Calvin’s POV
I couldn’t sit still any longer.
I needed answers.
Everything I had believed for the past year and half was beginning to crumble before my eyes. The certainty I had clung to, the anger that had driven me-it was all slipping through my fingers, replaced with a single, gnawing question:
What if Sherelle was alive?
The thought had taken root in my mind and refused to let go. It made too much sense now. The missing body. The disappearing guard. The lack of any real proof beyond circumstantial evidence.
Fenrir stirred restlessly in the back of my mind, pacing. “You know what we have to do.”
I exhaled sharply, already knowing what he was going to say. “Go back to the witch.”
“It’s the only way,” Fenrir said. “She gave you answers once. She might have more now.”
He was right. I hated admitting it, but he was right.
“We have to go back,” I murmured, running a hand through my hair. “We have to find out the truth.”
It didn’t matter that I was leaving the Blue Bell Pack in the morning.
It didn’t matter that I was leaving Kamrynn behind.
It didn’t matter that I was leaving my children behind.
I had already made too many mistakes. Too many wrong choices.
I refused to make another.
I clenched my fists and exhaled slowly. “Then it’s decided.”
Fenrir let out a low growl of approval. “You should rest. You’ll need your strength.”
I didn’t argue. I rose from my chair and made my way toward the guestroom I had been given for the night. The moment my head hit the pillow, exhaustion claimed me, but my thoughts continued to churn.
Tomorrow, I would leave.
Tomorrow, I would find the truth.
One way or another.
Kamrynn’s POV
I should have followed him.
The moment Calvin disappeared down that dim hallway, a sick feeling had twisted in my gut, warning me that something wasn’t right.
I had even taken a few steps after him, instinct screaming at me to make sure he didn’t do something stupid.
But I forced myself to stop.
I clenched my fists and reminded myself, It’s not my problem.
It didn’t matter what Calvin did.
It didn’t matter where he went.
He was leaving in the morning.
And after that?
He would be gone from my life.
For good.
I inhaled sharply, pushing aside the unease curling in my stomach, and turned toward the kitchen.
That glass of water I had originally gone for suddenly felt like the most important thing in the world.
I walked with slow, deliberate steps, forcing myself to focus on anything but the man who had shattered me.
By the time I reached the kitchen, my throat felt unbearably dry. I grabbed a glass from the shelf and filled it with cool water, drinking it in slow, measured sips.
The cold liquid soothed me, grounding me.
He’ll be gone soon. Just hold on a little longer.
Once I finished the water, I placed the glass in the sink and made my way back to my room.
The moment I stepped inside, my eyes went straight to the cradle.
Astor and Arabella were still curled up together, their little chests rising and falling in perfect sync, their soft breathing filling the quiet room.
My heart clenched.
No matter what happened with Calvin, they were all that mattered.
I brushed a gentle hand over Astor’s tiny fist, then leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Arabella’s forehead.
“Sleep well, my loves,” I whispered.
Then I climbed into bed, pulling the blankets up to my chin, and closed my eyes.
Sleep took me quickly.
But it wasn’t peaceful.
It never was with my visions, a power I was grateful for but dreaded at the same time.
The darkness came first.
Thick. Encroaching. Endless.
A void so vast it swallowed everything-light, sound, reason.
I floated in it, weightless and trapped all at once, my limbs frozen, my breath shallow. The silence pressed in, heavy and unnatural, filling my ears with a hollow ringing.
Then came the cold.
Not the sharp bite of winter air, not the kind of chill that could be warmed away with a fire or a thick blanket.
This was bone-deep.
A creeping, unnatural cold that slithered into my veins like ice water, curling around my heart and squeezing tight.
I shivered violently, my skin prickling as a howling wind rushed through the void, unseen but felt, sharp as knives against my bare skin.
And then-
A whisper.
“Kamrynn…”
My breath hitched.
That voice.
I know that voice.
Too familiar yet associated with so much sorrow.
I hadn’t heard it in so long.
“Kamrynn…”
Soft at first, almost gentle-but then it twisted, warping into a sharp terrible echo all around me.
It made my stomach drop.
“You let me die…”
The words sent a shockwave through me.
I turned sharply, my heart pounding, searching through the black abyss. “Who’s there?”
Nothing.
Only shadows.
Only silence.
Then-
“You should have saved me…”
I spun around, but my feet felt glued to the ground-if there even was ground.
“Why did you let me die?”
The shadows shifted.
The darkness stirred.
And suddenly-
She was there.
Sherelle.
My twin sister.
But not as I remembered her.
Her golden hair, once radiant and shining, was matted with blood, clumped together in twisted strands. Her skin was pale, grayish, like all the warmth had been drained from it.
Her blue eyes-eyes that had once been so full of life-were empty.
Dead.
A walking corpse.
A nightmare given form.
But the worst part-the part that made my stomach turn, made my chest tighten with something that felt like pure terror-
She was smiling.
Not with warmth.
Not with love.
With something else.
Something dark, twisted. Almost mocking.
The corners of her lips pulled back too far, stretched in an unnatural grin that sent a sick shiver through me.
“You took everything from me… At least that’s what I would say but it wouldn’t be quite accurate. This…bond between you and I runs far deeper than just blood or mates.”
Her voice was like a whisper, conspiratorial but almost amused.
I tried to speak, but no sound came out. My throat felt tight, like I had lost my voice.
I tried to move, but my body wouldn’t obey.
All I could do was stand there, trapped in that icy void, staring at the horrible mockery of my sister.
“You have no idea the things that are in store for you but I promise you won’t be bored. I’ll happily let you be the main character this time, little sister.”
The words came with a gust of wind, a howling shriek that filled my ears-
And then-
She lunged.
Her skeletal hands grasped for me, her nails digging into my arms, her lifeless eyes boring into mine as she dragged me down.
I screamed.
I shot up in bed, gasping for breath, my chest heaving.
Sweat clung to my skin, dampening my clothes, my hair sticking to my forehead. My heart raced, hammering so violently it felt like it would break free from my ribs.
For a long moment, I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t think.
The dream was already slipping away, dissolving into fractured images and distorted whispers, but the feeling remained.
A deep, unbearable dread.
I pressed a shaking hand to my forehead, my fingers trembling.
Sherelle.
I hadn’t dreamed of her in so long.
Not since I escaped from the Obsidian Pack.
So why now?
Why tonight?
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to take slow, steady breaths.
It was just a nightmare.
Nothing more.
And yet…
As I lay back down, staring at the ceiling, I couldn’t shake the dread clawing at my insides, making my stomach turn. I knew better than to take my dreams for granted but what could it possibly mean?