Liz’s POV
“Good morning, Alpha,” Carlos said as he stood up from his seat the moment Lumian walked into Judy’s hospital room.
My breath caught in my throat.
“Carlos.”
My brother. My blood. The one person who had promised time and time again that he’d always have my back. That no matter what happened, he would never let the world hurt me.
He was here.
Hope burst in my chest like a flame, wild and bright.
“Carlos!” I gasped, stepping forward. “It’s me… I’m here. I need you. Please, feel me. Just feel me.”
If anyone could sense me—it had to be him.
I moved closer, breathless, trembling, reaching for him as though I could will our bond to come alive. He was just an arm’s length away. If I could just—
My hand went right through his shoulder.
Air. Empty. Cold. Nothing.
“No,” I breathed, already reaching again, heart hammering in panic. “No, no, please—Carlos, please!”
I tried again. And again. I waved my hands. I shouted in his ear. “Please, Carlos” I begged. But he didn’t even flinch. He couldn’t feel me.
He didn’t know I was here.
He didn’t know I was dead.
I stood, stunned and breathless, every cell in my ghostly body trembling as I watched him turn back to Judy with a softness I hadn’t seen on his face in years.
“I just came to check in on Judy,” he said to Lumian, his voice lowering with something warm—tender. “Wanted to make sure she’s on the mend.”
The way he looked at her…
Gentle. Protective. Reverent.
I had never seen Carlos look at anyone that way before.
My stomach twisted as the realisation hit me.
He liked her.
“She’s doing better,” Lumian said he said with a pause before asking. “Have you seen Liz? Or spoken to her?”
Carlos frowned, puzzled at Lumians question. “No... is everything okay?”
“No,” Lumian answered. “She didn’t come home last night.”
I took a shaky breath, stepping forward. Praying that this would be the thing to make Carlos feel my spirit.
“No… everything is not okay,” I said, voice cracking. “I was taken, Carlos. I was scared and alone, and I called for help, and no one came. Lumian ignored my cries for help because he was here with Judy.” my body trembled as I spoke. “He was here with her instead of coming to save me.”
Carlos let out a sigh.
“She’s probably just hiding somewhere,” he said simply. “You know how she is. Always running off when things get hard. Maybe she’s trying to get your attention. I’m sure she's fine, probably just at our parents or with Dian like she has done before.”
I felt like the floor dropped out beneath me.
“I’m not hiding,” I whispered, voice shaking with disbelief. “I’m dead, Carlos. I died calling for —for him. I needed someone, anyone, and you think I’m hiding?”
Carlos kept going, his voice calm. Too calm.
“She’s probably embarrassed now that everyone knows the truth. What she did to Judy… how she forced her out of the pack. Maybe she finally realised it was wrong.”
My knees hit the ground.
The air left my lungs. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
My brother thought I was hiding in shame that I was running because of guilt.
He believed Judy.
He believed every lie she fed them.
“Liz did nothing wrong, Carlos”, she said, looking between Lumian and Carlos. “I left because I didn’t want to come between them,”
Carlos looked at her like she was a hero.
“You’ve always been too kind,” he told her, his voice soft with admiration.
And I shattered.
It wasn’t a sharp break. No, this was slower. Like glass cracking under pressure, webbing across the surface until there was nothing left but pieces.
I had spent my life believing that Carlos would always have my back. That he knew me. That even if the whole world turned against me, my brother never would. I’d clung to that faith like a lifeline.
But now… now I saw the truth.
Every word he spoke felt like betrayal etched in stone.
“I didn’t force her out,” I whispered, though I knew no one could hear. “I never asked Judy to leave.”
I looked up at them, their three figures blurred by tears I could no longer shed. They sat together, comfortable, united three people bound by lies I hadn’t even had the chance to fight.
I wasn’t just grieving my death anymore.
I was grieving the truth.
I had died not as a warrior or a Luna or a woman loved but as a nuisance. An afterthought. A problem to be solved or ignored.
Their betrayal hurt.
Especially Carlos.
I turned away, unable to bear the sight of them a second longer. I just wanted to go. Anywhere. Somewhere far away from all of this.
But the moment I stepped toward the doorway, the bond snapped tight like a leash on my soul.
Painful. Forceful and Unrelenting.
I gasped as it pulled me back, dragging me like a shadow chained to his heel.
“No,” I choked out, shaking my head. “Please, not this. Not again. Don’t make me stay here. Don’t make me watch this.”
But I had no choice.
The bond tethered me to Lumian.
Even in death, I couldn’t leave him.
I couldn’t escape.
So I stood there still, silent and invisible, while they spoke about me like I was a burden. A mistake.
And somewhere inside me, something dark and sharp curled tight around my heart.
Liz’s POV“What happened to me wasn’t Liz’s fault,” Judy said softly, glancing between Lumian and Carlos.My breath hitched.Finally… was she going to tell the truth?I stepped forward instinctively, hope flickering inside my chest like a candle fighting the wind.But Carlos just shook his head with a sigh, his arms folded tight across his chest.“You don’t have to keep covering for her, Judy,” he said. “We all know Liz was jealous. She never wanted you here, and you left because she made you feel unwelcome.”The words hit harder than I expected. Like a slap.“No,” I said, voice trembling even though no one could hear me. “That’s not what happened. I never asked her to leave…”I looked at Judy, pleading silently. But she said nothing more. She let Carlos believe it.“But honestly, I’m just glad you're back. I wish she hadn’t been hurt, but after three years of begging you to come home…” he paused, his voice growing warmer, “I’m happy you finally did.”The world seemed to tilt.I blink
Liz’s POV“Please, Lumian,” Judy called out, her voice soft—desperate. “Please don’t go to her. If you tell her I was the one who told you, it’ll only make things worse. She’ll hate me.”I froze.Hate her?I was already dead. What more damage could possibly be done?I watched Lumian’s back as he strode toward the door, my breath catching in my throat.He wouldn’t stop.Not this time.For the first time, he was choosing me.A part of me ached for it.For him to walk out that door, to come searching for me like I had always wished he would.But then… he stopped.I felt my stomach drop.No.Not again.Slowly, he turned back to Judy.I let out a breath—shaky, disbelieving, breaking.He stopped for her. He chose her.Again.Judy lowered her eyes, her fingers twisting the edge of her blanket. “I’m sorry, Lumian,” she murmured. “I thought she already told you… since everyone else knew.”A cold laugh slipped from my lips. I couldn’t help it.“Liar,” I muttered, my ghostly form trembling with
Liz’s POV“There’s something wrong with Liz,” he choked out, his breath ragged. His hand pressed harder against his chest like he was trying to keep something inside from shattering.Carlos frowned. “What do you mean?”I took a step closer, my ghostly form hovering just behind them, but suddenly…Everything felt off.The room blurred. Their voices became distant, muffled—like I was underwater. I tried to focus, to listen, but their words slipped through my grasp, fading into nothingness.Panic tightened in my chest.I couldn’t hear them.I always heard them.Something was wrong.A strange sensation crawled over my skin, like static in the air before a storm. My fingertips tingled, my body growing lighter and unsteady.I looked down.My hands were flickering.No.No, no, no—I tried to move, to speak, to do something, but my body wasn’t obeying me.I was fading.Disappearing.And I had no idea why.My vision darkened at the edges, a crushing weight pressing in on me. It was suffocating
Liz’s POVLumian was still gripping his chest, his knuckles white, each breath shallow and strained.He was panicking.“Something’s really wrong,” he rasped, his voice cracking as he looked around the hospital room like he was searching for answers in the air. “I can feel it. Something’s happened to Liz.”I stood in the corner of the room, watching him closely—watching both of them. The panic twisting through his face, the confusion darkening his eyes… It should have comforted me.But it didn’t.I wasn’t the same ghost that had been tethered to him by longing.Now, I was watching for something else.A truth.A clue.A sign that someone here had a hand in what happened to me.Lumian staggered slightly, and Carlos placed a steady hand on his shoulder.“Alpha?” Carlos said, his brow furrowing. “You’re pale. Sit down.”“No,” Lumian snapped, brushing his hand away. “I need to reach her. Something’s wrong—I can feel it through the bond.”His eyes glazed for a moment, and I knew he was tryi
Liz’s POVWe were moving.For the first time since I died, they were moving for me.Carlos drove, his jaw tight, eyes set straight ahead. Lumian sat in the passenger seat, hands clenched in his lap. I could feel his wolf just beneath the surface, restless, pacing, snapping at the confines of his skin.They didn’t speak. There was too much tension. I watched Lumian steal glances out the window, his leg bouncing restlessly as if he expected to see me walking on the side of the road.You’re too late, I wanted to whisper.But still… some broken, desperate part of me hoped he wasn’t.We pulled up outside Diana’s house. My Diana. My best friend. The only person who had ever truly seen me loved me without expectation or condition.She opened the door a few seconds after Carlos knocked. Her brows furrowed when she saw who it was.“Carlos? Lumian?” Her gaze darted between them. “What’s wrong?”Lumian’s voice was hoarse. “Is Liz here?”Diana blinked, clearly startled. “No…” Her face paled. “Wh
Liz’s POVLumian and Carlos didn’t waste a second.As soon as Robert’s message came through, Lumian shifted into high gear, practically dragging Carlos with him as they ran through the trees behind the training grounds. I followed, my ghostly form gliding just behind them, heart pounding with a rhythm I no longer had.They were heading straight to the place where I had died.The forest grew darker the deeper we went, the branches closing in above like skeletal fingers. And then I saw it.The blood.A small pool, dried at the edges but still dark and unmistakably real, stained the ground beneath the trees. But there as no body, no sign of the car or anything else just the small pool of blood.I froze.There it was. The final trace of me.And with it came the flickers. Blurry, fragmented pieces of a night that refused to be whole. I saw the inside of a car—cold, unfamiliar. My body pressed to the door. I remember the scent of the driver. Wrong. Foreign. He didn’t smell like anyone from
Liz’s POVThey said I was at my parents’ house.But I wasn’t.And I didn’t understand why they would lie.My mind swirled with disbelief and confusion. I tried to remember the last time I saw them—really saw them. The way Mum used to brush my hair back and hum under her breath. The way Dad only ever smiled when I obeyed without questioning. Neither had visited me in the packhouse recently, not since Judy returned. Not since everything began to crack.I closed my eyes.And when I opened them again…I was there.In my parents’ living room.I blinked in shock, spinning around slowly. I wasn’t with Lumian anymore. I wasn’t tethered to him like a shadow bound by a dying thread.I had moved.Freely.It felt… strange. Lighter. As though something inside me had finally snapped free. Then it hit me—the rejection. I had broken the bond. I wasn’t tied to him anymore.I was finally free.Not just from the mate bond—but from the hold he had on me.I drifted toward the hallway just in time to hear
Arthur’s POVI never should’ve come back.And yet, here I was—on the edge of Blackthorn Pack territory—staring out at the place where my life had nearly ended… and unknowingly begun again.It had been almost a year since Liz saved me.I was barely alive when she found me. I had collapsed near the border of her pack, my body broken and bloodied, my memory gone. The side of my face had been mangled, a deep blue scar stretching from my temple to my jaw. I was unrecognisable. Scary, even.But she didn’t run. She didn’t flinch.She helped me.She brought me into her world, gave me a roof over my head, a bed to sleep in, and a name to go by when I couldn’t remember my own.Victor.That’s who I was for nearly a year. A stranger in her pack. An outsider with a scarred face and no past. Most of the pack avoided me—they whispered behind my back, some even sneered when I passed—but Liz never treated me like I was less.She gave me purpose.She gave me a job, working as her assistant. Days turned
Liz’s POV Everything happened so fast from there. Lumian still stood frozen; his lips parted, eyes locked on Robert like he couldn’t comprehend the words. He didn't want to believe that his trust beta would say them. Arthur took a step forward, his face filled with rage, and his body tensed like a coil ready to strike. I thought he was going to grab Robert, demand answers, throw him against the wall, and do something. But he didn’t get the chance. The door slammed open behind them, and Carlos stormed in. “What the fuck did you just say?” Carlos growled, eyes wild and locked on Robert. He didn’t wait for a reply. Carlos lunged forward like a bullet, slamming into Robert so hard they both crashed to the floor. Robert didn’t even try to defend himself. He just lay there, eyes hollow, mouth slightly parted like he’d already surrendered to whatever punishment Carlos had in store. “You killed her!” Carlos screamed, his fists crashing down onto Robert’s face with bone-snapping force.
Liz’s POVI was tired of listening to the fighting, the shouting, and the way Lumian’s voice filled the room as if it still held weight as if he had the right to speak for me. As if anything he said could undo the damage.Arthur was trying. I could see that. Every word he flung was for me. He wanted the truth no one else was willing to dig deep enough to face. And for that, I was grateful in ways I didn’t know how to say out loud. If I still had a heart to give, I think it would’ve reached for him then.But Lumian?He was still trying to protect his own comfort and reputation as alpha. Still denying, hiding behind “my Beta wouldn’t lie” and “Sura confessed,” as if that was enough. One scared omega could’ve done all of this alone. He hadn't just failed me. He had failed the whole pack by being so wrapped up in Judy and letting someone come into his pack and take one of his own. I could feel it in my bones that soon, the pack would begin to question him as their alpha.I couldn’t stand
Arthur’s POVI told myself I was going to be civil. That I would walk into Lumian’s office, ask a few questions, and keep my temper buried beneath whatever scraps of control I had left.But the moment I neared his door, I felt the pressure building again tight and hot, like a dam ready to burst.I stepped inside without knocking.Lumian looked like hell. He was slouched over his desk, elbows pressed into the wood, his hands running through his hair like he’d been clawing for clarity that wouldn’t come. A cup of coffee sat untouched beside him, long gone cold.When he lifted his head, the shadows beneath his eyes were deeper than I’d ever seen them. But the tension between us crackled instantly.“Alpha King Arthur,” he said, flat and guarded.I didn’t waste time. “Did you speak with Robert?” He nodded once. “Yeah. I did.”“And?”Lumian leaned back. The chair creaked beneath him. “Same as before. He said he didn’t see Liz that day.”My jaw tightened. “That’s a lie.” “You don’t know that
Robert’s POV I left Judy’s room in silence. Her denials, her hurt expression they, echoed in my mind, but I couldn’t focus on any of it. I didn’t know if she was lying or not. At this point, I didn’t know anything. My head was spinning, my chest tight. I just needed to think to work it all out. I headed toward the edge of the compound, away from the crowd, away from the whispers and the guilt I could feel crawling under my skin. The further I walked, the heavier my legs became. I sat on a bench just outside the old training ring, elbows on my knees, palms pressed together. And then I started to go over it minute by minute. The day Liz disappeared. I had been stationed near the south gate. I remember it clearly because nothing felt unusual… until Judy linked me. She had sounded panicked. Said Liz forced her to leave. Said she was scared. Told me I had to stop her. So, I left my post. Fifteen minutes. That’s all. I found Liz. Running errands being the perfect luna tha
Robert’s POV I didn’t stop to think. I just went straight to her. Her room was as pristine as ever, with flowers in a vase by the window and a book half-open on the armrest. She looked up as I walked in, surprised but not alarmed. “Robert?” Her voice was soft, light. “What’s wrong?” I closed the door behind me. “We need to talk.” She sat up slowly, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. “Of course. About what?” “You,” I said, keeping my voice low. “And Liz.” Her eyes didn’t change not right away. But I saw it. A flicker of tension beneath the calm. “I remembered something,” I continued. “The day Liz went missing… You mind-linked me. Said she forced you to leave. That you were upset and scared that she was going to do it again.” She nodded slowly. “I remember.” “I left my post,” I said. “Because of you.” She blinked at me as if waiting for the point. “I need to know the truth, Judy.” I stepped closer. “Did you lie to me? Did Liz really force you out of the pack or had
Robert’s POVThe mind-link came through.“Robert. Come to my office. Now.” Lumian’s voice was clipped, strained, barely masking the edge of something darker beneath.I hadn’t slept. Not properly. Not since they found her. Not since I saw her lying there, cold and still, and realised it was too late to fix the things I never said.I didn’t ask questions. Just shifted direction and headed straight for his office.When I stepped in, he was already pacing. His movements were restless, the way they got when something didn’t sit right.He stopped when he saw me. “Arthur seems to believe you saw Liz the day she went missing,” he said, getting straight to the point.His words knocked the wind straight out of me, and I struggled to stand there. I did.But I hadn’t told anyone that. The only other person who knew… was Liz. I stared at Lumian, my mouth suddenly dry. “Why would he think that?” Lumian narrowed his eyes. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”For a moment, I couldn’t speak. I coul
Arthur’s POVI sat at the side of the room, arms crossed tightly over my chest, as one by one, the guards and staff filtered in. Liz sat beside me, quiet, unmoving.Lumian asked most of the questions. His voice was clipped and mechanical as if he were just trying to get through the process.The guards answered everything the same way. No, they hadn’t seen her leave again after coming home from shopping. Yes, they had been on duty. No, nothing unusual. It felt rehearsed like they’d all convinced themselves there was nothing to question in the first place.My eyes drifted toward Liz. Her face was unreadable, but her hands were clenched tightly in her lap. She studied everyone, even Lumian. And every time he brushed past a detail or cut off a question, her jaw tensed.The last guard exited, and silence fell over the room. Lumian leaned back in his chair with a frustrated sigh, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose.“We’ve gotten nothing,” he muttered. “All of them saying the same thing
Lumian’s POVI hadn’t moved all night.The ballroom was quiet now. The scent of her still lingered, soft and haunting beneath the sharp tang of blood and grief. I had been sitting there beside her body for hours through the silence, the dark, and the ache that wouldn’t leave my chest.Her lifeless face was the only thing I saw when I closed my eyes… and when they were open.She didn’t look angry. Or scared. She looked peaceful. And somehow, that made it worse. Because she hadn’t died peacefully, she had died scared, alone. Begging for someone to help her. Begging for me.And I hadn’t come.I’d failed her.Not just as her mate but as her Alpha.My legs ached when I finally stood. The early light of morning bled through the high windows, pale and unwelcome. A new day had started. But it didn’t feel like something new had begun. It felt like something had ended.I gave her one last glance.“I’m sorry,” I whispered, though it wasn’t nearly enough.I don’t know how I made it to the hallwa
Liz’s POVIt should’ve felt satisfying. Seeing Lumian fall apart, Carlos screams and fights like his heart has only just started beating again. I should’ve felt vindicated.But all I felt was hollow.There was a part of me that had clung to the idea that maybe they cared. That maybe somewhere deep in their souls, they’d felt me slipping away and regretted it. But what I saw in that ballroom wasn’t regret. It was a reaction. They panicked as they realised it was too late.Carlos had looked broken, his grief so raw it had cracked open the room. But I didn’t know what to do with that. He was my brother. He was supposed to protect me. He was supposed to know me better. And Lumian… he was supposed to love me.Instead, I lay in the middle of a room full of strangers who once called me their Luna, and not one of them had come looking for me.Not even him.Arthur’s hand never left mine. He held onto me like he knew that if he let go, I might vanish completely. When he pulled me from that room