The Witch and Her Four Dangerous Alphas

Chapter 57: Chapter 57: I Waited Till The Sun Rose Again

Aeron’s POV~

I watched them disappear into the mouth of the cliffside like two men stepping willingly into the belly of the death.

Fifteen elite warriors followed close behind, every one of them handpicked, every one of them willing to bleed for their Alphas. For us.

And yet... it wasn’t enough.

Because as the last one vanished into the abyss, a weight settled in my chest like a stone. A dread I couldn’t name. Couldn’t reason with. It gnawed at my ribs, curling low and poisonous beneath my heart, whispering all the things I refused to let myself believe.

That we were too late.

That she was gone.

No. No.

I wouldn’t believe it. Couldn’t.

So I stayed.

I stayed right at the cliff’s edge, my boots sunk into the torn earth, where the wind still smelled of her and the blood she spilled. I told myself I would wait here until they brought her back. I would be the first thing she saw. The first thing she touched when they carried her back into the light.

She wouldn’t wake up to a stranger’s face. She’d wake up to mine.

Lucian groaned beside me. His body had gone slack with blood loss, but his wolf was still clawing inside his chest, howling like mine.

He wanted to stay too. He said it through blood-choked coughs. Clutched the dirt like it was the only thing anchoring him to this world.

"I’m not leaving," Lucian rasped, voice raw. "Don’t you f**king dare make me—she needs me. I feel her. Aeron, I feel her fear!"

But his wounds weren’t healing.

His wolf...our wolves were in agony. Selene’s absence tore through us like a blade dipped in silver, making it impossible to focus, impossible to shift or heal.

him if he stayed. I knew it.

he fought. His hands dragged through the soil as

behind again!" he snarled. "If she dies thinking we

like that since we were pups, since the day our father died in front of us and he screamed at the

after her myself," he said suddenly, delirious. "You can’t stop me. I’ll f**king jump if I have

I breathed, stepping

to the gods, Aeron—don’t touch me," he growled, dragging himself up on one shaking arm.

his jaw, and

He stilled.

heaved, blood bubbling at the edge of his

and realizing just

we couldn’t all go. That someone had to survive

brother," I

"No—wait—don’t—"

I knocked him out

body collapsed, limp, into the dirt. For a second, I couldn’t move. My hand shook where it hovered above his chest, the

him," I said

Cyrus was already there.

down, and hoisted Lucian’s body over

from Lucian’s injuries, trailing down Cyrus’s back. My stomach twisted at the

anyone. I don’t care if the king himself tries to speak to

Cyrus said.

muttered, eyes

The ceremony. The dozens of alphas from neighboring packs who had come for our coronation. The lunatics back there are screaming for answers.

uproar it had caused in

Spit in the face of every diplomatic thread that held our fragile

All for her. Selene.

don’t give a f*ck. Nothing is more important than her. Let the world burn. Let those fucking

it," I whispered, more to myself than

Still, Cyrus heard me.

just nodded once, firm, and disappeared into the trees

gone. My brothers were gone. My Beta was gone. Only I