Chapter 186

Celena’s POV Run, just keep running. The wind tore at my fur, but it couldn’t carry away the pain in my heart. The scenery in the forest blurred into a dark stream of light. I just wanted to get far away from there, away from that cold, deathly aura, away from those silent faces, away from… him. I finally exhausted myself and stopped by a strange lake. When transforming back into human form, my legs gave way and I immediately knelt down on the moist soil and fallen leaves. The cold air was inhaled into my lungs, as if it were carrying ice chips, causing me to cough in pain for a while. Tears burst without warning, not silent weeping, but heart-wrenching wailing. I pounded the ground hard until my knuckles turned red and cracked. Why? Why Brett? Why Jacob? It felt like there were two people frantically tugging at each other in my mind. On one side was Brett. In the dim light of the dungeon, he secretly slipped me a clean piece of bread and whispered, “Eat it, Celena. Don’t let them find out.” His hands were always warm, and his eyes carried a kind of complex pity and determination that I didn’t understand at that time. He was my only anchor during those dark years, the one who told me that there was sunshine, wind and freedom outside. He, like an elder brother, clumsily tried to protect the last glimmer of starlight in my small sky. On the other side was Jacob. His brown hair looked like a wheat field in the sunlight. He taught me how to control the shape of a Wolf and how to be patient during hunting. His hands once gently wiped the stains off my face, and his eyes once made me think that perhaps becoming a werewolf and having a predestined partner wasn’t such a terrifying thing. That strange, throbbing warmth has just sprouted a tender bud in my frozen heart… But now, this tender sprout had been pulled out bloody by the roots. It was him! It was his claws that tore Brett’s throat apart! I saw that wound with my own eyes and I smelled the blood belonging to Brett on his paw! No matter what the reason was, the result couldn’t be changed. Brett died, at the hands of the “family” I thought I could start a new life with. Hatred burned through my entire body like wildfire, overpowering that tiny, yet unformed warmth. It was so intense and so pure that I could hardly sense any other emotions. Yes, I hated him. I hated him for taking away my only past and for ruining my possible future. Compared with that vague love, this hatred was so real and powerful. It was like a cold armor, wrapping around my broken heart. Facing the pitch-black lake surface, I let out a hoarse roar like a wounded cub.. Max’s POV God, Natalie… Watching her dash into the forest like a brown lightning bolt, my heart clenched. I could feel her pain,like tangible waves crashing against my nerves as her brother. I immediately followed, but keeping my distance. She ran very fast, completely driven by sadness and anger. I tried several times to get closer and call her, but every time I just accelerated, she seemed to sense something and vanished even faster into the depths of the forest. She was avoiding me, avoiding everyone. She built a wall, keeping me and all the wolves’ connections out. Damn it. What could I do? Rush up and hug her, tell her everything would be okay? I didn’t even believe that myself. Tell her Jacob didn’t mean it? Saying that now would only make her hate me more. So I chose the dumbest option: follow her. I made sure I could always smell her unique scent, laced with despair and tears, and kept her within sight (even if far away). I was like a silent shadow, helping her drive away a coyote that was approaching out of curiosity, vigilatively sensing anything around that might threaten her. Watching her kneeling by the lake, her shoulders trembling violently from crying, my heart ached as if it had been cut out by a knife. Oh, my poor little sister, the girl who’d once cowered silently in the dungeon’s corner, now enduring this searing pain alone. I could do nothing but stay here and wait. Perhaps this clumsy vigilance was all I could offer now.