**Winter's POV**Two more vampires came into the chamber. My heart pounded in my chest. The fear was nearly as crippling as the pain I was in. They came over to me, ripping me from the ground and dragging my body across the close rock floor to the middle of the room, chaining my hands, ankles and neck.My muscles strained against the chains, my mind burning with fury and desperation. The witch's incantation reverberated through the air, a haunting melody of control that seeped into every corner of the room.The silver chains dug into my skin like searing icicles. Each movement sent shockwaves of pain splintering through my bones, but I refused to cry out. Instead, I poured the pain into the fiery core of my resolve—the bond that pulsed and connected me to Lily, Elena, and Enzo.“Elena, Lily…” I whispered, their names a grounding force even as my voice wavered with effort. I searched for their presence, yearning for the threads of our friendship to anchor me in the storm.The vampire l
**Winter's POV**The sight of Enzo emerging from the shadows was a balm against the darkness that threatened to consume me. His presence filled the chamber with a palpable energy, a storm of silent fury that crackled against the oppression tightening around us. My heart beat a little steadier at the sight of him—the tether that anchored me amidst the chaos.Enzo's eyes, aglow with the ferocity of a wolf's spirit, settled on me with a fierce intensity that offered promises unspoken yet deeply felt. Even amidst the darkness, his gaze held a light of untamed resolve.Kenny's eyes flickered with uncertainty, a momentary breach in his facade of power. "Who are you?" he demanded, attempting to resume authority that felt more fragile and feeble with each passing second.Enzo took a step forward, the weight of his presence casting long shadows that danced across the chamber walls. "I'm the one who's going to tear through your delusions of control," Enzo rumbled, his voice a deep resonance tha
**Elena's POV**Rykor and I stood before the looming entrance to the ancient tunnels, their shadows curling like fingers beckoning us inward. Despite the urgency of our mission, a chill prickled down my spine, a sensation that whispered of past horrors and hidden secrets entwined with the darkness."Are you sure about this?" Rykor's wolf form shifted, his voice filling the shared space within my mind with its rich, protective resonance.I met his gaze, drawing strength from the ferocity and determination that burned there. "These tunnels will play tricks on you," I warned softly, my voice barely more than a breath against the oppressive silence. "You must keep a pure heart. Otherwise, they will devour you whole."With a nod of understanding, Rykor stepped forward, leading the way as we plunged into the depths. The weight of expectation lay heavily on my shoulders, anchoring me as I followed closely behind him. An eerie stillness shrouded the air, thick and palpable as a living entity
**Lily's POV**This was all my fault, I was going to be the reason that all magic ended here today all because I had been so stupid. Seeing winter chained in pain brought tears to my eyes—a sight that pierced through the haze of my own struggles and filled me with both guilt and determination. Winter, my fierce and loyal friend, was enduring torment she never deserved, and I couldn't help but feel the weight of blame. My impulse, my need to explore, had trapped us all in this nightmarish reality.My body ached in a way that words couldn't truly convey, but it was the emotional bruises that hurt more than anything physical. I had been blinded by the allure of the human world, intoxicated by its simplicity compared to the chaotic beauty of our magical realm. It was my longing for normalcy that had drawn me into this mess, following the mirage of a life without the constant pressure of my untamable powers.The flashback struck me with the ferocity of lightning—sudden and unwelcome. Memor
Enoz’s povThe world around me had narrowed to that singular point of horror—Kenny with a knife against Winter's throat. A thousand scenarios flashed through my mind, each one ending in her blood staining the ground. My fists tightened instinctively, muscles coiled with the primal urge to protect her, yet my mind screamed at the futility of any reckless move.Kenny had positioned himself perfectly—a coward’s tactic—and every calculating step he took reverberated with confidence. He seemed to revel in the chaos he'd orchestrated, a master puppeteer pulling strings with cruel finesse. "It's over, wolf," he taunted, his voice a razor dragged across my nerves. "One wrong move, and she pays the price."Desperation buzzed through me, thrumming with the force of a caged beast. My eyes darted to Winter, willing her to see the unspoken promise in my gaze—that I would find a way to free her from this nightmare. Her eyes met mine, and in them was a defiance that matched my own, even as fear wove
Elenas povMy heart pounded so hard in my chest that I was scared it would heard. Clinging to the shadows, I edged further into the room. I didn't have a plan. The only thing on my mind was getting to my friends and setting them free, and so far, it has been going okay. There was so much noise in the room that an elephant could have been crashing through the shadows, and no one would have heard it. Enzo was talking away, trying his best to distract the man who held them captive. The look in his eyes told me that he was growing tired of it. The scent of damp stone and despair filled the air as I crept farther. The dim absurdity of this "mastermind" almost made me laugh if my friends' lives weren't hanging in the balance. I watched as Enzo's words danced in circles, keeping the attention pegged on him even as the man's irritation grew; it was a thinly stretched rope ready to snap.I silently blessed Enzo's endurance. It was giving me time to orchestrate my own desperate plan. The shad
Winters pov I kept my head low, my heart aching with the pain of failure. Because I had not been strong enough, my friends were going to lose their lives. I didn't care about my own life being taken. The air was thick with tension, my heart beating erratically against the dull thrum of despair that filled the room. Each breath felt heavy, weighed down by the knowledge that time was running out. As the small vampire child entered, the room seemed to hold its breath, every eye turning to the eerie newcomer.My gaze fixed on the child, realisation dawning with a primal dread. This was no ordinary child; the child had been turned—a crime so severe that the punishment was often worse than death. My mind raced back to an old tale, whispers around campfires about a child vampire destined for a dark ritual that threatened to unravel everything. Though I couldn’t recall the specifics, I knew the ending was bleak, and I was caught in a story about to repeat itself.At that moment, my focus sh
Enzos povTime suspended itself in the air, every second ticking away in a torturous crescendo. As Winter grasped the knife, I felt a visceral shudder ripple through my entire being—a silent scream echoing deep within the core of our shared souls. No part of me wanted to accept the scene unfolding before my eyes, yet it unravelled with the dark certainty of a nightmare come to life."Winter, no!" Elena's voice, an anguished plea, shattered the tense silence, but Winter was resolute. In her eyes lay a tempest of emotion—determination, sorrow, and a haunting whisper of goodbye. As she raised the knife, I was frozen, helpless against the tidal wave of dread crashing over me.The air was torn apart by Elena's scream—a cry that summoned the reality of irreparable loss. A primal howl erupted from within me, an earth-shattering echo that reverberated against the stone walls as Winter plunged the knife into her own stomach. The blood bloomed slowly, a dark, sinister rose against her too-pale
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