I didn’t move back. I just stood there and watched her approach, even though every instinct I had was screaming at me to run.
‘It’s me Hun. It’s me. I promise to help you. It’s me T,‘ I said, and I saw her pause when I used the nickname she had given me.
Yes, she was recognizing me. I could see it in the way her eyes flickered, like she was fighting with whatever had consumed her from the inside.
Her eyes kept shifting between that terrifying silver glow and something that looked more like the woman I loved.
I had never witnessed anything as dangerous as this in my entire life, but I wouldn’t leave or run. Not when my Athena was still in there somewhere, trapped inside this creature of power and death.
A place my wolf or Alpha can’t reach. This was bigger and more powerful than anything I’ve ever came across.
I knew she was still fighting because of how she had reacted to my name. There was still hope. There had to be.
But then her eyes changed again, becoming permanently that cold silver, and this time the danger radiating from her was even stronger than before.
She continued walking toward me with purpose now, like she had made a decision about what she was going to do.
“Get away from her,” I heard Orion shout from somewhere behind me as she got close enough that I could feel the heat coming off her skin.
But I didn’t move. I didn’t care what happened to me. I wouldn’t ever leave her again, not after failing her so completely.
“I won’t ever stay away from you Ath,” I said as her hands came up toward my face, stopping just inches away from touching me.
I could feel the power in her, could sense how easily she could do to me what she had done to Seraphine and Daxon.
One touch and she could drain every bit of life from my body, leave me as nothing more than a dried husk on the cave floor.
But I didn’t move. I looked into those silver eyes that used to be hazel and tried to find any trace of the woman who had changed everything about my
world.
‘I know you’re in there,” I whispered, and my voice was shaking with emotion I couldn’t control. “I know you can hear me, Athena. I know you’re fighting
this.”
Her hands trembled slightly and for just a second I thought I saw a flicker of recognition in her eyes.
‘I’m sorry,” I continued, and the words poured out of me like blood from a wound. “I’m so sorry I let this happen to you. I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough to protect you. I’m sorry I failed you just like I failed everyone else I’ve ever loyed.”
The tears I had been holding back since the moment I realized she was gone finally started to fall.
I had spent so many years being the Alpha, being strong for everyone else, never letting them see me break.
But here in this cave, facing the woman I loved who no longer recognized me, I couldn’t hold it together anymore.
‘Please don’t leave me,” I begged, and I didn’t care how desperate I sounded. *Please fight this thing. I need you to come back to me. I can’t lose you too. I can’t survive losing you the way I lost Jess.”
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Chapter 187
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Something in her expression shifted and the silver in her eyes flickered again. I held my breath, afraid that any movement or sound might break
whatever fragile connection we had found.
“Tristan?” she said, and her voice was different now. Still not entirely her own, but closer to the woman I knew.
‘Yes, I said immediately. “Yes, it’s me. I’m here. I came for you.”
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
