a's

ming through the large, intricately framed windows. For a moment, I wond

was impossibly soft, draped in silken sheets that carried a faint sce

initely the

estries adorned the walls, and antique furniture gleamed with the sheen of poli

dizziness forced me back down. I closed my eyes, focusing on the rhythmic pounding of

a deep voice sai

anding figure with silver-streaked hair and a face that held both wisdom and sadness. He was impeccably dressed in fine clo

here to take me to the afterlife?" The words tumbled out

ed the room. "No, my dear," he said, his eyes softening as he looked at me. "You're v

struggling to catch up.

ou were cold, pale-dying. I couldn't leave you there. I brought you here and did what I could to help. S

sed, composing himself. "You

?" I whispered. Someone actually saved me

asked, still shoc

hard Blackwood. I couldn't bear to watch you die. I could

s your

Carrington,"

th genuine curiosity. "Why would a young, promis

judgment. But the question, asked with such softness, broke something inside me. For the first ti

spilled everything as though clean

rthless. I'm nothing. My parents, my pack-they treated me like I was less than dirt. My mother made sure I knew every day that I

The weight of my past, of years spent enduring torment and

family. And I was nothing. My parents doted on her, and they hated me for being a reminder of their 'shame.' I... I w

face. "I'm so sorry, Aria," he whispered. He reached out, pulling me into a gentle embrace.

e is something in you-something strong and fierce. It reminds me of my daughter. She was taken from me months

k in. "What do you mean?" I asked, my

have no one left, just as you don't. Let us build something together. We'll move back to t

brought more tears. "Why.

d a reason to keep moving forward myself." He placed a hand on my

g. "Stay here. I'll return shortly." He strode out, leaving me alone with a

his lips. "Just a minor issue. It's resolved now." He pau

felt my pulse quicken. "Why do they hate y

unable to meet his gaze. "Because..." I

illed my you