That was the truth of it, wasn’t it? No matter how much I missed the comfort of the palace, I couldn’t pretend it would make everything right. It wouldn’t undo what happened to me. Wouldn’t erase the nights I screamed into my pillow or the way my body still flinched when I remembered his hands on me. The palace could offer peace, but not justice.
And I was starving for justice.
Still!!! What had I even been thinking? That I could just show up at the Snowwolf Pack and kill Joe with my bare hands? That vengeance would be waiting for me like some gift wrapped in fury? I had been so blinded by rage and hurt that I forgot that I was just one girl, with scars still healing and barely enough strength to hold herself upright.
But even with all these realizations… I couldn’t bring myself to let it go. I couldn’t move on. Not while he was still out there, breathing freely, laughing, and living a life untouched by the horror he inflicted on me. The mere thought of him smiling somewhere made my stomach churn.
Why should I be the only one unhappy?
Why should I be the one haunted while he sleeps peacefully at night?
He ruined my life.
He destroyed pieces of me I would never get back.
And I wanted, no, I needed to look into his eyes and watch the fear set in when he realized I had survived. That I had crawled out of the grave he buried me in. I wanted him to see me standing there and know that I would be the last thing he ever saw.
But right now, I was helpless.
Eventually, the tremors in my limbs turned to numbness. The tears dried and crusted tight against my cheeks. The bench was hard, but I curled onto it like a stray, with my arms tucked tight into my chest, rocking gently to calm the tremors as the night deepened and the city blurred around me.
Sargis’s POV
Every second she wasn’t with me scraped another layer off my sanity.
I paced the length of the room once more, her lingering scent wrapping around me like a bittersweet memory. The floor-to-ceiling windows loomed above, casting pale moonlight across the cool stone floor, creating shimmering patterns that seemed to taunt my restless movements. Each step felt heavy, as if the very air was charged with an unbearable weight. I couldn’t bring myself to sit, my thoughts were a chaotic storm that refused to settle, and each shallow breath I took only deepened the hollow ache in my chest, making it expand a little wider with every fleeting moment.
She was gone, and the reality of that truth carved an emptiness in me that echoed through the silence of the room.
Hours had slipped away, stretching into a suffocating silence that hung heavily in the air. My heart raced as I felt the weight of the uncertainty pressing down on me. Frustrated, I dragged both hands down my face, feeling the roughness of my stubble match the fraying edges of my thoughts. Gripping tightly to the hoodie she had worn last, I held it to my chest, inhaling deeply. Her scent lingered faintly, yet hauntingly like a ghost enveloping me in a bittersweet embrace.
My mind spiraled into a chaotic whirlwind, images flashing before my eyes with relentless speed. Each new thought fed into the next, constructing a terrifying web of worst-case scenarios. Was she lying somewhere injured, crying out for help? Had she been taken, swept away by forces beyond her control? I shuddered at the possibility of her being cold and shivering, maybe even hungry, lost, and alone in unfamiliar streets. The mere thought of her wandering aimlessly, gripped by fear and despair, ignited a fire of anxiety deep within my chest.
Or did she plan this all along?
The thought struck me with the force of a fist to the gut, knocking the breath from my lungs and making me stagger backward. My heart pounded wildly, each beat echoing in my ears as the realization settled over me like a heavy fog. Had this entire situation been spontaneous, a fleeting spark of reckless emotion? Or had she been harboring the desire to escape from the very beginning?
Had I been so utterly blinded by my compulsion to protect her, so desperate to help her heal from her past wounds, that I failed to recognize her true intentions? The pit in my stomach twisted painfully, and for a moment, a wave of anger surged through me, mingling with disbelief.
With a low growl rumbling deep in my throat, I felt a primal instinct rise within me. Rage fueled my movements as I slammed my palm against the cold, unforgiving wall beside me. The impact reverberated through the space, and I watched as a network of cracks spiderweb outward from the point of contact.
My heart thudded violently against my ribcage, like a frantic animal trapped in a cage, yearning for freedom. The sensation was so overwhelming, like a powerful pulse that reverberated through me, demanding an escape. If I could run the streets myself, tear through the city with nothing but her name on my tongue, I would. Hell, I was seconds from doing just that.
“Where the fuck are you, Narine?” I whispered.
The bond between us remained intact, and for that, I was eternally grateful. It was the only thread holding me together, keeping me from crumbling under the weight of my worries. I could feel its presence like a steady pulse within me, a reassurance that reassured my heart. If something irrevocable had occurred-like her passing-I would have sensed it immediately, as if a part of me had been severed from my very being. The thought of losing her was unbearable.
And yet here we were.
She ran.
From me.
I bit down on my tongue hard enough to taste blood and threw myself into motion again. I barked orders into the comms, ordered guards to double their radius, instructed the mages to scan for her aura, no matter how faint. I was willing to rip open the damn veil if it meant I could find her.
What did I do wrong?
My thoughts spiraled with each ticking minute. I remembered her laugh, soft and unsteady, the one she only ever gave me when she forgot the world was cruel. I remembered how she curled into the corner of my couch like she owned it, how she hoarded the remote and decided the anime shows we should binge with wide, sparkly eyes.
I collapsed into the nearest sofa.
“Please,” I whispered to the sky. “Don’t take her from me. Not now. Not when I’ve just begun to learn how to love her right.”
The door slammed open with a bang.
Lupercus barged in, breathless. “A guard just called in,” he looked at me with a smile. “They found her.”
I shot to my feet so fast the sofa clattered behind me.
“Where?” I snapped.
“She was… sleeping. On a bus stop bench. Downtown. One of the outer sectors. She’s okay, they’re bringing her back now.”
Sleeping on a goddamned bench?
My heart thundered in my ears as rage and relief collided inside me like crashing waves.
I didn’t wait for more. I snatched my jacket, tore open the door, and shouldered past Lupercus so hard he stumbled. My legs were already moving, carrying me faster than my mind could catch up.
My body was already shaking from adrenaline by the time I hit the garage, flung open the car door, and floored the pedal so hard the tires screamed.
But why the fuck had she run?
My hands clenched the steering wheel so tight my knuckles went white, but my chest burned hotter. She had no money or protection. She’d been out there alone in a city filled with creatures that would eat her alive if they smelled her weakness.
I slammed the horn, weaving past slower vehicles.
Sleeping on a fucking bench? The words echoed in my head again.
How long had she been there?
How cold had it gotten?
I didn’t want to imagine it.
Narine’s POV
One minute I was asleep and the next… I was in the air.
Hauled.
Not lifted gently or nudged awake.
No. Hauled. Like a damn sack of grain.
I flailed groggily as panic thrashed through my limbs, as unfamiliar hands gripped under my arms and knees.
“Hey, hey!” I cried. “Put me down!”
The man didn’t even flinch. His arms were like steel, and his grip was unrelenting as he moved. I kicked weakly, but it was no use. I hadn’t eaten properly, rested, and whatever adrenaline I had was fizzling fast. My voice was a hoarse rasp by the time I was dumped. Yes, dumped into the backseat of a black car. The door slammed shut, sealing me inside like a prisoner.
“What the hell is going on?” I demanded, banging my fist on the tinted glass. “Let me out! This is kidnapping!”
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