We returned home in silence, the weight of everything that had happened pressing down on us like a heavy fog. David was dead. Alaric was gone. The night passed in a blur of sleepless hours and restless thoughts. I couldn’t stop thinking about David, the way his body had crumpled after saving me. He didn’t deserve to die like that.
The next morning, I woke up with a decision burning in my chest. I had to warn Derek. As much as it pained me, he needed to know about Alaric, about the danger still looming over him, over the pack. Noelle, Samuel, Elenora, none of them would understand, but it didn’t matter to me at this point. I had to go.
When I shared my plan, the reaction was immediate but not surprising.
“Absolutely not,” Samuel snapped, his eyes hard with disbelief. “You can’t seriously
