Chapter 291

LILA

The message had arrived long past dark, a crumpled paper slipped under my door. The writing was unmistakably sharp and deliberate, belonging to Calla.

“Bring Rowan to the edge of the old quarry at sunset. No questions, no games. This is your last task, Lila. Do this, and your secrets stay buried.”

I stared at the note, my heart beating hard against my chest as though it might jump out any moment. My fingers shook as I reread the words, each one digging deeper into my resolve.

“This has to stop,” I whispered, pacing the room. “But how?”

It was as if my past had come down upon me, and the weight of Calla’s threats was crushing my will. Sinking onto the edge of the bed, my fingers clenched around the note as my head spun with indecision.

Then, in one second, it all bubbled up and overflowed, and I punched the wall with my fist.

“Why can’t I make this end already?” I yelled, sobbing. I went to the floor, tears streaming from my face, drawing my knees to my chest.

I thought of Rowan, how kind he was and how he wanted to change, how he even started to believe in me when I couldn’t… sometimes. And how was I going to betray him?

“But what other choice do I have?” I thought sarcastically, tugging at my hair furiously.

The next morning, I sought him out near the training grounds. Rowan stood beside a few young wolves, patiently offering them advice. He spotted me and softened.

“Lila?” he called, a note of concern creeping into his voice.

I faltered, my chest tight. “Can we talk?”

He nodded, stepping away from the crowd. We found a quiet spot near the edge of the woods. I couldn’t meet his eyes as I spoke. “I… I just wanted to thank you. For everything.”

“Thank me?” Rowan’s brow furrowed. “Lila, what’s going on?”

I bit my lip, struggling to find the words. “You’ve been so kind to me. More than I deserve. And I… I don’t want to lose that.”

“You won’t,” he repeated with more feeling; his hand brushed mine. “Lila, you are far stronger than you feel. Whatever has been going on with you, you do not need to face any of it alone.”

With a start, the words pierced deeper than expected, and I again began sobbing. He wrapped his arms around me in a gentle embrace, the warmth holding me down in ways that hadn’t occurred for a very long time.

That was it. That sealed the deal. I couldn’t be controlled anymore by Calla.

Later that day, I prepared myself for the meeting. Everything in my head seemed jumbled into a concoction of all sorts of possible outcomes, but one thought remained clear: this would end tonight.

When I finally reached the old quarry, the sun had already dipped below the horizon, stretching long shadows across the jutting rocks and making the place seem even more forbidding.

My heart racing, I spotted Calla, waiting near the edge, casual in her posture but her eyes razor-sharp. She was not alone.

There were wolves on either side of her that I didn’t know, all tall and wide-shouldered with cold, calculating eyes. The very stance of them yelled one word inside my skull: danger.

Calla’s lips turned in a sly smile as her gaze fell on me. “Lila,” she purred low, her voice all sugary falseness. “You came. I knew you would.”

She ran to hug me as if she had been missing me for decades, or so, but I was too deeply concerned to care about the hug; all that was on my mind was, “Why this many wolves?”

I froze, my breath hanging in my throat. “Who are they?” I tried to sound confident, but my voice shook.

Calla’s smile broadened. “Well, baby girl, they are insurance,” she said, stating the bloody obvious.

“And back to the matter that brought us here, did you bring Rowan? Because so far I’m not seeing any sign of him here?”

I felt my gut twist as the magnitude of the trap sank in. Calla wasn’t going after Rowan alone; this was going to be her final attack on the pack.

“Tell me, Lila,” Calla snarled, her voice going cold. “Where is he?”

I clenched my fists inside my jacket pockets, stood tall, and made myself meet her gaze. “He’s not coming,” I said, much softer than I was feeling.

Calla’s eyes slit, and her wolves moved closer to me. The silence stretched, heavy with implicit threats.

“You’ve made a very bad decision,” Calla said, the timbre of her voice low and menacing.