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“Can you feel her? Feel her, damnit! In your Bond!”

Nothing.

Alright, fuck this.

Wrapping both of my hands around his fist, I pound our combined hands against his chest, hammering over and over until his glassy, unfocused gaze meets mine.

Slowly, so fucking slowly, his onyx eyes start to clear.

“W—what?”

“Your. Bond!” I shout, hitting him again. “Get your shit together and pay attention.”

Finally, he seems to comprehend what I’m saying. I release him, then curl my hand into a fist and punch him one last time for good measure.

It feels like I can’t fucking breathe as I wait, panting, as he lifts his shaking hand to his chest and rests it against his sternum.

Vae falls to his knees next to us and runs a trembling hand through his disheveled hair. “Do you feel her?”

Fates, please, please let her be alright.

“She— She—” Caelan stammers before he stills and takes a deep, shuddering breath. His eyes flutter closed as his hand curls on top of his chest.

“She’s what?” I wrap my hands around his fist again, this time to support him. Or maybe I’m the one who needs support.

I don’t even know anymore.

“She’s alive,” he chokes out as more tears stream down his cheeks, glittering like diamonds in the light of the flames. “Oh, gods, she’s alive.”

I exhale, more relieved than I have any right to be. When I glance at an equally relieved Vae, he averts his eyes, and shame burns bright through our Bond.

Why? Does he think I don’t know—that we both don’t know—how he feels about the Omega? Does he genuinely not realize how badly I’m struggling with my own feelings?

In this moment, I finally realize just how drastically I’ve fucked up. Not only with Idril. With my own Pack. I thought I was protecting them. I wasn’t. All I did was ruin everything.

How am I ever going to fix this?

Caelan grunts, bucking to get me off of him. “Let me up. I appreciate your help, but I’m fine now.”

With reluctance, I push to my feet, keeping a close eye on Caelan as he does the same. His red-rimmed eyes are brimming with unshed tears, and his palm is pressed flat to his chest like he can physically hold his Mate Bond in place.

The sight of him like this is too much. I turn away, giving him a moment of privacy so he can fall apart without being stared at. Vae catches my gaze, and I jerk my head, gesturing for him to follow.

By unspoken agreement, we head toward the forest—or, as close as we can get before it becomes uncomfortable—so we can intercept Caelan if he tries to take off again. We stand here silently, staring at the towering wall of fire in shared bafflement.

It must be at least twenty feet high, and it looks like it spans the forest's perimeter. Keeping us out, keeping us away from the Omega.

Vae scrubs a hand down his face. “Did she do this?”

I shake my head without giving my answer the same level of consideration I would have even a week ago. I don’t need to. As much as I’ve tried to convince everyone around me that Idril might be dangerous, deep down, I know better.

She’s not to blame for whatever insanity this is. At least, not directly.

“I saw her face,” I tell him. “Right before. She saw Caelan, and her eyes softened, and she looked so… thankful, maybe? I got the feeling she was relieved someone cared enough to come after her.”

Vae grunts, crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s not burning anything.”

“What?”