I sat in the cold stone mins, my back pressed against the crumbling walls of the ancient castle. The chill seeped through my clothes, but it wasn't just the cold that made me shiver, It was the weight of Elijah's betrayal that made my skin crawl and my heart ache. I couldn't get the image out of my mind-the way he took the thap from me and handed it over to Mother, as if nothing had changed between them. The sound of his footstepss as he walked toward her, the coldness in his eyes, was all I could see. He was gone. He had chosen them. He had chosen the Shadow Weaver.

The ruins were quiet, save for the occasional shuffle of my mates

sey moved around the area, checking for threats. The castle

walls, cracked and covered in ivy, stood as a haunting reminder of the massacre that took place here. This was where my bloodli had been slaughtered, wiped out in one brutal night. Now, it felt like history was repeating itself-only this time, it wasn't just family who had been betrayed. It was me.

I couldn't believe it, I still couldn't. It felt like a nightmare that I dn't wake up from. I was supposed to be the one to protect that map, to keep it from falling into the wrong hands, but now It was gone, and with it, any hope of stopping the Shadow Weaver from being freed, I couldn't protect it. In the protector, I'm the wolf but turned out to be the biggest failure.

I pulled my knees to my chest, burving my face in my arms as I tried to hold back the soles threatening to escape. I couldn't afford to break down. Not now, Not when the Shadow Weaver had the map. It was over. I failed to protect the map, and now the world would pay the price. My vision blurred with tears as I remembered the picnic in the uncharted realm with my mates. That day, I'd seen a vision of a shadowy wolf surrounded by hundreds of Umbrankins, the world engulfed in flames. That vision had terrified me then, and it haunted me now more than ever. Was that vision coming true because I failed?What do we do now? Wait for the Umbral Society to find the keystone and release the Shadow Weaver? Should we just hide out here while the world falls into darkness?

wave of guilt washed over me. Eira and Savannah had risked everything to give us a chance to escape, and I hadn't even thought of them until now. Were they okay? Or had they been captured or worse? I hated myself for being so wrapped up in my own pain that I forgot about the people who saved us.

My thoughts were interrupted by raised voices nearby. I glanced up, ping my eyes, and saw Austin and Alex arguing, their faces twisted with anger and frustration

"I can't believe he did that!" Austin snapped, pacing back and forth. His ice sword was still gripped tightly in his hand, the blade shimmering with residual frost. "After everything we've been through, he just... turns on us like that?"

Alex's voice joined in, harsh and filled with fire. "I swear, if I see him again, I won't hold back. How could he do that to us? To Stormi?" His flames flickered dangerously in his hands, reflecting his anger.

had been standing silently between them, spoke up, his voice calm but strained. "We don't know the full story yet," he said, trying to calm them down. "There has to be a reason. Elijah wouldn't just turn

"Are you

toward them, my fists clenched. seriously defending him, lalah?" I snapped, my voice cutting through the tension. "We saw it with our own eyes! He handed the map over to Mother. There's no excuse for

didn't back down,

mine stradi

like, but I also know Elijah. We all know him. We've been best friends since childhood. There has to be more in

what I saw I

think we

all knew him

my hands shaking. Clearly you didn't know your soul called best friend enough". He knew exactly what he was

his eyes. "I just... I

with him if you trust him so much!" I shouted.

1/2

Chapter 169

if to argue, but he closed it, his

them into fists to steady myself. "Then don't mention him ever again. Hijah is dead to me." My words felt cold and final, even though

much. I needed to get away, to think, to process all of this, but before I

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