I turned around to see Enzo standing in the doorway, his expression unreadable. "What's going on?" he asked, his voice quiet but demanding.I hesitated, unsure of what to say. Elena stood frozen beside me as I tried to come up with a response. But before I could say anything, Enzo spoke again. "Winter, please just tell me what's going on. Why do we need to leave town?"My heart pounded in my chest as I looked into his eyes. "We can't stay here," I finally said, my voice trembling slightly. "There's something not right about this place, about you."Enzo's eyes widened in surprise at my words. "What do you mean there's something not right about me? Winter, I promise you I would never hurt you or your friends".I could feel the wolf inside of me fighting to come out to protect Elena and me. I couldn't stand here listening to him. I couldn't trust him or a word he said because he'd been lying to me this whole time. Enzo's expression softened as he took a step closer to me. "Winter, plea
As the bus rumbled along the highway, I couldn't shake the feeling of betrayal and heartbreak that consumed me. Elena's comforting words did little to ease the pain in my chest as I thought about Enzo and how everything between us was a facade created by my family.I tried to push those thoughts aside and focus on the present moment. We were on our way to a new place, leaving everything behind again. We had grown to love that city, enjoying our new freedom and not having to hide our friendship from our families. The unknown future ahead of us was daunting, but I had Elena by my side, and for that, I was grateful.The bus ride seemed to stretch on forever, each passing mile carrying us further away from our past lives and Lillie as well. As the sun began to set on the horizon, casting a golden glow through the bus windows, my heart ached for so many reasons, the main one being for Lillie. Not knowing where she was or if she was okay was eating away at me.Picking up my phone again, I p
He led us to the back of the club to a door that was closed. Knocking on it, he opened it up, gesturing for us to go inside. I looked over to Elena with a worried look; she gave me a warm smile and shrugging her shoulders and walking through the door, I followed her. I was surprised when we walked in and were met by a lady with blonde hair who looked to be in her thirties. I don't know why but I wasn't expecting a woman to be running this place."Hello ladies, I'm Amber," the woman introduced herself with a warm smile. "I heard you're interested in working here. Do you have any experience?"Elena and I exchanged a nervous glance before Elena spoke up, "We don't have any professional dancing experience, but we're quick learners and hard workers."Amber nodded. "That's great to hear. We can start you off as waitresses tomorrow night and see how you do. If all goes well, we can discuss other opportunities in the future."Relief washed over me at the thought of not having to dance on stag
Right as those words left my mouth, there was a knock on the door, making us both jump. I looked over at Elena, who was looking back at me with the same worried look. Letting out a shaky breath, I got up slowly, heading toward the door. Placing my hand on the door handle, I paused for a second, looking back at Elena, who pointed to the broom next to the door. I nodded, picking it up with the other hand.Pressing my eye to the door, I let my wolf take over, using its hearing to see if I could hear anything on the other side of the door, but I couldn't make anything out. Elena came over, joining me at the door, taking the broom from me and holding it tight in both hands before nodding at me to open the door. Taking one last breath, I slowly opened the door, trying to look through the crack as I did. To my surprise, instead of a threat on the other side, there stood the little old lady who ran the place. She had a kind smile on her wrinkled face as she held out a tray of food toward us.
We rushed out of the room and into the street, both of us stopping to look at one another. Neither of us knew how we would get to Lillie. We didn't have a car, and even if we did, neither of us knew how to drive.“What do we do, Winter?” Elena turned to me, worry written all over her face.I looked around, trying to find an answer. “I don't know,” I said, frustration clear in my voice. Looking down at my phone, I made the choice to call Lillie again, but as I went into my phone, Enzo's number sat just above Lilies. I hesitated for a second. I took a deep breath and pressed Enzo's number, my heart racing as the phone rang. After a few rings, he picked up."Hello?" His voice was cautious, almost hesitant.“Enzo, if you let Lilly go, I will come back, and you can return me to my parents or do whatever you want with me,” I begged him.Elena grabbed my arm. “Winter, no!” she whispered urgently, but I shook her off. Enzo's voice filled with sadness as he responded, “Winter, I don't have Li
I ran through the night finally reaching the city we had left behind, I went back to the hotel picking up Lilies scent and following it until i came to a large warehouse. The sun was just starting to rise, casting a soft glow over the empty streets. I hesitated at the entrance of the warehouse, my instincts telling me that danger lurked inside.As I cautiously made my way in, the darkness enveloped me like a shroud. My wolf senses were on high alert, every sound amplified in the silence. I could hear the faint echo of my own footsteps against the concrete floor.I followed Lillie's scent deeper into the warehouse, searching for any sign of her. But she was nowhere to be found. Panic started to claw its way up my throat as I realised she might be in trouble.And then I caught another scent – one that sent a shiver down my spine. It was familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. It was a mix of earthiness and musk, tinged with something dangerous.I crept further into the darkness, my hea
Slowly opening my eyes, I took in my surroundings. I had been here before, but I couldn't quite place where. Panic set in as I realised I was in Enzo's bedroom. How did I end up here? My heart raced as I jumped up from the bed and saw him sitting in a chair in the corner.Enzo stood up slowly, his hands held out in front of him. "Winter, please calm down. I'm not going to hurt you."I backed away, my mind racing with questions. "How did I get here?" I demanded, my voice shaky.Enzo's expression softened as he took a step towards me. "I felt that you were in trouble, Winter. I found you in a warehouse that was on fire."Confusion washed over me as he spoke. "How did you feel that I was in trouble?"He hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "Because you're my mate, Winter."My eyes widened in disbelief. "You're lying," I whispered. "If we were mates, I would be able to feel you too."Just then, Elena entered the room and spoke up. "He's telling the truth, Winter." She paused befo
Sitting alone in Enzo's room, still trying to understand everything they had just told me, I didn't want to believe that Lillie could be behind any of this. She was my friend; we had known each other for just about our whole lives. The betrayal stung deep, twisting my thoughts into an indistinguishable mess of anger, confusion, and sadness.A soft knock on the door snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see Elena standing there, her expression a mixture of concern and sadness."If you're ready to come out, we would really like to start talking about our plan," she said softly, her eyes searching mine for any sign of readiness or resolve.I nodded my head, my body feeling heavy as I pushed myself up from the bed. My legs felt like lead as I walked towards the door and out into the living room where Enzo and Jake were waiting. As I stepped into the room, my eyes met Enzo's for a brief moment. Worry was etched deeply in his gaze, a concern that tugged at my heartstrings, yet I fe
Winter's POVI swirled inside the dark place in my head, lost and disoriented. How long had I been here? How long had I been trapped in this endless void where nothing made sense? Time didn't mean anything anymore. It felt like years, but also like a moment. I could never tell.The only thing I remembered clearly was the grave. Digging my way out of it. The suffocating weight of the earth, the desperation, the hunger to live. I remembered the thirst for revenge on Kenny, the anger that kept me alive. But even that seemed distant, as though it was someone else's memory.Everything else was a blur. The love for my friends—their faces flickered in and out of my mind like faded dreams. Sometimes, I saw them clearly, but other times, it was like I was stuck in the dark, unable to reach them, unable to make sense of anything. I didn't even know if I had truly died.I felt... lost. More than that—forgotten. The world felt so far away like I was being swallowed by the darkness. I could feel m
Enzo's POVWe moved upstairs, all of us, with a sense of urgency pressing against our chests. The atmosphere felt thick, heavy with uncertainty, as we filed into the room again. Winter was still there in the corner, her eyes dull, her movements slow and almost robotic. I couldn't shake the feeling that she was still trapped somewhere deep inside herself. She had to be. The way she stared at the wall—like a part of her was lost and couldn't find its way back.Lily was the first to speak, her voice sharp and laced with frustration. "We were in here before, and all that happened was her hand glowed. We still have no idea what to do or how to fix her."I stared at Winter, my chest tightening. "I think Winter was trying to tell you... It's like she's trapped in her own mind, and she can't explain what you need to do."Elena nodded, a sombre expression crossing her face. "So, we just follow her lead, then. We trust her."The words hung in the air, the weight of them almost unbearable. But w
Enzo’s POVI stood at the bottom of the stairs, unable to stop glancing back at the door to my bedroom. The sounds of the others talking voices low and filled with uncertainty, only made the silence in my chest louder. The question still haunted me—Was it really her? Winter was here, but she wasn’t... herself. She was broken, lost in a world that none of us could understand. But I couldn’t deny it. I knew it was her. Deep down, I had to believe it was.The others were still discussing what to do, trying to figure out the pieces of this puzzle we didn’t have the answers to. I could hear Lily’s voice, low and careful, talking about options, about what magic we might be able to use, but my thoughts kept circling back to the bedroom door.“I know you’re worried,” Lily said, her voice cutting through my spiralling thoughts. “But we need to figure this out. We can’t just sit here.”“I’ll be right back,” I said, cutting her off as I turned toward the stairs. The last thing I wanted was to ke
Chapter 91: The ReturnEnzo’s POVI stood at the doorway, my heart pounding as I watched Elena approach Winter. She had the same look in her eyes that everyone had had when we first saw her—hope mixed with fear. It wasn’t just the hope of seeing Winter again. It was the fear of not knowing if she was really back, of not knowing if this was even really her.But I could tell. I could see it in Elena’s face. She believed that it was really winter.Elena turned to me, her eyes wide, searching for reassurance. “This is why you came, right?” she asked, her voice trembling.I nodded, trying to fight the knot in my chest. I wanted to believe this was Winter. My heart told me it was. But my mind... my mind was still battling with the fear. This wasn’t the Winter I remembered—her eyes were distant, her voice fractured, and the way she repeated those numbers over and over... It didn’t feel like her, but I couldn’t let myself think like that.“Are you sure it’s her?” Elena’s voice cracked with do
Elena's POVI barely had time to react before Rykor was on me, his hands grabbing hold of me with terrifying speed. I tried to fight, thrashing and kicking, but it was useless. His grip was like steel, lifting me effortlessly off the ground. Before I could even process what was happening, he threw me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing, and I screamed at him, my voice raw with panic."Let me go!" I yelled, kicking my legs in vain. "What the hell are you doing, Rykor?!"But he didn’t answer me. Not a word. He just kept walking, ignoring my shouts and my struggles. I was completely at his mercy, and the weight of that realisation made my heart pound even faster. What was going on? What was happening? I had a sinking feeling—a gut feeling—that this had everything to do with Lily and Enzo.When I felt the car's engine rumble to life, I knew exactly where we were going. My chest tightened in a rush of anger. Enzo’s house. This was his doing. I wasn’t going to let them drag me back int
Lily's POVI stood at the door of the room, just watching Winter. She was still sitting in the same spot, her hands moving with a kind of frantic precision as she repeated the same numbers over and over again. Her face was pale, her eyes distant. There was something haunting about the way she was trapped in this cycle, this unrelenting loop that neither time nor words could break.I wanted so badly to reach her, to pull her back to us, to make her whole again. But I couldn’t. I wasn’t sure how to fix her, how to fix what was broken inside of her. She had been through something no one should have to endure, and no one had prepared us for what she had really gone through.A soft sound behind me made me stiffen. I turned to find Jake standing there, his posture hesitant but still solid. His expression was one I couldn’t quite read, a mix of worry and curiosity."Do you think you can save her?" he asked quietly, his voice soft as it broke through the heavy silence in the room.I hesitated
Lily’s POVWe left the room, stepping into the quiet hallway, the weight of what we had just seen settling heavily in the pit of my stomach. I could still hear Winter’s voice echoing in my mind—those same numbers, over and over again. I couldn’t escape them. They circled my thoughts, making it impossible to focus on anything else.Three-zero-two-four-zero-zero.I kept doing the math in my head. How long had Winter spent clawing her way out of that grave? The numbers—those numbers—had been her constant. And now they were my constant, too, weighing down on my mind, reminding me of everything she had gone through.It didn’t make sense. It didn’t make sense that Winter had survived, that she had fought for her life, but it also didn’t make sense that she was now trapped in this state, so far from the person I knew her to be.I sank into one of the chairs in the living room, letting my hands fall into my lap, lost in my thoughts. The pain, the guilt, the confusion—it was all swirling toget
Lily's POVI could feel my heart racing as I moved closer to Winter, her broken form huddled in the corner, mumbling the same numbers over and over again. Her voice was soft, haunting, like the echo of a distant memory I could never quite reach. Every repetition of those numbers sent a chill through me, each one like a needle pricking at the raw, exposed wound of my heart."Winter," I whispered, stepping closer, my voice barely more than a breath. "It’s me."I watched her, hoping, praying that she would respond to me. But she didn’t. Her eyes remained unfocused, her hands scrabbling against the ground as she continued to chant the numbers, like a mantra she couldn’t escape.My chest tightened as I reached out, hesitant but desperate for a connection. My fingers brushed against her shoulder, a soft touch that I hoped would break through whatever wall surrounded her. The moment my skin made contact with hers, Winter stopped. Her hands fell still, and her gaze flickered up, locking onto
Enzo’s POVI stood there, feeling the tension in the air as Rykor stepped forward. His face was hard, but his eyes were filled with something I didn’t quite understand. When he spoke, his tone was surprisingly gentle."Elena doesn’t mean it," Rykor said, his voice low. "She doesn’t mean a thing of what she’s saying. She’s just hurting."Lily, who had been silent up until then, broke her silence with a sharp edge to her voice. "We all are," she said. "But that doesn’t give her the right to attack us."Rykor nodded, acknowledging her words, but there was still a look of understanding in his gaze. "I understand," he replied, as if this made everything okay.Enzo’s patience, however, was beginning to fray. "If that’s why you followed us," Enzo said, his voice growing colder, "then we don’t want to hear it."Rykor, however, didn’t back down. Instead, he stepped closer, his voice more firm now. "I like the little fairy," he said, referring to Lily. "And I know that if she was in her right m