“He’s gone berserk,” Orga panted, barging into the hall. Sweat and blood coated his face.


    “Berserk?” Arabe asked, her brow tilted.


    “Yeah, you know, when someone is furious? Sandro is beyond furious, and he doesn’t resemble the person I saw before,” Orga exined. “I doubt we can subdue him without giving him what he wants, considering he’s not the main threat right now.”


    Orga was well aware of the threat to Arabe from the very beginning. He knew she had a twin and was familiar with the prophecy that kept them apart. However, he deliberately led her to believe it was Sandro, counting on her intense hatred to push her to unleash her maximum power rather than making her feel at ease.


    “What do you mean you can’t handle him?” Arabe asked, her brows furrowed. “He’s just one person. You’re powerful and possess enough of the Phoenix to take down fifty werewolves!”


    “Sandro isn’t just any werewolf,” ze asserted.


    Arabe shook her head as she stared at him. “Then what is he?”


    “He’s an Alpha, Arabe,” ze said, his voice serious.


    “Of course, I know that,” Arabe rolled her eyes. This foolish Alpha! “Does that give him the right to act like he owns everything here?!”


    “He does,” ze sighed. He stepped toward her and continued, “He owns the entire territory of Ascotan. You should know this cave belongs to him because it’s in Ascotan, and he can do as he pleases with his territory. Now, I don’t think he’s here alone, which mightplicate taking him down.”


    ze tilted his head and turned to Orga, “Who’s outside with him?”


    “Some strangely attired women in white. They seem to be chanting spells.”


    “Brianna,” ze whispered to himself. “They’re the witches of the pack.”


    Orga nodded, “With each word they speak, he seems to gain a lot of strength to bring down the building. It’s only a matter of time before the structure crumbles.”


    “What do we do?” Arabe asked. “I mean, we can’t just watch him destroy everything, and I doubt it’s the time for another meeting.”


    “It’s not,” Orga agreed.


    “We give him what he wants, or else he won’t stop,” ze said.


    Arabe’s eyes narrowed at him. “I’m not going to that monster outside. Don’t you dare suggest it to me! I’m not leaving this cave.”


    “No, I’m not asking you to leave,” ze muttered. “I’ll go to him instead. He can do whatever he desires with me.”


    “No!” Arabe and Thalia yelled simultaneously.


    ze turned to the door where Thalia stood. He hadn’t realized she had returned. Fury zed in her eyes as she marched towards him.


    “So, you’re really going through with this selfishness? Are you, not Cole?! You hate me this much?!” Thalia screeched.


    “Thalia, listen…” ze started, but Thalia cut him off.


    “I don’t want to listen to you!” She snapped. “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say, Cole.”


    ze red at her before shoving a hand through his hair. “I’m trying to save you!”


    “That’s not saving!” Thalia shot back. “It’s the selfish you talking right now. It’s ze talking, not my brother Cole!”


    ze heaved out a breath. “Then I suggest you stop referring to me as Cole for now. I’m sorry, but I can’t stop being selfish. I can’t stop being selfish for your sake. If that’s what it takes, I’ll be that way forever,” ze said, his eyes flickering from Thalia to Arabe.


    “ze,” Arabe said, moving towards him, but he shook his head.


    “If you’re here to reprimand me too, I suggest you hold your breath. I can’t just stand and watch you be taken away. I can’t watch my sister get hurt!”


    “I understand, ze,” Arabe said. She reached him and held his hand. Even though she disagreed with his decision, thinking it was foolish and selfish, as Thalia had said, she knew ze’s mind was already made up. He would go through with it.


    ze cupped her face. “Then let me go. If it takes Sandro capturing me to leave you all alone, so be it. And don’te after me, Arabe.”


    Arabe sighed. “I have something to say to you.”


    “It can wait,” ze whispered. “Sandro won’t keep me forever if he gets hold of me.”


    Arabe bit her lower lip. Sandro wouldn’t keep him forever; he would kill him. “I want to stop you,” she said, her grip tightening on his shirt. “I don’t want you to go to him.”


    “You can’t,” ze said. “Sooner orter, I’ll still be caught because I broke the group’s vow. Let me pay for my sin.”


    “It’s my sin, too,” Arabe muttered. “You didn’t sin alone. I did, too, by being with you, ze. You don’t have to face this alone.”


    “I need to,” ze said, his hand wrapping around Arabe as she flinched.


    “I need to leave.” He leaned in, kissing the corner of her mouth, bringing tears to Arabe’s eyes. She couldn’t shake the feeling that this might be thest time she’d see him.


    “Kiss me properly, ze. If you’re leaving me here, you need to kiss me like you love me, not just some whore you picked up by the roadside.”


    ze smiled before pulling her into him, a hand at the back of her head, and he closed his lips around hers, pouring all his emotion into the kiss.


    He kissed her with such intensity that her toes curled and uncurled. Arabe felt giddy. Her heart thumped, and desire coursed through her. She wanted him, but she doubted there was enough time for them to indulge.


    She let out a breath as ze released her lips. “Don’t you dare die, ze,” she whispered, her hands gripping his shirt. “I swear, I won’t forgive you if it happens.”


    “I won’t die, Be,” ze chuckled, pinching her cheek. He wrapped his arms around her as her lips trembled, inhaling her scent once more. “I’lle back to you, Be.”


    Arabe said nothing. She could only nod her head and savor the warmth radiating off him before he let her go. As he stepped toward the door, the urge to run into his arms filled her, but she resisted. She knew that if she did, she wouldn’t let him leave the cave.


    He had promised toe back. She guessed that was all that mattered right now.


    “Cole,” Thalia’s voice halted ze in his tracks. He was near the door, turning to her. He shook his head as she started towards him, but she didn’t stop.


    “What do I need to do to stop you from this suicidal trip you’re about to embark on?” Tears streamed down her cheeks.


    “Nothing, T,” ze said.


    “Don’t call me that!” Thalia sniffled, then giggled. Her lips quivered as she stared at him again. “You’re leaving me yet again.”


    “I have no choice,” ze said.


    “You have every choice in the whole world if you really want to stay. But you hate me so much and want to leave me alone.” Thalia sped her face and sobbed into her hands.


    “Thalia,” ze groaned, stepping towards her. He clutched her hand, tugging her into him. For a brief moment, he said nothing, only caressing her back as she sobbed.Còntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    When she eventually stopped, she stared up at him with red-rimmed eyes. “Please don’t. Sandro will kill you.”


    “It’s the only way,” ze said.


    “You know he’ll kill you?” She asked, then her eyes widened as realization dawned on her. “You know it’s possible you won’te back.” Her voice was bitter.


    She attempted to leave his embrace, but ze’s hands tightened around her, and halted her.


    “It’s the code, Thalia,” ze said.


    “But it isn’t your fault. The bitch should go to him instead of you. He wants her, not you!” Thalia shouted.


    “I broke it, and I need to face the punishment. I can’t run away forever, and even if Sandro happens to have Be now, he won’t stop hunting me down. I might as well face whatever punishment he has for me now rather than try to evade it,” ze tried to exin.


    “I hate you so much, and I don’t ever want to see your face!” Thalia cried. “I hate you so much, Cole. You promised to protect me. Is this what protection is? You’re still leaving me at his mercy.”


    ze groaned. He had thought Arabe would be the most difficult to deal with after making his decision, but Thalia was even worse than he had imagined.


    Of course, he was moved by her tears, but that wasn’t enough for him to stay. Ever since they arrived at Ascotan, he had thought about the day he would surrender himself to Sandro. Although he had believed Sandro would be easily defeated, he guessed he should have known better.


    “I’m sorry, Thalia,” ze said. “I need to go.”


    “I hate you…”


    “I know you don’t hate me,” ze said. “I love you as much as you love me. Just remember that.” ze released Thalia and managed to loosen her grip on him.


    As he started towards the door, he halted as Thalia said, “Come back to me, please. Don’t you dare think of leaving me behind? If you do, I’m going to hunt you down and kill you over again, Cole, and I’m dead serious!”


    ze nodded, a grin on his face. He had two people awaiting his return, and even though he believed it might be hisst time, he was determined to make it count.


    He was going to stay alive for them.


    “Get along with Arabe, Thalia. You should know no amount of hate will ever make me stop loving her. So, get used to her because I’m going to put a ring on her finger, then mark her when Ie back!” ze said, winking at Arabe, who giggled before he headed for the entrance.


    “Idiot,” Thalia muttered, unable to stop the smile that spread across her face. She wrapped her arms around herself as she watched ze leave.


    Hisst smile at her. It was the smile she wanted to remember because she couldn’t shake the feeling that it might truly be hisst. She was losing her brother all over again, not even forty-eight hours after he had died.