Chapter 187

Lily’s POV Seeing Jacob lying there, his brow furrowed even in unconsciousness, filled with pain and guilt, I couldn’t bear it. To me, he was like a brother. He was the one who cracked jokes whenever I fought with the twins. He was the one who always handed me a bottle of water after training, grinning and saying, “Lily, that move you just pulled off was awesome.” I couldn’t stand by and watch him lose his destined mate like this, especially under such a shitty misunderstanding. “I’m going to find her,” I told Ethan. He looked at me, his eyes filled with concern, but more with understanding. He nodded. “Be careful, Lily. She… might not be open to hearing anything right now.” I rode my motorcycle, following the faint trail Max left behind and the anguished traces Celena had left. The sensation was painfully clear. Finally, I arrived at that peaceful lakeside and saw the girl curled up by the shore, her figure so thin that it seemed as if she would fade away at any moment. I stopped the bike and walked slowly toward her, making no effort to muffle my footsteps. Her body stiffened at the sound, but she didn’t turn around. I sat down beside her, keeping a little distance, and watching the shimmering lake surface. “It’s so quiet here,” I murmured, almost to myself. “Once… when Ethan and I were at our worst, I ran to a lake just like this. I felt like no one in the world understood me.” She didn’t respond, but I could sense her taut nerves relax just a little. I sighed, deciding to get straight to the point, though my tone remained as calm as possible. “Celena, I know you hate us now. You hate Jacob. You have every right to hate. But… there are things you need to know the truth about, instead of torturing yourself with guesswork and fragmented glimpses.” I began to recount what happened that day. The hunter’s bullets flying all over the sky, Jacob getting shot while trying to save everyone, Lycotine’s pain, Brett being held hostage, everyone’s desperate choice, and in the end, Brett himself shouted, “Do it, leave me alone.” I didn’t excuse Jacob. I just stated the facts, including how Jacob’s paw, driven by intense pain and instinct, slashed across two people simultaneously. “It wasn’t murder, Celena. It was a bloody tragedy no one wanted to see. Jacob… he’s suffering worse than death right now,” I whispered. “He loved you from the moment he first saw you. This will be like a thorn forever lodged in his heart.” After speaking, I paused, letting the girl process the information. Then I pulled two wrapped ice cream cones from the motorcycle’s cooler, which was Aurora’s favorite kind. “Here,” I handed her one. “When you’re feeling down, something sweet might not help, but at least… it tastes good.” She stared at it for so long I thought she might swat it away. But finally, slowly, she reached out and took it. She licked it cautiously once, then big tears rolled silently down her cheeks, mixing with the ice cream as she swallowed them. After what felt like an eternity, she finally spoke, her voice raspy as a broken bellows: I want… to go back. To see Brett.” Celena’s POV Lily’s words were like an axe, splitting open the hard shell of my anger one after another. The truth… it was even more chaotic and helpless than I imagined. Brett…it was he himself who chose to end it. To prevent Jacob from being in a difficult position and to protect everyone. My heart felt like tangled knots. The hatred remained, it was like a cold stone pressing down on my chest. But beneath that hatred, I heard a faint voice asking: If it had been me at that time, what would I have done? Did I have a better choice? There was no answer. There was only a deep sense of powerlessness. I licked the ice cream Lily gave me. The cool sweetness melted on my tongue, yet it was tinged with the saltiness of tears. It couldn’t heal any wounds, but this moment’s insignificant kindness, like a thin spider silk, temporarily held me back as I was about to fall completely into darkness. I stared at the lake, my heart struggling. Go back? Face Jacob? Face that land of sorrow? But… Brett was there. I couldn’t leave him lying cold and alone, without even a proper goodbye. I couldn’t change the fact that Brett was dead, just as I couldn’t change the fact that I was a werewolf. Both were branded into my fate like indelible marks. Fighting was perhaps the only thing left for me to do. To avenge the hunters, and to… survive, as he had once hoped I would. As for Jacob…the fragile love that had just sprouted in my heart for him was completely stifled on that blood-red evening. All that remains was a cold wasteland that even hatred couldn’t fully cover. I went back not for him, but for Brett and for myself. “I think… I want to go back. To say goodbey to him.” I heard myself say it, my voice sounding strange and distant. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ