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-

to her," Jasper cut him off, his voice trembling with

Jasper turned and strode into the darkness,

sigh. "They're right when they say aristocratic families

through the snow, his

past. If he were Alyssa, where would he go? Jasper's heart raced as he strained to stay vigilant. He arrived at the cave-the very place where he and Alyssa

surged back-the harrowing brush with death, the suffocating fear, and the unspoken

doesn't protect you,

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

I have

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

of hopelessness,

as ruthless and

huddled into a tight ball, pressing herself against the rock. The pure white snow

as hypothermia took its toll. Disoriented and barely clinging to awareness, her mind wavered in a haze of

would be frozen stiff, and she would

violently as she curled tighter into herself. Lost in a daze, fragments of heartwarming childhood memories

unexpected warmth. In the depths of her daze, her late mother had

sweet girl. Don't be afraid. I'm

that you've been through a lot. Go to sleep. I'll keep watch

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