ouldn't escape. The trees blurred around me, and the wind whipped past my face like it was trying to erase the tears that kept falling. But no matter how hard I tried to run from i

ce cold, indifferent. The same words

y wolf, the part of me that had once felt strong and powerful, refused to answer my calls. I could feel h

ying it. I thought about my mother. The image of her face-so strong, so protective-flashed before my eyes. She would have known what to do. She would

ht of being banned from the pack, of being cast out forever, made

let it all out, but no sound came. My body felt numb, as if I had been running for hours, maybe days. I wasn't

I wasn't running toward anything. I was just running away-from the rejection, from the loneline

ealizing it, I

out below, the air sharp and cold against my skin. The wind howled around me, and for a moment, all I cou

step forward, to let go of the pain and the burden. I could feel the rush of the wind in my hair, the ground slipping away beneath

round my mind. How would it feel to just let

dy to lose myself to the darkness, a v

t shook me

ia, s

of my thoughts like a knife, sharp and urgent. My eyes snapped open, a

oice trembling. "I don't

e cliff. "Don't," she said softly, her voice breaking. "Don't do this. Yo

ore, Bea. I can't keep pretending like it's all going to be okay when everything is falling apar

from the ledge. I didn't resist. I needed her. I needed someone, anyone, to remind me that I w

re not alone, Amelia. You never have been.

lai's rejection, of the bond still pulling at me, was unbearable. But Bea's words, her presence, t

him, Bea. I can still feel the bond, and it's like it's tearing me apart

have to fight it alone, Amelia. I'm not going anywhere. And neithe

. "But how do I live with it? How do I live with him still

ot want you, but that doesn't mean you're worthless. It doesn't mean you're nothing. You've got a future ahead of you, a fu

felt different now. They were no longer just the weight of my sorrow. They were the rele

per. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I don't kn

a strand of hair from my face. "Just take it one day at a time

e bond, the pain, the loss-I couldn't erase it, couldn't make i

ere was still a long road ahead, a road I didn't know if I was strong enough

that was enough to get