LOGINThe meeting was now over. But the damage it caused lingered long after the shouting stopped.
The echoes still rang in my head as the three Alphas escorted me through the quieter corridors of the mansion. I could still hear the accusations.
She’s dangerous.
![]()
Rebecca's POVGoing into the ruins took longer than it looked from above when we saw it.What had looked like a short path from the cliff revealed itself to be something like a never ending entrance. I could hear the sounds of small stones move under our boots as we walked. The closer we got, the larger the city became.It wasn't a city. Not really. Cities felt alive. This felt abandoned. Forgotten. Waiting.The broken towers stood from the earth like the bones of something very big. Pathways almost collapsed under different layers of green substances that showed the place was old in its own way. Entire streets had disappeared beneath roots thick enough to swallow houses whole.Or so they appeared.I couldn't write off the feeling that we were being watched. The mark on my shoulder actively warm under my shirt. It was not painful, it was recognition.The sensation unsettled me more than any warning could have.Matthew moved ahead of the group, his eyes constantly looking at roofto
Rebecca’s POVMorning arrived quietly.Not with birdsong or sunlight.Just the slow dissipation of shadows among the trees.The fire had already burned down to ashes. The dampness in the air carried the scent of earth and pines. Everything looked calm.Too calm.I was the first one to spot Matthew who was some yards away from me and looking intently at the floor. It made me feel uneasy just from his stance. I forced myself up and made my way over."What do you see?"He simply stepped aside.My stomach tightened.The clearing where we had fought the Erased the night before was empty.Completely empty. No bodies, no blood, no broken weapons, no signs of a battle.Nothing.For a few seconds I simply stared. I knew exactly where the creatures had fallen. I remembered every strike, every scream, every shadow that had dissolved beneath our blades, but now it looked as if none of it had ever happened.The others joined us moments later.Tyler frowned."What happened?"Matthew clenched h
Rebecca's POV I woke up before everyone else. For a few seconds, I didn't know where I was. The forest was quiet. Too quiet. The fire was dying near the center of our camp but burning a little under a layer of ash, now showing weak orange light across the clearing. Above us, morning light was coming through the trees, making the road a little clearer as the fog covered the place. No shrine walls, no shifting corridors. No ancient runes watching from the darkness. Just trees. Fresh air. Open sky. It should have felt like freedom. Instead, my chest felt heavier than ever. I pulled my knees closer and stared into the fire that was burning off. Sleep hadn't helped, every time I closed my eyes, I saw Emily, the first Bridge, the blood-red moon, the ancient courtyard, the Erased chanting while they tore pieces of a woman from existence. And Emily's voice. I failed her. The memory refused to leave me, my hand went toward the mark on my shoulder, the skin beneath my shirt felt
Garrick's POVThe silence was beginning to irritate me, not because I was afraid but because I was bored.I sat alone against the cold wall, staring at the place where the doorway should have been. Hours already passed since the witches sealed me inside the room. Maybe longer.Time felt different when there was nothing to measure it against with.No sunlight, no voices.no movement. Just stone.Stone and anger.I ran my hand across my face and laughed quietly. I could hear myself laugh from the echo. Pathetic. After everything I had done for them, after every battle, every sacrifice, every order I had followed. This was how they repaid loyalty.Lock the dangerous dog in a cage.My jaw tightened. They still didn't understand, I wasn't dangerous because I wanted power. I was dangerous because I was willing to do what they refused to do.The difference mattered.At least it used to.Something moved across the wall. I looked up immediately. I saw nothing, just shadows.For a moment.
Rebecca’s POV The forest felt too wide, after days of being trapped inside the shrine, the endless trees and dark sky above us should have felt comforting. Instead, every shadow seemed deeper. Every sound felt sharper. We had escaped, but none of us looked relieved. The small campfire burned in the center of our clearing, throwing orange light to our tired faces. Matthew sat nearby sharpening his blade in slow, steady strokes. Ezekiel remained on watch near the treeline, his posture relaxed but alert. Tyler sat opposite me, resting against a fallen tree, and I couldn't stop staring at his side. The wound should not have looked that good. Not yet. The flesh that was torn had almost completely closed. The swelling inside the bandage then had vanished. Even the color of his skin looked healthier. Tyler noticed me watching and smiled. "You're doing it again." He said. "What?" I asked. "Looking at me like I've grown a second head." He continued. I looked away. "You were dying."
Rebecca's POVThe clearing outside the shrine felt a bit unreal. For days now, we were surrounded with stone, darkness, and endless corridors that seemed determined to never let us go. Now there was open air above my head.Trees looking toward the sky, moonlight reflecting through thick branches, the scent of the earth and the environment replaced the old smell of ancient ruins.It should have felt like freedom, instead, it felt like standing in the eye of a storm.Nobody spoke much after we left the shrine. We were exhausted, not the kind of exhaustion sleep could fix, the deeper kind. The kind that rested into your bones after too much grief.Tyler sat by a broad tree near the fire, adjusting the bandage under his shirt with care, the improvement in his condition was impossible to ignore.Only a day ago, he could barely stand, now he was moving on his own, still injured, still weak, but healing faster than he should have been.I caught him looking at his side again, his eyebrow
Rebecca's POV The Erased humming never stopped. It made way through the ravine like a living thing, low and constant, rising and falling with the wind. At first it had sounded distant. Like it could be easy to ignore. Now it felt like it was inside my head. Evening had settle over the landscape
Kael's POV The forest didn't care that Mira was gone. The trees still swayed from left to right .The wind still blew through the branches and made soft sounds. Birds still sang somewhere in the distance. The world just kept moving and I hated it for that. I sat on a log wood that had fallen, d
Rebecca's POVI woke with Mira's blood on my hands again.Not literally. The rain had washed it away days ago, but in the dream, it was always fresh.Always warm.Always slipping through my fingers no matter how hard I tried to stop it. Mira lay before me smiling in a soft manner, the same gen
Rebecca's POVThe vision did not leave me. It now felt like it would not leave me, no matter how hard I tried to focus on the path ahead of us, I kept seeing my father's face. His smile, his laughter, the way he had looked at Jeremy. The memory replayed over and over inside my head as we pushed d







