but the academy was still on break, leaving the halls empty. Most students wandered around the pack, talking about only one person Lily.No matter where anyone went, her name somehow found its way into the conversation.Anastasia was tired of hearing it so she decided to stay indoor until school was back in session. .She knelt in the small garden behind her house, carefully trimming the stems of her mother's roses. Gardening had always calmed her down. Today, however, she was barely paying attention.She had already cut one flower too short."...Oops."She sighed and dropped the scissors beside her.Her mother stepped out through the back door with a basket in her hands."You have a visitor."Anastasia didn't even look up."If it's another person coming to ask me about Lily, tell them I don't know anything.""It's not one of the neighbors."Her mother responded "I'll leave you two."She walked away before Anastasia could ask who it was.A few secon
I stood up before I could change my mind.“The only way we’ll know if Rex really can’t feel it… is if I face him,” I said.Amber looked up at me immediately.“Lily…”“He deserves an explanation.”Maltilda folded her arms. “A few minutes ago you said you weren’t ready.”“I wasn’t.” I swallowed. “But hiding from him isn’t making anything better.”“What if your wolf loses control the moment she sees him?”I looked toward the window. Rex’s car was still parked outside. He hadn’t left, I wasn’t going to let him just stay there and he had made it clear that he wasn’t going to leave until we spoke so it would be better if we just talked about it , there was no need to keep running from confrontation. “I don’t know what will happen,” I admitted. “I won’t know until I try.”Amber walked over and squeezed my shoulder.“If anything feels wrong, you come back inside immediately.”I nodded.“I will.”I took one deep breath before walking toward the stairs..How do you face the person you love aft
“What did you just say to me?”Amber stepped away from me, but I grabbed her hand, my lips trembling.“What did you just say to me?” I repeated, my voice demanding answers while my brain refused to process what I had just heard.“How did I give birth to someone so stupid,” she repeated, yanking her
Rex just stared at me. His lips parted slightly, like he wanted to say something, but no words came out.“Just leave me alone… please,” I pleaded. My voice sounded painfully weak, even though I tried to steady it.“You should go back inside. You don’t look so good.” He reached for my hand.I pushed
Still, she didn’t say anything.I was slowly losing my patience, and the silence was killing me. I just wished she would talk , shout, cry, scold me anything but sit there like that.“Okay…”That was all she said.All that waiting just for her to say…“Okay?” I mumbled.She nodded.“It’s not like
I didn’t say anything.Not because I had nothing to say, but because anything I said always made Rex even angrier. Right now, he didn’t look like he wanted to hear my excuses, so I figured it was better to stay quiet.“Didn’t I warn you?” he said again, still sounding furious.“I told you, we don’t







