“What?” My voice is barely a whisper.
Rairity nods, her expression as perplexed as I feel. “It’s… strange,” she murmurs. “Almost as if he’s planning a wedding rather than a divorce.”
The words hit me like a blow, stealing the breath from my lungs.
A wedding.
No.
This is a trap.
It has to be.
I knew it.
“Why would he do that?” I force the question through numb lips.
Rairity shakes her head. “I don’t know. But whatever it is… it doesn’t feel right.”
I swallow hard, my mind racing.
Lila.
“Don’t read too much into it,” I murmur, more to myself than her. “Raiden always has an agenda. One I am not apart of. One I’d wish very much to release. For good.”
But the words ring hollow even as I speak them.
Because deep down…
My wolf stirs, hopeful despite my protests.
No.
[ 15:11 Tue, 22 Apr 6·
Chapter 68
I can’t do this.
I can’t let him hurt me again.
“I’m going to bed,” I say abruptly, turning away before Rairity can see the turmoil in my eyes.
“Siena-
“Good night, Rairity.”
I don’t wait for her response as I slip back inside, closing the door behind me.
But sleep doesn’t come.
I lie awake for hours, my mind a battlefield between reason and instinct.
Raiden’s actions don’t make sense.
Why consult the elders? Why review ancient rituals?
Unless…
No.
My rational mind insists it’s a ploy.
But my heart…
My heart whispers a dangerous possibility.
What if he’s changing?
I shut my eyes tightly, willing the thought away.
It’s too late.
It’s always been too late.
And yet…
The next morning, I can’t stop myself from watching Raiden closely.
I tell myself it’s because of the competition, because Windhowl’s fate hangs in the balance.
But that’s a lie.
I’m looking for something else.
A sign.
A reason to believe.
What I see only unsettles me more.
Raiden is… different.
There’s a quiet intensity about him, a focus that feels almost reverent.
He moves with purpose, his interactions with the elders laced with something I can’t quite place.
4/5
73%
15:11 Tue, 22 Apr
Chapter 68
Intent.
Rairity words echo in my mind.
“Almost as if he’s planning a wedding rather than a divorce.”
The thought should terrify me.
It does.
Because if Raiden is finally seeing me… finally realizing what he’s losing…
I don’t know if I have the strength to turn him away.
But I have to.
I’ve fought too hard, come too far, to let him shatter me again.
As the day stretches on, I throw myself into the final preparations for Windhowl’s last competition event, refusing to let Raiden’s actions distract me.
But the weight of uncertainty lingers.
And when night falls, I stand on my balcony once more, staring out into the darkness.
Rairity words replay in my mind.
Almost as if he’s planning a wedding rather than a divorce.
Horace stirs again, restless and yearning.
But I push it down.
I won’t let hope break me.
Not again.
Whatever Raiden’s doing…
It doesn’t change anything.
I whisper the words into the night, hoping they’ll take root in my heart.
But the ache in my chest tells me otherwise.