Chris regards her compassionately. "I was the one who failed to reason with her. Demitrya made her choice. You know Alphas don’t go back on their word. You know from experience that her pregnancies never once prevented her from picking up a weapon. In fact, they only made her more stubborn. The only thing that gives me peace is knowing that no one could've changed her mind."
Tesni shakes her head, fighting back tears.
Chris walks over, taking her hand. "You loved her just as deeply as I did. So, you know the two things she regretted most in this life were letting Kiersten walk away after my father's death and the night she hid away as your families were slaughtered. She saw a chance to be courageous. To right these wrongs.” He chokes on his next words. “She—she refused to lose a sister again."
Tesni crumbles. Nell meets her on the ground, running a hand along her spine.
"Forgive me, Tez," I whisper.
When her head lifts, embers spark in her eyes. "You deprived me of my greatest obligation to my pack. To my Luna. I willneverforgive you."
Scorning me, she collects herself and stomps out of the room. Nell puts up a hand. “I’ll talk to her.”
I shake my head. “Don’t bother.”
She is right to aim her hatred at me. My wolf might’ve been erratic, but I still could have called off the hunt for Maurleen and instead sent my best tracker our coordinates. I could’ve told her right then that Vessa had been taken. In the end, we accomplished our mission, but at a cost I’ll never be able to live with.
I don’t deserve anyone’s forgiveness.
Vessa
Though I haven’t seen much of Axe, his rugged scent on the sheets brings me a morsel of comfort. It reminds me of the only night we spent together. The future we could still have.
Twelve. That’s how many times I’ve stood beneath the scalding water, scrubbing voraciously at my skin. So many lost souls cling to me. So many shades of crimson.
Emilia. Fawn. Esmé. Demi.
All so young. Kind. Undeserving of their fates.
So many are dead.Because of me.
No one speaks as the girls ready me for the trip to Belcarra. Not even a sarcastic mutter from Nell as she applies powder and concealer to mask the bruises on my face. When the funeral ceremony concludes, my stomach lurches.
Clutching a hand over my mouth, I dart into the woods where I nearly vomit my guts out. Cora helps me to my feet, dabbing my mouth and the black turtleneck that conceals my mutilated neck. Thankfully, none of the bile has stuck to my unbound hair. When my trembling subsides, she pockets her handkerchief and walks me over to a cluster of lounge chairs in the courtyard.
“I’ll go find some water for you,” she offers, slipping away.
Across the lawn, I spot Demi’s daughters tugging at their dresses. How odd the color of mourning looks on them. Like daisy petals crumpling under the brutal sun.
Pulling my fur coat tighter around me, I abandon my post, strolling over to them. I can hardly bear to look them in their sweet brown eyes. Their blonde hair has been plaited in fishtails, reminiscent of their mother’s. But what I truly see when I look at them is a reflection of myself.
I crouch down to their level. “Hi there,” I whisper.
Lex and Willa echo the greeting.
“Can I tell you something?” I extend my hands to them, blinking through tears as they accept.
“I lost my mom too, when I was young. It feels like you’re trapped in the worst dream you’ve ever had. It took me three years to wake up. I didn’t want to. The last thing I ever wanted was to accept that life would never go back to how it was.”
“It doesn’t feel real,” Demi’s eldest, Lex, murmurs.
My chest aches with the familiar pain one only knows if they’ve felt the shocking thrust of life robbing you of the person who brought you into the world. “I know you’ve only just met me, but I want you girls to know that I care so much for you.”
“Thanks,” Lex mumbles.
She lets go, allowing me to place my hand over my heart. “Your mom will always be with you. Right in here.”
The girls sniffle, placing their hands on top of their own hearts.
