Silence falls between us. Heavy. Uncomfortable.
“We’re not here to stop you.” Kael’s words surprise me. “We’re here to make sure you understand what you’re choosing.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“Do you?” He takes a step closer. Not threatening. Just… there. “Once you kill him, there’s no going back. You’ll havecrossed a line that Aurora cannot ignore. They may grant him sanctuary; they will not overlook his murder.”
“Then I won’t come back.”
The words almost surprise me. True. Terrifying. Liberating.
Mara’s eyes shine with unshed tears. “You’d give up everything? Your place at Aurora? Your friends? What about your pack? How would they feel about this?”
“My pack didn’t avenge Chance’s death.” The bitterness in my voice shocks even me. “That’s why I came to Aurora in the first place. Because I needed to do something. Be part of something that fought back.”
“And now you’re walking away from that.” Kael’s observation isn’t a judgment. Just a statement of fact.
“Aurora isn’t fighting for Chance. They’re protecting his killer.” I look between them. “So yes. I’m walking away.”
Mara steps forward and pulls me into a fierce hug before I can stop her. I stiffen, then feel her whisper against my ear.
“Then come back when it’s done. We’ll be here.”
She pulls away, and I see the understanding in her eyes. She knows what it’s like to love someone that deeply. To be willing to do anything for them. Except her lover is standing right beside her. Alive. Whole.
Not like Chance, who’s little more than dust.
“Be careful,” she says quietly. “And Nadia? Don’t let this be the only thing that defines you. Don’t let grief be all that’s left.”
The words make me frown. Because she’s right. Years of grief have carved me hollow. Years of loving a ghost. Of defining myself by what I lost instead of what I still have.
But I can’t think about that now.
“I have to go.” My voice comes out rough. “He’s got a head start.”
Kael nods once. Steps aside. “Your mate would be proud of your loyalty. But he wouldn’t want you to die for it.”
The observation lodges in my chest. It’s true. Chance would hate this. Would tell me to let it go, to choose life over revenge, to honor his memory by living instead of dying.
But Chance isn’t here to tell me anything.
Dust. That’s all that’s left.
I turn away from them and start walking. They don’t follow.
After a dozen steps, I stop. Look down at my jacket. At the Aurora insignia stitched onto the left shoulder—a stylized phoenix rising from flame, rendered in silver thread that catches the moonlight.
I earned this. Wore it with pride. Believed in what it represented.
But not anymore.
I dig my nails into the stitching. The silver phoenix that I earned with blood and sweat. The symbol I thought meant something.
The fabric tears. The threads snap one by one. I hold the patch up. The phoenix catches the light one last time. Silver and beautiful… and meaningless.
Then I throw it as hard as I can. It spins away into the darkness, swallowed by shadow and snow.
Behind me, I hear Mara’s sharp intake of breath. But neither of them speaks. Neither tries to stop me.
