-Asher-
I leave her there.
I don't look back.
If I do, I'll walk right back to her, pull her into my arms, press my forehead to hers, promise it's going to be okay.
But I can't promise that.
The wolf paces under my skin, claws dragging, ears pinned, as I stalk through the cold corridors of Whisperwind. I can still taste the chaos she left in the air, the way the vines lashed out when she flinched, the ground trembling with her fear.
The way she looked at me, desperate for me to say it was fine.
It's not fine.
None of this is.
I shove open the door to the old music room, the hinges screaming, dust swirling in the lantern's flicker. Shadows crowd the corners, stretching across the cracked piano, the splintered benches.
Jasper is there, flipping his coin, leaning against the piano, sharp eyes tracking me as I pace.
"You saw it," I say.
He catches the coin, letting it clink softly in his palm. "Yeah."
"She can't control it," I grit out, pacing back and forth, the wolf lunging with each step. "She thinks she can, but she can't."
"She pulled it back," Jasper says quietly, but there's tension in the set of his shoulders.
"After it lashed out." I stop pacing, turning toward him. "What happens when she can't pull it back?"
His jaw tightens. "You think she's doing it on purpose?"
"I don't know." The words taste like acid. "But we can't pretend anymore."
He's silent, flipping the coin again, catching it.
"If she loses control again, we have to act," I say, my voice low, cold.
Jasper's eyes flick to mine, but before he can speak, the door slams open behind us.
Finn storms in, Soren a shadow behind him, silent but watchful.
"What the hell are you two planning?" Finn snaps, blue eyes sparking, fist clenched.
Jasper straightens, slipping the coin into his pocket, masking the guilt on his face.
Soren's gaze flicks between us, unreadable but sharp. "Asher," he says calmly, "talk."
I step forward, meeting Finn's glare head-on. "We're trying to keep her safe."
"Bullshit!" Finn's shout cracks through the room, the bond between us and Alexia vibrating with the force of it. "You're trying to control her!"
"She lost control today!" I fire back. "You think the Council will let that slide? You think she's really in control?"
"She's trying!" Finn roars, stepping closer, heat rolling off him. "And you're making it worse!"
"And you're blind," I snap, nose to nose, the wolf snarling under my skin. "You think you love her enough to ignore what she is? You think that's going to save her when she snaps and tears this place apart?"
Soren steps forward, placing a hand on Finn's shoulder, but his dark eyes lock onto mine. "Asher," he warns, voice like iron.
I tear my gaze from Finn, reaching into my jacket, pulling out the crumpled notes I took from the library, shoving them toward Soren. He catches them, eyes flicking down, scanning the scrawled ink:
Chaos can amplify desire.
Chaos can manipulate bonds without the victim's awareness.
Victims may mistake compulsion for love.
Finn's breath catches, and the silence that follows is sharp enough to bleed.
"I found these in the library," I say, my voice low, controlled, though my hands shake. "This is what she could be doing to us. To all of us."
Finn's eyes flash, betrayal and hurt warring with fear. "You think she's—?"
"I think we have to be sure," I say, softer now, but it carries in the quiet. "Before the Council finds out. Before it's too late."
Soren's jaw tightens as he folds the papers, eyes distant, unreadable.
Finn shakes his head, backing away, fists trembling. "You're out of your gods-damned mind."
I don't look away. "If you won't protect her, I will."
"That is protecting her. What you're doing—" Finn's voice cracks, rage breaking through. "It's giving up on her."
"You believe what you want to believe," I snap, the wolf pressing close to the surface. "But I know this is going to come back and bite us in the ass."
The lantern flickers, shadows dancing across Finn's furious face, across Soren's torn expression, across Jasper's haunted eyes.
In the silence, the bonds between us strain and fray, the echo of her chaos still humming under our skin.
And I know we've just crossed the point of no return