Ian:
Life has shown many forms of grief. From childhood to adulthood, I was taught only one thing, and that was to be tough.
To learn that, I had to pass through different kinds of pain. A mother who was not there. A father whose attention was lost most of the ti or was always working. I had a stepbrother who was always thinking of ways to hurt .
Then I went to live with my great grandfather.
My grandfather used to draw monsters. I would sit beside him for hours, staring at those monsters.
For a long ti, my life beca nothing but monsters. Even my nightmares were filled with monsters. Every ti he drew a picture, he showed it to , then explained what the monster did and what kind of powers and weaknesses it had.
Since I had nothing better to do, I just sat and listened to him. Then I would close my eyes and imagine the monsters walking around .
That is how I beca deeply connected to them, which is why when I went to the north and started seeing them in front of , I felt bored.
In the beginning, I was really upset about being sent there. I was angry with my father too because I thought I had never done anything wrong, so why the heck did he punish ?
I did not know about my brother’s condition, but I knew he had committed many frauds and many painful acts, even against and others. So I thought if soone should be going to the north, it should have been him for his wrong deeds.
Then she entered my life.
My fated mate. My Clentine.
The mont I saw her, I understood she was special. I also knew she would destroy .
I tried many tis to stay away from her. I could not.
She was like a magnet and I kept getting pulled toward her.
Eventually, I surrendered to her. I thought maybe this was the Moon Goddess’ way of redeeming herself.
After giving so much pain, maybe she was finally giving a little happiness.
But to take that happiness away, many enemies were created.
"Ian, drink so water."
Haiden spoke softly, holding a bottle out to . I gave him a hand gesture to let him know I did not want it.
The news hit like a wrecking ball, but more importantly, I could not feel it. I just did not feel it.
Even though the words were spoken with confidence, sothing else stopped from believing them. My own heart. My wolf.
I had been sitting on the road for a long ti, silently feeling nothing.
"I’m not feeling the loneliness," I said quietly.
The mont I said that, everyone turned to look at .
I lifted my head and looked at each of them.
I was even more surprised when I saw Leysa standing behind Troy. When had she arrived?
Also, when did Troy co?
"What are you saying?" Haiden asked, giving an apologetic look.
His new mate was standing beside him. They looked connected.
On the other side, Troy was holding Leysa’s hand.
A lot was happening here. A lot was changing. It was a lot for to register but my brain seed to be cooked.
"I’m not feeling the connection break," I clarified, getting up from the road. Haiden had tears in his eyes. Fauna looked like she was about to cry too, but Troy and Leysa did not seem like they were going to cry over the news.
They looked more puzzled and worried than sad.
Everyone was still staring at .
"If she is dead, wouldn’t I feel the bond snap?" I asked.
My voice began to crack.
I looked at my father. He was staring at .
"Tell , Father. Didn’t you feel the connection break?" I asked, walking toward him.
He looked lost. As if he wanted to say sothing but could not say it in front of everyone.
Finally, he spoke.
"I an, we have that poison inside us. We react differently than other werewolves," he explained.
That was all he said and my eyes closed.
I clenched my fists to the side of my body and then took a deep breath.
It felt as if the more I tried to convince myself, the more they were trying to convince that Clentine was truly dead.
"No. I’m not ready to believe that she’s dead."
I shook my head reluctantly. Then I looked around at everyone with anger, daring anyone to repeat those words to my face.
"You think after all these weeks she would still be alive?" Grant pressed in a stern tone.
He kept trying to convince that I was wrong.
My heart began to sink.
I slipped into another trance.
I knew the pattern. First, I would go into shock. Then my mind would convince that my Clentine was perfectly fine.
"You should tell him."
Leysa whispered sothing to Troy and I snapped my head toward her.
"What do you an? What should you tell ?" I demanded, turning my attention to those two.
Troy looked at everyone once before turning to . Then he walked toward in small steps, as if dragging his own body forward.
"You probably don’t know the truth," Troy said in a soft voice.
"What truth?" I asked.
Troy turned to look at Leysa, and she gave him a nod.
Once again, I noticed that the two did not look like they were going to grieve. They seed like they were hiding sothing.
I watched them in frustration, and I grew angry when I noticed they were still speaking with their eyes instead of being clear with .
"Speak. What truth?" My voice rose this ti as anxiety filled my veins.
"Where do you think Clentine was all this ti?" he replied, his breath slow and his tone very soft but full of guilt.
As soon as he said that, I moved closer to him.
"Troy, what are you saying? Wasn’t she with Nook?" Haiden asked Troy this ti, trying to get more answers from him.
"No! She was not," Troy shocked us with his response.
Grant gulped and I caught it.
"Okay, Troy, without any break, fucking tell us what you an," Haiden snapped, finally annoyed with him.
While he spoke, I checked Grant’s expression. He looked like he had been caught in a lie.
And sohow, that lie made feel relieved rather than angry at him.
I an, of course I would beat the fuck out of him for saying sothing so scary to , but I was glad it had turned out to be a lie.
"I recently found out that she..." Troy paused before finishing. "She was with Yorick."
My head began to shake.
I grabbed Troy’s arm and turned him toward so his attention stayed only on .
"Look at ," I demanded.
No one else mattered. I wanted the answer from him.
"What do you an she was with Yorick? What was she doing with Yorick?" I shouted.
Troy’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. His hesitation was obvious.
Then he began to explain.
He told Clentine had been sold at Nook. After that, Yorick and his family pretended they were rescuing her.
During that ti, they killed the warriors but let Nook go because it was part of the deal.
Then Yorick took her to his house, pretending to protect her.
Everything else Troy said shook my mind.
Yorick had kept Clentine as a hostage.
"And you’re telling this now?" I scread so loudly that my own ears rang.
"We found out only a day or two ago. I spent hours traveling. As soon as I reached there, we fought. After that, I took her sowhere safe," Troy tried to explain.
I grabbed him by the collar.
"So when you said you were going because of your mother, you were actually leaving because Leysa called you? You were going to get Clentine?" I shouted in disbelief.
Others seed to be shocked too. All this ti, soone knew and didn’t fucking tell us.
"Why didn’t you tell us?" I yelled at the top of my voice, shaking him by the collar.
People started stepping between us, trying to pull back and protect him.
But I refused to let him go.
"Wait a minute. That ans Clentine is with you."
The realization hit all over again.
"You said you rescued her and took her sowhere safe. She should be with you. So where is she?" I shouted.
As I grabbed his collar again, my father stepped between us and forced us apart.
"Troy, tell us quickly. Where is she? Where did you keep her safe?" my father asked, choosing his words carefully.
Maybe he believed she was safe.
I wanted to believe that too.
But the way Troy avoided my eyes told sothing else. The trouble was not over.
"Unfortunately, I was about to bring her to Ian," Troy replied after a long pause. "But ssi abducted her."
He answered with clear hesitation.
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