Aria’s POV
Cold.
That was the first thing I felt. Bone-deep, teeth-chattering cold.
My eyes opened slowly. Everything was blurry. Gray. Wrong.
Where was I?
I blinked. Once. Twice. The world refused to co into focus.
Gravel bit into my cheek. My fingers were numb against rough pavent. The sll of wet earth and gasoline filled my nose.
A road.
I was lying on the side of a road.
How did I get here?
I tried to move. Pain exploded through every muscle. My arms. My legs. My back. Everything scread in protest.
"Ah!" The cry escaped before I could stop it.
For a long mont, I just lay there. Breathing. Trying to rember.
The kidnapping. The bag over my head. The woman’s voice. The bitter liquid forced down my throat.
Then nothing.
Complete emptiness.
How long had I been unconscious? Hours? Days?
And where was I now?
I forced myself to roll over. The movent sent fresh waves of agony through my body. I gasped. Waited for it to pass.
The sky above was gray. Overcast. No sun to tell what ti it was.
Get up, I told myself. Get up. You can’t stay here.
My arms shook as I pushed myself to sitting. The world spun violently. I pressed my palm against the gravel. Waited for the dizziness to fade.
When I finally looked around, my heart sank.
I was in the middle of nowhere.
A narrow road stretched in both directions. Empty. No cars. No buildings. Just trees on either side. Dense and dark and endless.
No signs. No landmarks. Nothing to tell where I was.
"Hello?" My voice ca out as a croak. "Is anyone there?"
The wind answered. Cold and indifferent.
I was alone.
Completely alone.
My hands moved instinctively. Checking for injuries. Running over my arms, my legs, my torso.
Pain everywhere. A deep, aching soreness that went down to my bones.
But no cuts. No wounds. No blood.
Just pain.
What had they done to ?
I lifted the edge of my shirt. Looked at my stomach.
The baby.
Oh god. The baby.
My hands pressed flat against my belly. Still flat. Still unchanged. I couldn’t feel anything different. Couldn’t know if—
No. I couldn’t think about that. Not yet. Not here.
One thing at a ti.
I tried to stand. My legs wobbled like a newborn deer’s. I grabbed a tree branch. Steadied myself.
Every muscle scread at to lie back down. To rest. To give up.
I ignored them.
Sothing was wrong.
Beyond the pain. Beyond the fear. Beyond the confusion.
Sothing inside felt... empty.
Hollow.
Like a part of had been scooped out and thrown away.
*Artemis?*
The na ford in my mind automatically. The sa way I’d called to my wolf a thousand tis before.
Silence.
*Artemis, are you there?*
Nothing.
No warmth. No presence. No familiar voice answering in my head.
My chest tightened.
*Artemis!*
I called louder this ti. Threw the thought out with everything I had.
Still nothing.
The hollowness inside grew. Spread. Beca a gaping void where sothing vital used to be.
No. No, this was wrong. This was impossible.
I stumbled forward. One step. Two. My legs threatened to give out with each movent.
*ARTEMIS!*
The scream tore through my mind. Desperate. Terrified.
Silence.
Complete, absolute silence.
Where was she? Why couldn’t I feel her?
Even when we’d been drugged with wolfsbane, I could always sense her. Faint and distant, maybe. But there. Always there.
Now there was nothing.
Just emptiness.
"No." The word ca out as a whisper. "No, no, no."
I pressed my hand against my chest. Over my heart. Where I’d always felt her presence.
Cold. Empty. Dead.
"ARTEMIS!"
This ti I scread it out loud. The sound echoed off the trees. Bounced back at like a mockery.
No answer.
No response.
Nothing.
My knees buckled.
I hit the ground hard. Gravel scraped against my palms. Fresh pain shot up my arms. I didn’t care.
"Artemis, please." My voice cracked. Broke. "Please answer . Please tell you’re there."
The wind blew. Leaves rustled. Sowhere in the distance, a bird called.
But inside , there was only silence.
Tears burned in my eyes. Hot and unstoppable.
This couldn’t be happening. This wasn’t real. Wolves didn’t just... disappear. They were part of you. Bonded to your soul from birth.
You couldn’t lose them.
You couldn’t.
But I couldn’t feel her.
I couldn’t feel anything.
"Co back." The words tumbled out between sobs. "Please co back. I need you. I can’t do this without you."
Nothing.
I curled into myself. Right there on the cold ground. My arms wrapped around my knees. My forehead pressed against my thighs.
The sobs ca then. Ugly. Violent. The kind that shook your whole body. The kind that made it impossible to breathe.
I’d lost so much.
My marriage. My daughter. My ho. The man I loved.
But this?
This was different.
This was worse.
Artemis had been with since I was eighteen. Since my first shift. She’d been the voice in my head when I had no one to talk to. The strength in my limbs when I wanted to give up. The warmth in my chest on the coldest nights.
She’d protected .
Comforted .
Loved when no one else would.
And now she was gone.
"Why?" I scread at the empty sky. "WHY?"
No answer ca.
Of course it didn’t.
The universe didn’t owe explanations. Didn’t owe anything. I was just another broken Oga lying on the side of a road.
Nobody.
Nothing.
The cold seeped deeper into my bones. My tears had soaked through my shirt. My hands were raw from the gravel.
Was that what they’d done to ? Was that what that woman had forced down my throat?
Had she stolen my wolf?
The thought made my stomach heave.
I turned my head. Retched onto the gravel. Nothing ca up except bile. My body had nothing left to give.
When the spasms passed, I lay back down. Staring up at the gray sky.
Alone.
So completely alone.
The tears had stopped. I’d run out of those too.
I had lost my wolf.
Reviews
All reviews (0)