Ch. 206..210: A Warrior Luna's Awakening Chapter 206-210
Chapter 206
61
+10 Free Coins
Her words cooled the edge of the growl vibrating in my throat. I released her hand with reluctance, savoring the lingering heat of her touch. Together, the three of us stepped into the villa.
Freya busied herself, clearly intending to serve our guest. But before she could rise, I caught her wrist gently. “I’ll make the tea,” I said smoothly. “You should rest?
She hesitated, then nodded, trusting me. That trust twisted in my chest—it was heavy, dangerous, something I couldn’t afford to lose.
I moved with purpose, preparing the tea, my movements controlled, precise. Steam curled in the air between us, fragrant but sharp. “Kade Blackridge, your arrival was unexpected,” I said as I poured. “Freya and I weren’t prepared to host. Tell me, when do you plan to return to the Capital?”
I made sure to lace her name into every sentence, every syllable an anchor, every repetition another blade driving between his ribs. Freya, Freya, Freya.
Kade’s jaw tightened. The vein in his temple throbbed. He ignored my question and instead turned to her. “Sister Freya, when will you return to the Capital?”
Freya blinked, startled. “Me? Once the last of the old estate paperwork is settled in my name. The demolition is almost complete. Once it’s done, I’ll go back.”
Her voice faltered just slightly on the words “estate” and “parents.” The losses were still fresh, but she masked the pain with grace. I swallowed hard, knowing I couldn’t erase her grief-only stand guard against anything that might add to it.
Kade smiled faintly, too faintly. “Then I’ll return with you.”
The words struck like a challenge. My brow creased before I could stop it.
Freya tilted her head. “Then why did you come to Ashbourne now?”
“To see you,” he said simply, as though that justified everything. “Things in the Capital are mostly settled, and I remembered your promise-that if I ever came to your home territory, you’d show me around. Now that you’re here too… surely you won’t refuse?”
2/4
12:05 Tue, Sep 9
Chapter 206
61
+10 Free Coins
The air thickened. My wolf bristled. His “request” was a blade wrapped in velvet.
“Of course,” Freya answered, soft, kind, unaware—or perhaps deliberately ignoring -the sparks snapping between us. “I did say that. I’ll show you around.”
Kade’s grin spread, smug and youthful. “Then I’ll look forward to it.”
She nodded, then seemed to remember something. “Right—your umbrella. You lent it to me last time. I’ll fetch it from upstairs.” She hurried off, her steps light, leaving only the faint scent of her perfume drifting on the air.
The silence that followed was thick as storm clouds.
I placed the cup of tea before him with a sharp clink. “Here. Drink.”
Kade didn’t touch it. His eyes, sharp as a hawk’s, locked onto me. “Silas Whitmor,” he said, voice low, venomous. “I don’t know what spell you cast to make her agree to be with you, but you don’t deserve her. You never have. You and she are worlds apart.”
I leaned back, a slow, dangerous smile spreading across my face. My wolf rose in my chest, pressing against the surface, my aura spilling across the room like shadows thick with iron. “Deserve her?” My voice dripped with mockery. “I don’t need your blessing, Blackridge. She chose me. And one day, when she’s mated, marked, and standing at my side until our last breath, it will still be me.”
His snarl tore through the air. “Dream on!” He lunged forward, seizing my collar, yanking me half across the table. His breath hit my face, hot with fury.
“Going to bare your fangs, pup?” I taunted, not flinching. “Because you’re jealous? Because to her, you’ll always just be the little brother? From the moment you called her ‘sister,’ you chained yourself.”
His eyes flared brighter, fury twisting his features. He actually laughed, sharp and bitter. “You think you’re clever? You sent your people to sabotage my mother’s law firm in the Capital, didn’t you? Forced me to rush back to put out fires-so you could slither into her life unchallenged? What do you think she’ll say when she learns how you play your games?”
Chapter 207
Chapter 207
Silas’ POV
:
61
+10 Free Coins
The moment my eyes caught Freya standing at the staircase, my blood ran cold.
Her silhouette was sharp against the dim glow of the landing lights, every line of her figure etched in my vision like a scar. She’d heard. The words Kade had spit in venom—about the law firm, about my interference-those words had reached her
ears.
My gut twisted. My wolf snarled inside me, ready to lash out, but another instinct -deeper, more terrifying-rose up: fear. Not fear of Kade, not of exposure, not of what the packs might say. But of her. Of that steady, storm-grey gaze turning on me with disappointment.
The world could call me a conniving Alpha, a Whitmor with dirty hands, and I wouldn’t flinch. But if she looked at me with disgust, with loss… it would break something inside me that no fight, no victory, no blood could ever mend.
Yet Freya’s face betrayed nothing. No fury, no shock. She walked toward us with the same composure she’d worn into battles. That unreadable calm made my chest ache more than open anger ever could.
“Release him, Kade,” she said evenly.
Her voice cut through the tension like Alpha command. Kade’s grip on my collar faltered, then fell away. His lips twitched in defiance, but he stepped back. “I listen to my sister,” he muttered, as though he’d scored some victory.
Freya’s eyes flicked to him, cool but polite. “How’s the situation with your mother’s law firm?”
The words struck me like claws across the chest. She had heard. Every muscle in
me went taut.
Kade straightened, voice clipped. “Already handled. No major problem now. But, Sister, some people are good at setting traps. You should be careful.” His gaze cut toward me, sharp with accusation.
1/4
12:05 Tue, Sep 9
Chapter 207
ཀློ(61)
+10 Free Coins
Freya smiled faintly, but her tone was mild, almost dismissive. “Let’s change the subject. The umbrella you lent me-today’s a good day to return it.”
She placed it in his hands. A simple gesture, but the weight of it pressed heavily on the air. “Umbrella”-the word carried meanings I doubted she missed. Shelter. Farewell. Separation.
Kade stared at it as if it were a blade buried in his chest. I could read it on his face: regret, longing, fury. He finally managed a bitter smile, took the umbrella, and bowed his head slightly. “Then I’ll head back to my hotel. I’ll come see you again tomorrow.”
“Travel safely,” she replied softly.
I stayed silent, watching as he left, my wolf still pacing beneath my skin. Every instinct screamed to drive him from our territory, to rip his throat out for speaking her name with such familiarity. But Freya’s presence bound me tighter than any chain.
When the door closed behind him, she turned.
Her gaze locked on me.
“Silas Whitmor,” she said, and my name on her tongue made my stomach knot,
‘was it you who orchestrated what happened to Kade’s mother’s firm?”
My lashes trembled. For the first time in years, I couldn’t meet someone’s eyes. My head dipped, not out of guilt-Alphas don’t confess to guilt-but because the bond, the fragile thread she and I were weaving, threatened to snap if I faced her
now.
“You promised me,” she continued, her voice low but steady, “that if I ever asked, you would never lie to me.”
Her words were iron, chains I had forged myself. That vow had been mine. I had bound myself to it freely.
And now it was a blade pressed against my throat.
2/4
12.05 Tue, Sep 9
Chapter 207
My hands curled into fists at my sides, nails biting into my palms. My wolf whimpered inside me. “Yes,” I whispered. “It was me.”
+10 Free Coins
Her eyes narrowed, but her expression didn’t shatter into anger as I feared. “Why?”
The question cut deeper than claws.
“Because…” My voice cracked before I forced it steady. “Because I feared him. Not as a rival Alpha, but as your comrade. Your bond with him was forged in blood and war. He is someone you trusted with your life. And I… I feared that trust would eclipse me.”
Her silence pressed harder than a physical blow.
“So?” she prompted.
“So I thought…” My chest heaved. I lifted my gaze at last, and her eyes were a mirror of light, clear, relentless, unshadowed. Next to her, I was filth-schemes and darkness stitched into flesh. “So I thought you would always prefer him to me.”
The admission ripped out of me like entrails in a fight.
Freya studied me, unblinking. “I do like Kade,” she said finally.
My heart stopped.
“But only as a brother. As a comrade-in-arms. If I ever intended more than that, his presence or absence in Ashbourne would never have mattered. Do you truly think my heart is so fickle? That if he left, I would so easily turn to love another?”
Her words thundered through me, shame and awe colliding in my chest.
“If I choose someone,” she continued, her voice ironclad, “then distance, time, or obstacles don’t matter. Silas, if you think my feelings can be replaced so easily, then what happens if one day you leave me for a while? Should I assume you’ll give your heart to someone else?”
“No!” The roar tore from my throat before I could stop it. I stepped forward, seizing her hands as though anchoring her to me. “Never, Freya! Don’t-don’t even
3/4
12:06 Tue, Sep 9
Chapter 207
:
speak of loving another. I couldn’t bear it.”
61
+10 Free Coins
Her lips pressed into a line, crimson against pale skin. “I chose you, Silas. And once chosen, I don’t change easily. But I can’t accept you dragging down those close to me with schemes and sabotage. Don’t touch my friends. Don’t harm those who’ve stood by me.”
For the first time in years, the word clawed its way out of me, raw and unfamiliar. “I’m sorry.”
An Alpha of the Ironclad Coalition doesn’t apologize. My pack would never believe it if they saw me like this-head bowed, shoulders hunched like a boy afraid of losing his place at the fire. But for her, for one tremor of disapproval in her gaze, I would crawl.
Freya looked at me, and I could see the conflict in her eyes-the sternness of a warrior and the ache of a woman who cared too much. My shame twisted into something worse: that even when I wronged her, she still hurt for me.
She sighed softly, and her hand rose, fingers cool and gentle against my cheek. My wolf leaned into her touch despite myself.
“Never again, Silas,” she murmured. “Not Kade, not anyone else close to me. If you use such tricks again, I truly will-”
I silenced her the only way I knew how.
My hand caught hers, pressing her fingers to my lips before the final words could escape. I couldn’t let her say them-couldn’t let her threaten to leave, even if she meant it only in warning. My wolf thrashed at the thought, and so did I.
“Don’t,” I whispered against her skin. My voice was rough, desperate. “Don’t finish that sentence. Please.”
Her eyes softened, just slightly. But I felt the weight of her warning settle between
us like a scar.
And I knew: if I crossed that line again, even my wolf wouldn’t be able to drag her back to me.
Chapter 208
Third Person’s POV
:
Silass voice was hoarse, almost breaking with the weight of his confession.
61
+10 Free Coins
“I won’t do it again,” he whispered, pressing his larger hand over Freya’s where it rested against his cheek. His skin was fever-warm, his face brushing tenderly into her palm as though her touch alone tethered him. “Freya, I’ll listen. I’ll be good. I swear it.”
The murmur was low, raw, and yet it rang like a lover’s vow.
Freya’s breath caught. For all his reputation as the Ironclad Alpha of the Coalition, Silas now looked nothing like a predator. He seemed more like a massive hound begging for mercy, amber eyes fixed on her with such intensity it almost burned.
Her body stiffened. Saints, those eyes were dangerous-wolf-bright, shamelessly devoted, and brimming with something that clawed straight at her defenses. He was a man who could level armies, and yet here he was, clinging to her like a desperate pup.
“That… that’s good then,” she managed, throat tight, trying to pull her hand back before her heartbeat betrayed her.
But his grip remained iron around her wrist, his dominance strong yet trembling at the edges, as if he feared letting her go meant losing her forever.
“I’m thirsty,” she said quickly, searching for a way to break the moment. “Let go of me-I’ll get tea.”
“I’ll get it,” Silas countered, his voice husky. His free hand reached without hesitation, snaring the porcelain cup of herbal tea from the low table. He tilted it back, taking a mouthful, then lowered it again with deliberate slowness.
Her brows knit. “You-”
Before she could finish, he leaned in. The realization hit her a breath too late. Freya’s lips parted on instinct, and heat surged up her neck as his mouth met hers
1/4
Chapter 208
-hot tea, steam, and all.
+10 Free Coing
The kiss was not soft. It was claiming, insistent, fire laced with the faint taste of herbs. The warmth of the liquid spread between them, mingling with the molten press of his lips, until she was half convinced his intent was to brand her with proof of his devotion.
Freya should have resisted. She should have pushed him back. But when she met his gaze-pleading, reverent, so terribly afraid she’d turn him away—her willpower faltered. With a quiet sigh, she slid her free hand up, fingers curling around the back of his neck, letting him draw her deeper into the kiss.
After all… he was her mate, her chosen one. And if this was how Silas needed to prove his heart, then for once, she could indulge him.
The tea burned away, leaving only the heat of his mouth and the fierce thrum of his wolf against hers. It was fervent, consuming, a kiss that spoke of love and desperation and a bond he would fight the world to keep.
Two days later, Aurora was discharged from Medical Hall. Her injuries from the abduction had been superficial-scrapes, bruises, nothing more. She emerged from the ward with her father, Duke, her mother Emilia, and her fiancé, Caelum Grafton.
Aurora’s expression was stormy, her voice sharp enough to cut glass. “That bastard who dared lay hands on me-I’ll see him rot. He humiliated me. I’ll repay him double. Caelum, I want the best trial, the harshest sentence. Find me a lawyer who’ll make sure he never breathes free air again!”
Caelum hesitated. “Aurora, that man…”
“You’re not suggesting mercy, are you?” Emilia snapped, glaring. “Caelum, she’s your betrothed! If you don’t protect her, how can I ever entrust my daughter to you?”
He opened his mouth, torn between truth and duty, when the hospital entrance erupted in chaos. A surge of reporters barreled toward them, cameras flashing, microphones shoved forward like weapons.
2/4
12:06 Tue, Sep 9
Chapter 208
61
+10 Free Coins
“Aurora!” one shouted. “During the abduction, you admitted you once abandoned a senior comrade who had shown you kindness. Was that true? What were you thinking?”
Aurora froze, color draining from her face.
“Is it true the man who abducted you was the son of that fallen soldier?” another pressed. “Do you believe his actions were justified revenge?”
“Rumors say the Ashbourne Legion are reviewing your past conduct. If your ‘hero pilot’ commendation is revoked, will you protest? Or resign?”
Questions exploded like grenades, every lens and flash targeting her like wolves circling fresh prey. Aurora flinched beneath the barrage, her composure fracturing.
“I have no comment! Move aside!” she barked, raising her arm to shield her face. But the mob only pressed harder, the scent of their eagerness acrid in the air.
Caelum tried to throw his weight forward, his Alpha aura flaring, but the sheer press of bodies shoved him back. Duke and Emilia were crushed against the tide, faces twisted with indignation and fear.
“My earrings! My bag!” Emilia shrieked. “That’s a luxury import, you vultures! You’ve ruined it-do you think you can afford to pay?”
Her shrill voice was drowned beneath the reporters’ demands, their frenzy cresting until hospital guards finally forced their way through, shoving the mob back.
Aurora, hair wild and eyes wide with panic, stumbled toward the car. Emilia’s cosmetics were smeared, her prized bag crushed into ruin, one of her golden earrings bent beyond repair.
Breathless, she rounded on Caelum the moment the doors slammed shut. “And you call yourself a man? You didn’t protect me-and you didn’t even protect Aurora! She’s your fiancée!”
“I-” Caelum began, but Vaughn cut him off with a scowl.
3/4
12:06 Tue, Sep 9
Chapter 208
61
+10 Free Coins
“This was negligence, Caelum. You should’ve anticipated the press. You should’ve had them blocked before we even left the ward.”
“Exactly,” Emilia chimed in bitterly, holding up her ruined bag. “And what of this? And my earring? If you expect to be my son-in-law, you’ll replace them. Do you know what they cost me?”
Aurora sat in silence, shoulders trembling, rage and humiliation twisting inside her chest. She had sworn she would make the world fear her again, but in this moment, she looked less like a decorated pilot and more like a wolf cornered, teeth bared but powerless.
And Caelum, for all his power as Alpha of Silverfang, could only sit in strained silence, his gaze slipping once toward Freya Thorne’s name echoing through his thoughts-wondering, perhaps, what she would have done in his place.
Chapter 209
Third Person’s POV
+5 Free Coins
Caelum sat in strained silence as the words of Aurora’s parents-the proud elders of the Bluemoon Pack- washed over him. Every sentence that left their mouths seemed to demand more: new clothes, new luxuries, new provisions. And in the spaces between demands, came barbed criticisms aimed at him, as though he were failing their daughter simply by existing.
His chest tightened with irritation. What gnawed at him more, however, was Aurora’s silence. She sat right beside him, listening, nodding faintly, yet not offering a single word in his defense.
Once, when he had been with Freya, it had been different-or at least, so he thought. The Freya had not crowded him with accusations or suffocating expectations. Instead, it had been his own mother, Eleanor, and his younger sister, Giselle, who had taken every opportunity to disparage Freya, assigning her endless. humiliating tasks as though testing her worth.
Caelum’s heart gave a sudden, heavy throb. Had he ever defended Freya back then? Or had he, much like Aurora now, simply remained silent?
Memory stabbed him with clarity: he had stood mute, and worse, when Freya had resisted unreasonable demands, he had accused her of being cold, ungrateful. “She’s already my mate,” he had once thought, “why not show devotion to my family?”
The recollection pressed against his chest like a boulder, making his breath shallow, painful.
By the time they arrived at the hotel, Caelum’s head was pounding. He dismissed Aurora’s parents to their chamber, then escorted Aurora herself into their private quarters. The moment the door shut, she hurled herself at him, clutching his arms with trembling hands.
“Caelum! What are we going to do?” Her voice was shrill, trembling with panic. “I’m ruined. Those reporters-they’ll twist everything. They’ll drag my name through mud again! This is all the fault of that rogue kidnapper… and Freya. They must have conspired together, planned this to destroy me!”
“There’s no proof,” Caelum answered flatly. His tone was calm, but his jaw was tight. “The rogue was acting alone. In time, the storm will pass. Scandals fade, and eyes turn elsewhere.”
Aurora’s nails bit into his sleeves as she shook her head violently. “And what about my position, Caelum? If the Capital’s Council strips me of my ‘Savior of the Flames’ commendation, Wing will sever my contract. Years of service, my whole career in the Bluemoon Airborne Wing-gone, all because of this!” Her words dripped with fury, her lips curling back like a wolf cornered.
Caelum hesitated. “If you had spoken the truth back then… about what happened to your wingmate in that fire… perhaps things wouldn’t have reached this point. People could have understood the danger, even if
Aurora shoved him hard, eyes blazing. “So now you’re defending him? That charred corpse of a comrade? You think I should’ve admitted weakness, shown I abandoned someone? Is that what you want to say?”
Caelum lifted his hands quickly, shaking his head. “No. That’s not what I meant. I only thought… if you had told the truth, perhaps you wouldn’t be celebrated as a hero, but neither would you be dragged through the mud like this.”
1/3
1:16 pm
Chapter 209
+5 Free Coins
“I did nothing wrong!” Aurora’s voice rose to a near-hysterical pitch. “I saved myself, I survived. That makes me worthy of the title! As for him-he was weak, unlucky. The flames consumed him, and I couldn’t waste my life for his. That is not a crime! I am not guilty!”
Her words echoed in the chamber like the growl of a wolf that refused to submit.
Caelum’s gaze darkened. Somewhere deep inside, disappointment sank its claws into him. The image of the noble, fearless she-wolf he once admired was crumbling. She was no hero carved of iron and flame. She was fragile, selfish-something far different from the woman he had wanted to believe in.
“Caelum!” Aurora lunged forward again, clutching his wrists so tightly it felt as though iron manacles bound him. “Promise me. Promise you’ll stand by me, always. No matter what.”
His eyes lowered. Her grip was suffocating, like shackles biting into flesh. At last, he murmured, “Yes. I will stand by you. You tore me from death’s jaws once. For that, I owe you my loyalty. How could I not stand beside you?”
Aurora froze for a heartbeat, then her lips curved into a trembling smile. “Yes… yes, that’s right. I saved you. You’re not the kind of wolf who forgets debts. That’s why I love you, Caelum.”
His silence in reply felt heavier than words. Deep in his chest, something shifted, as though the ground beneath him was slowly crumbling,
Far across the city, within the fortified Whitmor estate, Silas sat in the solitude of his study. The Ironclad Alpha leaned back as his bodyguard placed a thick folder of documents before him.
“Alpha Silas,” the guard said with a bow. “The information you requested.”
“Leave me,” Silas ordered, his tone quiet but edged with steel.
When the door clicked shut, he spread the files across his desk. Paper crackled beneath his long, scarred fingers. Interspersed among the dossiers were photographs. If Freya had been present, she would have recognized them at once-for every image captured the face of her lost brother, Eric Thorne.
Silas studied them in silence, his expression unreadable. But then his gaze caught on one particular photograph. His hand trembled as he lifted it.
The image showed Eric bare-shouldered, his back turned slightly. Across his skin stretched a jagged scar, ugly and deep. Silas’s breath hitched sharply. The mark was unmistakable.
That scar… It was the same scar he had seen once before, years ago, in a place where no one should have survived.
If the one he had met then-the ghost of that battlefield-was truly Eric Thorne, Freya’s long-lost brother…
The thought coiled through his chest like a serpent, suffocating him. If Freya discovered the truth, what
would she do?
Would she hate him? Blame him for silence? Would she abandon him entirely?
No. He couldn’t bear the thought. He would not allow it. The mere idea of Freya leaving him was unthinkable.
2/3
1:16 pm P p p
Chapter 209
The soft rap of knuckles startled him. “Who’s there?” His voice snapped like a whip.
“It’s me,” came the gentle reply.
The door creaked open, and Freya stepped into the study.
+5 Free Coins
Color drained from Silas’s face. Instinctively, he tried to sweep the photographs and files into a drawer. But his fingers, betraying him, fumbled. The pile slipped and scattered.
Papers fluttered across the carpet. Photographs spilled like fallen leaves, spreading in every direction.
3/3
Chapter 210
Silas’ POV
Her voice cuts into me before I can find the words.
+5 Free Coins
Freya stands there, her golden eyes-Stormveil-born, blood of the Thornes-fixed not on the documents strewn across the floor, but on me. My face, my faltering breath, the blood draining from my skin.
“What’s wrong with you?” she asks, stepping closer, concern outweighing suspicion. “You look pale. Are you unwell?”
The irony sears me. The evidence of my betrayal lies at her feet, yet she doesn’t look at it. She looks at me. Worrying for me.
My lips tremble as I try to answer. The words I want to speak claw at my throat, but none escape.
She raises her hand, her palm brushing my forehead as though I am the one in need of care. “No fever,” she murmurs, half to herself. “Maybe you’ve been pushing yourself too hard. You don’t rest enough.”
“Perhaps,” I whisper, my voice barely audible. “Perhaps I’m just… tired.”
Her gaze drops, and then the ground betrays me.
“See? You’ve dropped everything,” she says lightly, bending without hesitation to gather the scattered pages.
Panic surges through me. “No-leave it. I’ll handle it.” My voice is too sharp, too urgent, but it’s already too late.
She has already picked up the top photograph. I hear her soft intake of breath, that small startled sound that cleaves me in two.
“This picture…”
My heart stops. Every vein in my body feels like ice, as though my blood has frozen mid-pulse. My fingers twitch, desperate to snatch the photo back. I imagine spinning a lie, weaving some clever excuse-but she despises lies. She told me so once, her voice unyielding, her eyes burning with truth. I had sworn never to deceive her.
And yet… if she knows, if she truly knows what I’ve kept from her, there will be no going back.
Her gaze sharpens, and then she says it-words I dreaded, words that twist the knife. “Why do you have pictures of my brother?”
Eric Thorne. The ghost that haunts me every night.
I choke on silence. My tongue lies heavy, useless in my mouth.
Her hands flip through the rest of the photos, and there he is again and again-Eric’s face in different years, different shadows. His scarred shoulder, his sharp jaw, his eyes that resemble hers. Among the files are reports, dossiers, proof I have tracked him far longer than I have admitted.
1/3
1:16 pm P pp.
Chapter 210
+5 Free Coins
“Is it… is this because you’ve been helping me search for him?” she asks suddenly, her voice softening. Her eyes glimmer as she clutches the papers tighter. “Silas… thank you.”
Her gratitude strikes me harder than any blade. If only she knew the truth. Yes, I searched for him. Yes, I gathered everything. But it was not merely to help her. My motives were darker, heavier, soaked in blood.
“Could you… make me a copy of these?” she asks, almost timidly, as if afraid of overstepping. “Some of these photos-I’ve never even seen before.”
“Of course,” I force out. My voice sounds strange in my own ears.
She lifts one photo closer to her face. Eric’s bare shoulder is visible, the scar across his flesh a cruel brand of memory. “I wonder when I’ll see him again,” she whispers. “I miss him so much. Do you know… this scar, here on his shoulder-it’s because of me. He was protecting me.”
My stomach knots. My fingers curl into fists so tight my knuckles whiten.
Her voice softens into memory, into sorrow. “We were abroad with our parents when the attack came. Explosions everywhere. Flames and smoke. Eric shielded me with his body, pinned me against him so the shrapnel wouldn’t tear me apart. He nearly died that day. If not for him, I wouldn’t be standing here.”
Her eyes glisten, the scent of salt and grief touching the air.
“You love him deeply,” I murmur, though the words taste like ash on my tongue.
“Of course I do,” she answers without hesitation. “He’s my brother. I will find him, no matter how many years it takes. I will never stop searching until I do.”
The conviction in her tone slices me open. For a long moment, I can only stare at her, the weight of my silence pressing me down.
“What if…” The words slip out before I can stop them. “What if someone had wronged your brother? Would you forgive them?”
Her head tilts, her brows furrowing at the strangeness of my question. “That wouldn’t be my choice, Silas. Forgiveness-if it came-would belong to Eric alone.”
“But you?” I press, my voice hoarse, ragged with fear. “Would you forgive?”
She frowns, studying me as if sensing the storm beneath my skin. “Depends on what they did. If it put his life at risk… if it endangered him… then no. Never. That’s something I couldn’t forgive.”
Her words hit like a death sentence. My throat closes around the confession I will never speak.
I lower my eyes as she sets the photos down, her face still clouded with worry. “You really don’t look well. You should rest.”
“Yes,” I mutter, though my voice barely carries.
And then her hand slides into mine. Her fingers lace with mine, warm, alive.
“Your hand is freezing!” she exclaims softly, clasping both her hands around mine. “How can it be so cold? It’s autumn, not winter, and the room’s warm enough.”
2/3
1:16 pm
Chapter 210
I can’t meet her eyes.
“Are you cold?” she asks again.
“A little,” I whisper.
+5 Free Coins
She bends her head, rubbing my hands with her palms, breathing warm air over my skin. “Here. I’ll warm them for you.”
The sensation shatters me. My body stiffens, but slowly, under her touch, warmth seeps back into my hands. Into my veins. Into the parts of me I thought had gone numb forever.
And yet, beneath the heat, I tremble. Because I know this warmth is a lie. One day, when she learns the truth, her hands will never hold mine again.