CALLUM
My muscles tightened painfully, my chest burning excruciatingly, but I couldn’t stop running. I had no destination in mind—just the desperate need to get away. For the sake of my bleeding heart. For the sake of my own sanity.
The witch’s words echoed in my skull, a relentless, torturous chant. Not of their creation. Phantom pain throbbed in my ears.
And then—Dove.
My Dove.
The memory of her breaking apart, sobbing like she was the most alone she had ever been. But I had been there. Standing behind the trees, unseen, unable to move past the invisible force that anchored me in place.
Each heart-wrenching sob cut into me, slicing me open like a blade.
I had to physically restrain myself, digging my claws so deep into the tree trunk that the wood splintered beneath my grip. If I
