Sara woke up with a sudden jolt, her heart racing, her chest tight. A scream almost tore from her throat as the images of her dream still clung to her eyes, almost swallowing her whole. For a mont, she thought she was still trapped inside it.
But before the scream could escape, arms wrapped around her. Warm. Soft. Gentle. A voice whispered close to her ear, "It’s alright, my child... everything is fine..."
Her breathing slowed just a little, but her body still shook. She blinked, and only then she realized she was lying on her bed, covered with blankets. The embrace was real. The voice was her mother’s. She was safe.
Or was she?
Sara clutched the hand that held her, clung to it like it was the only thing keeping her alive. Her tears spilled without warning. "Mom..." she whispered, her voice breaking.
Her mother held her tighter, rubbing her back softly. "Hush now, everything is fine. Don’t cry. You’re safe."
But when Sara slowly looked up at her, she saw sothing in her mother’s eyes that made her chest hurt even more.
Her lips trembled. "Mom... where is Selene?"
The room grew so quiet she could hear her own heartbeat. Her mother’s expression froze. Then slowly, painfully, her eyes turned sad, filling with tears she could not hide.
Sara’s body went cold. The answer she feared was already written on her mother’s face.
"No..." Sara shook her head, her voice rising. "No, please don’t... don’t say it..."
But her mother did not speak. She only pulled Sara back into her arms, holding her so tightly as if trying to shield her from the truth.
And that silence was louder than any words.
Sara broke. A loud, aching cry escaped her, the kind that tore at the throat. Her leg throbbed with pain as she curled into her mother, but she didn’t care. The dream... it wasn’t just a dream. It was real. Selene had really gone through all of it. She had suffered. She had faced it alone.
And now, when she realized it was not just a nightmare but real, she couldn’t stop her tears at all.
She pressed her face into her mother’s chest, sobbing, while her mother’s hand stroked her hair, whispering over and over, "It’s alright, it’s alright..."
But nothing was alright. Nothing would ever be alright again.
Was it not just monts ago they were fine? Then how could sothing like this happen? Was not Selene the bravest one? Then how could she leave her just like this?
"Mumma... she lied... Selene lied to ... she said everything would be fine, but nothing is fine. How could she do that... why did she do that..." Sara whispered in a broken voice, her heart aching with each movent, so much that even breathing felt wrong.
They were just fine in the werewolf pack and slowly uncovering many secrets. They had even found out that the Werewolf Council was planning to kill Selene.
They were happy that they discovered it before it was too late, and they even got many clues about witches from the people of the Werewolf Council.
It was not solid, but they knew this would definitely lead them to the witch. But suddenly one night changed everything... Wasn’t it true they were one step ahead? Then how did that witch know about their plan?
And worse, how was she already prepared ten steps ahead?
She still could not rember how things turned out so chaotic and how both of them suddenly got surrounded by not one or two alphas but many of them. And they were only two.
The fight was almost impossible because from all sides they were surrounded, and without any plan, fighting was not an option. So they decided to do the first thing that seed good — run. But they underestimated them so badly.
Because they were surrounded on all sides and were powerless, but there was still a chance to win the fight... until that witch arrived. The mont she did, the entire thing shifted, and they beca completely powerless.
But then a sudden thought struck her. If Selene couldn’t survive, then how was she still here? And most importantly, who brought her back ho? How did she open her eyes again in her ho, so far from the Silver Dawn pack? Nothing made sense.
And she refused to believe that sothing had happened to Selene. Maybe if soone had saved her, then maybe Selene was also safe. With this thought, she imdiately asked her mother,
"Mom, who brought here? How did I co here? Did Rael or Aswin bring back? Then maybe they also brought Selene back... right?"
But her mother only looked at her with strange and pitiful eyes. Like she was afraid to even say the next word.
But Sara did not think much. She wanted to believe that Selene must also be alright. She was so strong—how could she leave the world like this? Everyone must have misunderstood... just like her... yes, she was right. Selene could not leave them.
And then her mother suddenly broke down. "My dear... don’t... don’t do that to yourself... we all know Selene is no more..." she said, her head dipping lower as she tried to hide her tears. She did not want to look at her daughter with a tearful face.
But Sara refused to believe it. "Mom, but... how could she? She promised she would be fine... you must have been mistaken..."
Her voice cracked, trembling with hope.
"And who brought here in the first place? Why can’t I rember anything?" she asked, trying to push her mother away. She wanted to get up and check for herself, maybe even find where Selene was. But suddenly she felt an intense pain in her legs.
Her mother imdiately stopped her and said, "No, my child... your legs are badly burnt... don’t move, it will take ti..."
And suddenly Sara rembered the fire, how it consud Selene too... because those bastards, the alphas had literally tried to burn them both alive. She could still hear Selene’s scream and her own panicked voice as she felt the fire consuming her, and then she had lost consciousness.
"Soone kind has brought you here. I don’t know him, but he is actually a werewolf too.
Do you know how shocked I was when I suddenly found you in his arms, lying listless with a badly burnt body... Do you know how I felt then? Sara, my baby, you don’t understand. and your dad have only you... if sothing happens to you, how will we survive?"
But Sara did not seem to listen to anything. Her mind was fixed on one word—so kind stranger brought you back and he is a werewolf.
A kind stranger? Who could be kind in this world, and none other than a werewolf, when their kind had just tried to burn her in the cruelest way? A death that seed befitting for witches like them.
But suddenly, a face flashed in her mind, and her heart whispered...is it him?
Cyrus... is it you?
And suddenly at the sa ti soone opened the door, and it was her father with a bouquet of flowers. It was rose lily, the flower she did not like, but she had told him it was her favorite.
Without even any words from her father, she knew it must be from him.
Her father also teared up when he looked at her, but he decided not to break down in front of her. He placed the bouquet beside her table and said softly, "Today soone again brought this..."
Again?
For how many days had he been bringing flowers? Wait... for how many days had she been unconscious? She imdiately asked her mother, "Mom, how many days have I been unconscious?"
And her mother replied, "It is three days, my dear... You have been unconscious... With a badly burnt body, your father has almost tried everything to completely heal you... but we could only do so much."
Her mother sat beside her patiently, holding her hand. She spoke in a calm but heavy voice.
"Sara, listen to carefully. We did heal you with witch magic, but no witch has such strong magic that it could heal so many burns at once. Your body was hurt too deeply. That is why we are treating you slowly, little by little. It will take ti, but you will recover."
Sara’s lips trembled, but she stayed silent. Her mother continued, "And about the man who brought you back... He always leaves this flower outside the coven gates. He never enters; he just asks soone to carry it inside. Maybe he is a kind stranger, but rember, Sara...he is also a werewolf. We don’t know who he is, and we dare not let him enter here. Do you know him, my child?"
Sara’s chest tightened, her hands shaking against the blanket. She wanted to deny it, wanted to stay quiet, but her heart betrayed her. She knew him. She knew his scent.
Her eyes stung with tears as she turned her face away, whispering in a broken voice, "How could I not know him...?"
The flowers on the table filled the room with a faint fragrance, and it made her ache all the more. It was his scent, which was still clinging stubbornly to the petals, wrapping around her as if he stood there himself.
She covered her face with both hands and whispered in a low voice. "It’s him... my mate..."
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