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
I woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside my window. To most people, it would have been a beautiful way to wake up, but for me, it was not. My head was pounding from the night. I snuck out again with my friends and went to a party. My family never let me do anything. They always say that princesses should be seen outside of their role I had to act perfect all the time, and I hated it. I knew that if they had found out that I had been out all night with my friends Lillie and Elena, they would be even made. Our friendship was forbidden. Our kinds were not allowed to mix unless it was for something that benefited us. I rolled over, looking at the time, letting out a loud, angry growl as I did because I knew my parents would be so upset that I had missed breakfast with them. They made it clear yesterday that I had to be there because they had important news to tell me. As I quickly got dressed and tried to piece together the events of the night before, my mind was filled with wo
I headed straight for my room once I was back home. I locked my door behind me. I had to be so careful with what I did so I wouldn't get caught.As I sat on my bed, I felt a sense of relief wash over me. I had made it back home safely, without anyone suspecting a thing.But I knew that I couldn't let my guard down. I had to be careful every step of the way. One wrong move and everything could come crashing down, and it wasn't only me that would be punished. It would be Lillie and Elena, too, and the last thing I wanted was for them to get into trouble because of me. I started making a mental list of all the things that I would need to take with me. I needed to pack light, but there was also so much that I would need. After all, I would never be able to turn home again. Once my family had worked out what I had done, they would disown me. Werewolves are meant to be pack animals, only ever doing things that benefit their pack. I have always tried my hardest to be a good pack member, but
I stayed in my room the whole day, ignoring the knocks on my door from maids coming to bring me food and father coming to check up on me. I even ignored my brother I didn't want to face any of them. It was easier to just stay away from them. It would make leaving so much easier, and I wouldn't let my emotions get the better of me. That's one thing I hate about being a wolf. Your emotions are so strong, and they control nearly everything that you do. One of the first things you start to learn in wolf school is how to control your emotions so you don't snap one day and let your wolf take over and kill someone. It's one thing I have never been very good at. I have anger problems, and I've spent most of my life trying my hardest to keep them at bay. Because of this, I ended up getting my wolf really early in life. Most wolves only get there when they turn 16, some even later than that, but I was 6, and it was on my first day of school when one of the other kids started to pick on me becau
We walked along, hardly talking at the start, too scared to in case someone heard us, but as we got further and further from our homes, we began to talk and enjoy ourselves as we walked through the forest."what do you think humans are like?" Elena asked as she turned to walk backwards to look at us, which was not a good idea for someone as clumsy as her. She is always falling over her own feet. "Who cares? It's not like we have to hang out with them or anything," Lillie answered as she tried to open the pack of flower chips she had been trying to open for the past twenty minutes."They can't be any worse than our own kinds," I said, knowing that I was dampening the whole thing but not really caring because I was overwalking and just wanted to hurry up and get there."you haven't said much this whole time, winter. is everything okay?" Elena asked.But before I could answer, Lilly let out an angry scream, throwing the pack of flower chips as she did. I stood walking, and Elena did, bo
The waitress returned with our food, but as she sat my plate in front of me, I lost all interest in eating. There was too much going on inside my head right now. I could feel her standing there staring at me, making me look away from my plate of food. Her brown eyes looked at me with so much sympathy . "is everything okay, honey?" she said warmly as she reached out touching my arm.I wanted to pull away from her—I hate being touched by anyone—but I stopped myself from pulling away, not wanting to hurt her feelings. "Yes, I'm okay," I lied. "Do you know somewhere we could go to possibly get a ride out of here?"She removed her hand from me, which I was thankful for. "there's a bus stop about six blocks down, but you won't get very far without any money." when I stayed silent, she went on. "there a prawn shop right near the bus shop if you have anything worth selling go in there and see dave tell him sally sent you and he'll give you a good price." I went to answer her, but Elena inter
We had no plan as to where we were going when we went and brought our tickets. We just booked it for the last stop and thought that we would just wing it. If we saw a city or town that we liked, that would be where we would get off. But after three hours of driving, we all drifted off to sleep, the tiredness from last night finally catching up to us. I was awakened by a gentle hand on my shoulder and the sound of the bus driver's voice telling us that we needed to get off the bus. Opening my eyes, I looked around and saw that the bus was empty Except for the three of us. I rubbed my eyes and stretched, feeling mixer of feelings as I realized we had arrived at our final destination.As we stepped off the bus, the cool air hit me, and I took a deep breath. Looking around, I saw that we were in a large city—bigger than anything I had ever seen before. I stood there, taking it all in for a second. The sound of cars driving and blasting their horns filled my ears, and the smell was like no
Opening my eyes, I noticed that I was back in our dirty hotel room, which left me feeling confused I don't remember anything after the bartender helped me out of the club. Sitting up, I look around, seeing Lillie and Elena both sitting on the other bed, staring at me. "it's about time you awake," Lillie remarked, her voice laced with annoyance. "We've been worried sick about you."I rubbed my temples, trying to piece together last night's events. "What happened? How did I end up back here?"Elena spoke up next, her expression filled with concern. "after your knight in shinning arm came along and save you from that creepy guy who clearly put something in your drink. He helped us get you home, but you were on another plant.""on the plus side, the sexy bartender left your number. He wants you to call him so he can make sure you're okay", Lillie said teasingly while waving a piece of paper in the air. "Can you please call him?" Elena begged, getting on her knees and holding her hands u
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