chapter fifty six

Katherine POV

I stood frozen, gazing at Layla's lifeless body, the silver arrow protruding from her head like a cruel accusation. My shaky hands covered her eyes, a futile gesture to protect her dignity, to preserve some semblance of peace.

Layla had known her fate before the arrow struck. Pity washed over me, despite our distant relationship. No one deserved such a brutal end.

The memory of her words echoed in my mind: "You're... in danger..." and "They... are going to kill... me."

I wiped away a tear and lifted her body, determined to give her a proper funeral, to honor her in death as she hadn't been in life.

As I carried Layla back to the pack, questions swirled in my mind like a vortex. What was she about to reveal? Was it her torturer who killed her? Who was behind the sinister forces that drove her to warn me?

Upon arriving at the gates, the puzzled faces of the pack members met me. No one offered to take Layla's body, their indifference a stark contrast to the turmoil brewin