Chapter 150
I woke up to silence. A deafening, suffocating silence.
The room was dimly lit, the soft glow of candles flickering on the nightstand. My body felt heavy, drained of all energy, like I had been hollowed out from the inside. A dull ache throbbed in my stomach, but nothing compared to the unbearable emptiness clawing at my soul.
Then I remembered.
The pain. The blood. The agonizing screams that had torn from my throat as I begged the universe to spare him. My child. My baby.
My chest heaved, but no tears came. I had cried everything out. I was nothing but an empty shell now.
A movement to my right caught my attention, and I turned my head slightly. Jake sat in the chair beside my bed, his elbows resting on his knees, his hands clasped together. His head was bowed, dark hair falling over his face, but even in the dim light, I could see the tension in his body. He was barely holding himself together.
I swallowed hard, my voice barely above a whisper. “Jake…”
His head snapped up, and for the first time, I saw the sheer devastation in his eyes. They were red, haunted, filled with a pain so deep it made my own wounds ache even more.
“You’re awake,” he said hoarsely, his voice rough, like he hadn’t spoken in hours. Maybe he hadn’t.
I tried to sit up, but a sharp pain in my abdomen made me wince. Immediately, Jake was by my side, his hands carefully steadying me.
“Easy,” he murmured. His touch was gentle, but his entire body was rigid.
I let out a shaky breath, staring at the sheets covering me. “The baby…”
Jake inhaled sharply, as if hearing the words alone was enough to break him all over again. His grip on me tightened for a fraction of a second before he slowly exhaled.
“He’s gone.” His voice cracked at the end, and the raw grief in it sent a knife straight through my heart.
I closed my eyes, a fresh wave of pain washing over me. I already knew the truth, but hearing it from him made it all the more real. My hands drifted to my stomach, pressing lightly against the space that once held my son. It felt wrong. It felt like something had been stolen from me, ripped away before I even had the chance to hold him.
“I’m so sorry,” Jake whispered. His forehead dropped to mine, his breaths uneven. “I’m so damn sorry, Prisca.”
A trembling breath escaped my lips. “It wasn’t your fault.”
His jaw clenched. “I should have protected you. I should have done more.”
I opened my eyes, searching his face. There was something dark lurking beneath his grief. A storm brewing, violent and dangerous.
“Jake…” I cupped his face, my thumbs brushing against the stubble on his cheeks. “Don’t do this to yourself.”
His hands fisted at his sides, his entire body vibrating with barely contained rage. “Do you have any idea what it was like?” His voice was low, dangerous. “Watching you scream in pain, watching the life drain from you? Feeling our pup’s heartbeat fade while I stood there, powerless?” His breath hitched, and his eyes darkened. “I swore I would always protect you. I swore I wouldn’t let anything happen to you or our family. And I failed.”
“No, you didn’t,” I said firmly. “You didn’t fail, Jake. We did everything we could. This… this was beyond us.”
But he wasn’t listening. His hands trembled as he ran them through his hair, his breathing growing harsher. I could feel the storm inside him growing, and I knew where it would lead.
He was going to fight. He was going to kill.
He was going to destroy.
“Jake,” I said, grabbing his wrists. “Look at me.”
His obsidian eyes met mine, and I saw it—the burning fury, the need for vengeance.
“They took our child from us, Prisca,” he growled. “They took him, and I am not going to sit here and do nothing.”
My heart clenched. “I know you’re hurting. I am too. But revenge won’t bring him back.”
Jake let out a bitter laugh. “You want me to sit here and accept this? To accept that our son is just… gone?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I want you to grieve with me. Not throw yourself into a war that will only take more from us.”
His breathing was ragged, his body trembling with rage. “I have to do something, Prisca. I can’t just sit here and—”
“Then stay with me,” I cut him off. “Stay with me, Jake. Please.”
His face twisted in agony, and for a moment, I thought he would fight me on this. But then, with a heavy exhale, he sagged forward, pressing his forehead against my shoulder. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me into him like he was afraid I’d disappear too.
I held onto him just as tightly.
Minutes passed. Maybe hours.
The silence stretched between us, but this time, it wasn’t suffocating. It was filled with unspoken grief, shared between two souls broken by loss.
Eventually, Jake pulled back, his eyes searching mine. “I don’t know how to move on from this.”
Neither did I.
But I knew we had to try.
“We take it one day at a time,” I whispered. “Together.”
His grip on me tightened. “Together.”
A knock at the door interrupted us, and Althea peeked in. Her face was pale, her expression grim.
“There’s something you both need to see.”
Jake tensed immediately, already on high alert. I forced myself to sit up despite the pain and nodded for her to continue.
She hesitated before speaking. “It’s the pack. Something’s happening.”
Jake was already moving before she even finished, his warrior instincts kicking in. He helped me up, concern flashing across his face, but I waved him off. I needed to see this for myself.
As we stepped outside, a sense of unease settled over me. The air was thick with tension, and whispers spread through the pack like wildfire.
When we reached the training grounds, I felt my blood turn to ice.
Several pack members stood in a circle, their expressions torn between fear and confusion. In the center of the clearing, a large, blackened mark scarred the earth, as if something had burned straight through it. Dark veins of magic pulsed through the soil, twisting unnaturally.
“What the hell…” Jake muttered.
I took a step forward, my heart pounding.
This wasn’t just any magic.
This was death magic.
A cold realization settled over me. This wasn’t over. Our suffering wasn’t done.
And whatever had caused this… wasn’t finished with us.
Jake turned to me, his expression unreadable. But I knew what he was thinking.
This wasn’t just about our son anymore. This was something far bigger.
I placed a hand on my still-flat stomach, a fresh wave of grief washing over me.
We had already lost so much.
But I had a terrible feeling that we were about to lose even more.
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