Chapter 72
The Roguelands stretched wide and lawless in every direction, but this place–this little pocket of ruin–had been ours. A nowhere place, halfway between exile and obscurity, so far from the power struggles that most wolves didn’t bother looking for us out here.
Which was the point.
A thin ribbon of smoke curled from the chimney. The wind carried the dry scent of old wood, ash, and the last stubborn remnants of wild lilac. It wasn’t home, not really. But it was quiet. And quiet was rare these days.
I was crouched on the edge of the ravine behind the house, sharpening a blade that I didn’t need. The rhythm of it kept me focused–scrape, turn, scrape, breathe. It was the only thing lately that slowed the spin in my head.
So when I heard her voice behind me, it snapped like a twig underfoot.
“There you are,” Carly said, exasperated but soft. “You disappeared again.”
I didn’t look up. Didn’t pause the blade.
“I needed space.”
“You always say that. Then you vanish for days.”
I exhaled and stood slowly, turning to face her. The wind tugged at the hem of her jacket- one of Erin’s, too big in the shoulders. Her hair was knotted back with one of those cheap cloth ribbons she always found and insisted on keeping, no matter how frayed.
She looked small. And tired. But her worry was the loudest thing about her.
“Where’s Erin?” I asked, hoping she wasn’t far away.
Carly looked down. “She’ll be back soon.”
“I told you to stay put,” I said. “Both of you.”
Chapter 72
“Yeah,” she shot back. “You also told us this place was safe.”
“It is.”
“Then why are you acting like the floor’s about to fall out from under us?”
Because maybe it was.
+25 Bonus
She stepped closer, scanning me. “I was worried sick. You disappeared the night of the
attack. I thought maybe you’d been caught in the blast.”
I went still.
a
So she’d heard. Of course she had. The rogue faction might be fighting miles from here, but
news traveled faster than smoke. Especially when it came with fire.
“You and Erin both need to stay away from me,” I said, the words cold and measured.
Carly blinked. “What? Why?”
“It’s better if you don’t know.”
“Maggie-” Her voice faltered, shifting from confusion to fear. “You aren’t… You aren’t involved in this, are you? In the attacks?”
I didn’t answer.
She kept going, more desperate now. “We promised. After everything. We promised we were done with that life. That we weren’t going back to it.”
Still, I said nothing.
Carly’s eyes narrowed slightly. “This is about her, isn’t it? About Elena. You got angry when she left. When she found her mate. You disappeared then, too.”
My silence wrapped tighter around me like a chain.
Carly stepped back. Just one step, but it felt like more.
2/3
Chapter 72
“You said she mattered to you,” she whispered. “You said you saved her.”
“I did,” I said. My voice cracked. “And it still wasn’t enough.”
She frowned. “Then what are you doing?”
I didn’t answer.
+25 Bonus
Because how could I explain what I had done? What I was preparing to do? How could I tell her that the quiet we had built here was already cracking beneath the weight of what was coming?
That I had stepped too close to the fire this time, and I didn’t know if I’d get back out?
If she knew what I’d done–if either of them knew–they’d never look at me the same way again.
They deserved peace.
“You didn’t see what I saw,” I said finally, stepping closer, lowering my voice so the wind wouldn’t carry it. “You don’t know the truth. About any of them.”
Carly’s brow furrowed. “Then tell me.”
I reached out, touched her arm gently. She flinched, just a little.
But I didn’t answer.
Instead, I turned.
And walked back into the trees.
limited offer: Top up now to get 5% more bonus
D
