I stared at my trembling hands.
The truth felt humiliating in a way I couldn’t explain.
Lily had always been my person. The one who understood every version of me—the good, the bad, the ugly truths I hid from everyone else.
And somehow, in the middle of everything collapsing, I had shut her out.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “Everything became so heavy that I stopped thinking past the next hour. I lost track of everything.”
My voice broke.
“Even you.”
Her expression softened slightly.
She sighed and reached out to squeeze my hands.
“Don’t apologize,” she said more gently. “I was angry, yes. But I understand. No wolf should carry this much alone.”
Her gaze shifted toward the infirmary doors.
“How’s our little prince?”
The dam inside me shattered instantly.
“There’s been no improvement,” I whispered. “The healer believes… he’s given up.”
The rest of the sentence died in my throat.
Lily didn’t press me.
She simply pulled me into her arms.
And the moment she did—
I broke.
“I can’t do this anymore,” I sobbed, clutching her cloak like it was the last solid thing in the world. “Caleb destroyed everything. Marcus lies in there like a ghost and I can’t even save him.”