Her smile made something twist inside my chest.
A strange feeling.
Unsettling.
Familiar.
And for some reason—
impossible to ignore.
For a moment, I just stared at her.
Vivian had always smiled.
Usually when she was about to do something reckless.
Or when she was trying to annoy someone.
Or when she had gotten away with something she definitely shouldn't have.
But this smile was different.
Softer.
Older.
Almost sad.
Like she knew something the rest of us didn't.
A chill crawled up my spine.
"Viv? " I asked cautiously.
She looked at me for a few seconds before patting the empty spot beside her on the bed.
"Sit."
That single word somehow sounded less like a request and more like a command.
And to my surprise—
I obeyed.
I pulled the chair closer and sat opposite her.
She took a deep breath.
Then another.
As if deciding whether she should tell me something.
Finally—
She began.
And as the story left her lips, my world started falling apart.
She told me everything.
About the darkness.
About the strange place she had found herself in after collapsing.
About waking inside a small cabin.
About hearing a voice call her by another name.
Nyxia.
The name alone made something stir inside my head.
A faint ache.
A flicker of something forgotten.
I ignored it.
Vivian continued.
She told me about Vexsis.
The twin daggers.
The shadows.
The man with ten black wings.
Azazel.
The moment she described him, every instinct in my body screamed danger.
Yet she spoke of him without fear.
Almost as if some part of her trusted him.
Then came the story.
The ancient history.
Samayaza.
The Grigori.
The birth of the New Moon Tribe.
The celestial bloodline.
Nyxia.
The daughter of Azazel and Lilith.
The legendary Luna Alpha.
As Vivian spoke, the room seemed to grow smaller.
The air is heavier.
Every word felt like another stone being placed upon my shoulders.
Then she reached the part that changed everything.
I didn't know it at the time.
But it changed everything.
Her eyes met mine.
And for the first time since she started speaking—
She hesitated.
I felt my stomach tighten.
"What?" I asked.
"Viv."
She swallowed.
Then looked away.
"Azazel said Nyxia's soul lives inside me."
Silence.
I didn't know what to say to that.
So I said nothing.
She continued.
"He said her memories are buried inside me."
Another silence.
Then came the final part.
The part that made my heart stop.
Her voice became barely above a whisper.
"He said Nyxia wasn't alone."
Something cold slid down my spine.
I already hated where this was going.
"He said she had a mate."
I frowned.
"So?"
Vivian looked directly into my eyes.
And suddenly she looked terrified.
Not of Azazel.
Not of Valdim.
Not of her powers.
Of me.
"Viv?"
Her lips parted.
Then finally—
She spoke.
"He said his name was Carlix."
The room became silent.
Dead silent.
The name hit me like a punch.
Carlix.
I had never heard it before.
Yet somehow—
It felt familiar.
Painfully familiar.
A sharp headache exploded behind my eyes.
Images flashed.
A battlefield.
Moonlight.
Silver fur.
A woman laughing.
Golden eyes.
Darkness.
Blood.
Loss.
The vision disappeared before I could grasp it.
I staggered to my feet.
"What the hell..."
Vivian stood immediately.
"Jeremy?"
I pressed a hand against my head.
The pain vanished almost instantly.
But the feeling remained.
That strange sensation.
Like I had forgotten something important.
Something ancient.
Something that belonged to me.
Then Vivian delivered the final blow.
"He said Carlix was reborn too."
My stomach dropped.
The room suddenly felt too warm.
Too small.
Too suffocating.
I already knew what she was going to say before she said it.
Somehow—
I already knew.
Vivian's voice trembled.
"He said Carlix came back as you, Jeremy."
Silence.
Outside, thunder rolled across the distant mountains.
Neither of us moved.
Neither of us spoke.
And for the first time in my life—
I felt afraid of a memory I couldn't remember.
Jeremy
The room fell silent after Vivian finished speaking.
Carlix.
Nyxia.
Azazel.
The names echoed in my head like ghosts refusing to leave.
Yet despite everything she had just told me, my mind kept drifting back to one person.
Vivian.
Because if there was one thing I knew with absolute certainty, it was this—
long before Azazel.
Long before Carlix.
Long before fate decided to make our lives complicated.
I had liked Vivian.
Since we were kids.
Maybe even before I understood what liking someone actually meant.
Back then she was just Viv.
The girl who somehow always ended up in trouble while trying to help someone else.
The girl who protected Mia whenever other kids picked on her.
The girl who never cared whether the person she was defending was bigger, stronger, or more popular than her.
She simply stepped in.
Every.
Single.
Time.
I can't even count how many times I watched her stand between Mia and a bully.
Or between some random kid and a bully.
Or between us and a bully.
The crazy thing?
Most of the time she was smaller than the people she challenged.
But she never backed down.
Not once.
I used to think she was fearless.
Later I realized she was terrified half the time.
She just refused to let fear stop her.
That somehow made her even braver.
I smiled despite myself.
Vivian noticed.
"What?"
I shook my head.
"Nothing."
She narrowed her eyes immediately.
"Liar."
I laughed.
"Maybe."
The smile faded as another memory surfaced.
One from high school.
One I hadn't thought about in years.
Back then some seniors had decided Vivian was an easy target.
At first it was the usual nonsense.
Rumors.
Mocking.
Pushing her around.
The kind of garbage insecure people do when they need someone else to feel smaller.
Vivian ignored most of it.
But they didn't stop.
They got worse.
Much worse.
Until one day they cornered her after school.
What started as bullying almost turned into something far more dangerous.
By the time Jonathan and I heard about it—
It was already too late.
Or at least that's what we thought.
I still remember the panic in Mia's voice when she called us.
I still remember Jonathan grabbing his bike keys before she even finished explaining.
Neither of us waited.
Neither of us thought.
We just moved.
The entire ride there felt like a blur.
All I could think about was Vivian.
Please be okay.
Please be okay.
Please be okay.
When we arrived—
We found her.
Bruised.
Exhausted.
Bleeding from a cut near her temple.
But standing.
Still standing.
Because of course she was.
The idiots who had cornered her looked more shocked than she did.
Probably because despite everything—
She had fought back.
I remember Jonathan stepping past me.
Calm.
Far too calm.
Which was always a bad sign.
"You touched her?"
His voice had been terrifyingly quiet.
The boys immediately started backing away.
Then I stepped beside him.
And suddenly they understood they had made a mistake.
A very large mistake.
The details after that are blurry.
Mostly because rage does funny things to memory.
But I remember one thing clearly.
After everything was over—
after the teachers arrived.
After the police were called.
After the idiots responsible were dragged away—
Vivian was sitting on the curb outside the school.
Holding an ice pack against her head.
Jonathan and I sat beside her.
Neither of us is saying much.
Eventually she looked at us and smiled.
Actually smiled.
Despite everything.
"Thanks for coming."
Three words.
That was all.
Three stupid words.
And somehow my heart had completely forgotten how to function.
Looking back now—
Maybe it had started long before that.
Maybe I had been falling for her for years.
I just hadn't noticed.
Or maybe I hadn't wanted to.
Because liking Vivian was dangerous.
Not because she'd hurt me.
Because I'd do anything for her.
And sitting here now—
after hearing about Carlix and Nyxia—
I wasn't sure if that feeling belonged to me.
Or if it belonged to someone who had loved her centuries before I was born.
Honestly?
I didn't care.
Because whether it was Jeremy.
Or Carlix.
Or both.
One truth remained.
If the world came for Vivian—
It would have to go through me first.
Jeremy
Maybe that's why I ran.
Maybe that's why the moment Vivian collapsed, I didn't think.
I just moved.
One second she was fighting Cassian.
The next—
She froze.
Completely.
The darkness around her stilled.
The wind died.
Even the elements surrounding her seemed to stop responding.
Then her eyes lost focus.
As though she were looking at something none of us could see.
And she fell.
For a moment—
The entire world stopped.
Nobody moved.
Not Valdim.
Not Cassian.
Not the elders.
Not Mia.
Not our parents.
Not even Jonathan.
Everyone just stared.
Because nobody understood what they had just witnessed.
A girl who had awakened powers lost for centuries.
A girl who had forced Valdim Elrod himself to take a step back.
A girl who had been fighting perfectly one second—
and collapsed the next.
Fear.
Shock.
Confusion.
It hit everyone at once.
Even Jonathan stood frozen.
His eyes were locked on his sister's falling body.
Mia looked horrified.
Vivian's parents looked like their hearts had stopped.
My father was staring.
My mother was staring.
The entire gathering was staring.
And while they stood there trying to understand what had happened—
I was already running.
I caught her before she hit the ground.
Her body went limp in my arms.
"Viv."
Nothing.
My heart nearly stopped.
"Vivian."
Still nothing.
Around me I could hear voices beginning to rise.
Questions.
Shouts.
Orders.
Panic.
I ignored all of it.
Because none of it mattered.
The only thing that mattered was the girl in my arms.
Something had happened to her.
Something bad.
And every instinct inside me screamed the same thing.
Get her out of here.
So I did.
I turned.
And I ran.
Straight through Whitewood.
Past the ruins.
Past the crowd.
Past the hundreds of werewolves.
I didn't ask permission.
I didn't wait for healers.
I didn't care what Valdim thought.
I just ran.
Looking back now—
I don't even remember making the decision.
I only remember the feeling.
The absolute certainty that I needed to get her away from there.
Away from the eyes watching her.
Away from the fear.
Away from the danger.
Maybe it was because I've liked Vivian since we were kids.
Maybe it was because seeing her hurt has always done something to me.
Or maybe—
It was something older than that.
Something buried deeper than memory.
Whatever it was—
when everyone else froze,
I couldn't.
Because the thought of standing there and watching her fall was simply impossible.
So while everyone stared—
I carried her.
And I ran.
The sounds of Whitewood disappeared behind me as I pushed through the forest with Vivian in my arms. Branches whipped past us. Cold night air burned my lungs.
I didn't stop.
Not until the forest was nothing more than a dark silhouette in the distance.
Not until I was sure nobody was following.
Only then did I finally slow down.
A small roadside motel appeared a few miles from Whitewood.
The kind of place most people wouldn't look at twice.
Perfect.
I paid for a room without asking questions.
The old man at the reception desk barely looked up.
Good.
Less attention.
Fewer problems.
Once inside, I carefully laid Vivian on the bed.
She still wouldn't wake up.
Her breathing was steady.
Her pulse was normal.
Yet she remained completely unconscious.
For the first time since leaving Whitewood, I allowed myself to breathe.
Then I looked down.
Blood.
My blood.
The fight with Cassian had left its mark.
Several cuts ran across my chest and arms. Bruises were already forming beneath my skin.
Nothing life-threatening.
But enough to remind me that I hadn't exactly walked away untouched.
I cleaned the wounds in the tiny motel bathroom.
Most were already healing thanks to my wolf.
Still, the sting remained.
By the time I finished, the room had gone quiet again.
I glanced toward the bed.
Vivian hadn't moved.
So I sat beside her.
And waited.
Hours passed.
The moon shifted across the sky outside.
The television hummed quietly in the background.
Eventually exhaustion began to creep in.
Then—
movement.
My head snapped toward the bed.
Vivian stirred.
Her fingers twitched.
A second later her eyes opened.
Relief hit me so hard I almost laughed.
"Finally."
She blinked several times.
Confused.
Disoriented.
Looking around the room.
Then her gaze landed on me.
"Jeremy?"
"Last time I checked."
She stared.
Then looked around again.
"This isn't Whitewood."
"No."
"What happened?"
I leaned back in my chair.
"You fainted in the middle of a fight against Cassian."
Her face immediately twisted.
"Oh."
"Yeah. Oh."
For a second she looked embarrassed.
Then her expression changed.
Serious.
Very serious.
The kind of expression that made me sit up straighter.
"Jeremy."
Something in her voice immediately got my attention.
"What?"
She took a deep breath.
Then another.
As though preparing herself.
"You need to hear this."
The next hour changed my life.
She told me everything.
About the darkness.
About the strange place she found herself in.
About Azazel.
About the New Moon Tribe.
About Nyxia.
About Vexsis.
About the ancient history hidden behind the werewolf world.
I listened.
At first with curiosity.
Then disbelief.
Then shock.
Then something far worse.
Because eventually she reached the part involving Carlix.
And me.
By the time she finished, neither of us spoke.
The motel room had become unbearably quiet.
Outside, thunder rolled somewhere in the distance.
Inside, my entire understanding of reality had just shattered.
And judging by the look on Vivian's face—
hers had too.
Jeremy
The room disappeared.
Not literally.
The motel was still there.
Vivian was still sitting across from me.
The rain still tapped softly against the window.
Yet somehow—
I wasn't really seeing any of it.
Because while Vivian continued speaking, my mind had drifted elsewhere.
To memories.
Hundreds of them.
Thousands.
All centered around one person.
Vivian.
I remembered the first time I met her.
A little girl with messy hair and scraped knees who somehow managed to drag Mia into trouble every single week.
I remembered her standing in front of Mia when older kids tried bullying her.
I remembered her getting detention because she punched a boy who threw rocks at a stray dog.
I remembered her sneaking snacks into class.
Her terrible jokes.
Her stupidly brave decisions.
Her smile.
Always her smile.
As Vivian continued explaining Azazel's story, another realization slowly settled inside me.
Every important memory I had growing up somehow involved her.
Every major event.
Every happy moment.
Every fight.
Every victory.
Every disaster.
Vivian was there.
Always.
I stared at the floor.
Carlix.
The name still echoed in my head.
A stranger's name.
Yet every time I heard it—
Something inside me stirred.
A feeling I couldn't explain.
A familiarity I couldn't understand.
It annoyed me.
Because these feelings weren't supposed to make sense.
They shouldn't.
Yet they did.
Painfully so.
I rubbed my temples.
Then another memory surfaced.
The day Vivian got accepted into university.
The way she screamed so loudly the entire neighborhood heard.
The way she hugged everyone.
The way she cried afterward because she thought nobody noticed.
I did.
I always noticed.
And that realization hit harder than any punch Cassian had thrown.
I always noticed.
Not because of Carlix.
Not because of fate.
Not because of some ancient bond.
Because I cared.
Long before tonight.
Long before Azazel.
Long before Whitewood.
I cared.
Vivian's voice pulled me back.
"...Jeremy?"
I blinked.
She was looking at me.
Concerned.
The story had stopped.
Apparently I had been staring at absolutely nothing for several minutes.
"You okay?" she asked.
I laughed softly.
"No."
She snorted.
"Fair."
Silence settled between us.
Comfortable.
Familiar.
The kind that only existed between people who had known each other for years.
Then my gaze met hers.
And suddenly Azazel's words echoed through my mind again.
Carlix has returned.
Your mate walks this world once more.
I hated how much those words affected me.
Because whether they were true or not—
They didn't change something important.
Something simple.
Something I had been too blind to admit.
I looked at Vivian.
Really looked at her.
The girl who protected everyone.
The girl who drove me insane.
The girl who made me laugh.
The girl I carried out of Whitewood without a second thought.
The girl whose collapse had scared me more than Cassian ever could.
And for the first time in my life—
I admitted something to myself.
Maybe the reason I ran wasn't because of Carlix.
Maybe Carlix had nothing to do with it.
Maybe—
I ran because it was Vivian.
And if there was one thing I knew with absolute certainty—
it was that if she fell again,
I'd run again.
Every single time.