Can’t Win Me Back by Ginger Sue

Chapter 2343

Elias frowned deeply; his worry etched onto his face.

"We've been shouting Ms. Alyssa's name the whole way. With so many of us calling out, she should've heard us by now if she were nearby!"

In a deep voice, Jasper said, "The wind is too strong, and then there's the heavy snowfall. Our voices are being drowned out. Lyse might not hear us at all.

Lyse.

Her nickname slipped from his lips before he even realized it.

"I'm just afraid she's injured-or worse, fainted. If she blacks out in this cold..." Elias trailed off, his voice heavy with dread. "On a day like this, she won't survive long. She'll freeze to death."

The group exchanged uneasy glances, the reality of his words tightening their chests.

It wasn't that Elias was being a doomsayer. Rather, this was the cruel reality that might actually happen.

Crater Mountain claimed lives every year. Danger lurked unpredictably in the woods on the mountain-anything could unfold.

"Let's split up," Jasper commanded, his eyes fixed on the shadowy forest. His voice carried an edge of desperation. "We're not leaving until we find her."

Elias hesitated. "But what if-

his voice trembling with fierce determination, 'I'll make this place my grave.

and strode into the darkness, his figure

"They're right when they say

trudged through the snow, his

Alyssa finally convinced him to make her a promise, all she asked was for him to go hiking with her. But she didn't mean just a hike. She wanted them to retrace their past. If he were Alyssa, where would he go? Jasper's heart raced as he strained to stay vigilant.

stared into the empty cave, memories of that day surged back-the harrowing brush with death, the suffocating fear, and the unspoken bond of survival that had tethered them

God doesn't protect you, I

promise wasn't just words; it was carved into his heart. He had not forgotten it. He had remembered it. Jasper's world swirled in dizzying chaos. A heavy thud echoed as his strength gave out, sending him crashing to his

I have to

he clawed at the frozen ground, forcing himself to stand. His muscles screamed in protest, but he pushed forward. "I have to...

of hopelessness, the

was as ruthless and cold

into a tight ball, pressing herself against the rock. The pure white snow blanketed her almost entirely, rendering her nearly invisible to anyone who

its toll. Disoriented and barely clinging to awareness, her mind wavered in

frozen stiff, and she

fragments

her senses, replaced by an unexpected warmth. In the depths of her daze, her late mother had appeared, her arms wide open,

Don't be afraid. I'm

"I know that you've been through

"Mom... I'm exhausted...