Chapter 49: We'll Never Give Up - Callista's POV

Sleep didn’t come easily that night, not with everything on my mind. I tossed and turned as I laid in the guest room, staring at the ceiling and replaying the conversation with our parents over and over. Sabine was snoring softly beside me.

She had arrived promptly after school, escorted by a boy I vaguely remember Riven arriving with a little over a week ago. She didn’t say much, but it wasn’t like we could talk freely when our parents were listening. Even when we went to bed, she didn’t say anything.

Just a quick love you, and out she went, as if she was carrying the weight of the world instead of me.

The lies we told haunted me, or rather, the truths we carefully twisted. It sat heavy on my chest. They believed what I said was real and that a demon was coming, but they didn’t know that the demon was already here, lurking just beneath Riven’s skin.

Through the wall, I could hear muffled voices. My parents were in the room on the other side of mine, sandwiching me between them and Riven. They were still talking, so I knew they hadn’t been asleep yet either and it was probably midnight by now.

I rolled onto my side, pulling the blanket tighter around myself. The mate bond hummed between Riven and me, stretched thin by the distance, though still present. I could feel that he was awake too, and probably wrestling with the demon.

Stay with him, the Moon Goddess’s words echoed in my mind. Love him through the darkness.

Easier said than done.

How was I supposed to do that when every choice felt like it was leading us deeper into a trap? What if accepting the Alpha King’s offer was what led to that very vision?

A soft knock at my door made me sit up. I turned, glancing at it with a narrowed gaze.

"Come in," I called quietly, trying not to wake Sabine.

But the door never opened. I blinked a few times, wondering if I had imagined it. Surely, I hadn’t.

Sabine sat up beside me, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “What are you doing, Callista? It’s late.”

“Just go back to sleep. I’m probably hearing things,”I whispered, trying to keep my voice low so our parents didn’t hear.

“It’s really bothering you, isn’t it?” She asked, her voice filled with concern. “I know you. Something bad is about to happen or you wouldn’t have let yourself be mate marked.”

“The feelings were too strong. We couldn’t stop it,” I said, then sniffed to see if I could smell the lie.

Oddly, I couldn’t, so I assumed neither could she.

“Well, I can’t smell a lie, so you must be telling the truth, but I don’t think that’s all of it. I think you know what’s going to happen and it’s more than you told them,” she murmured, then tapped me on the shoulder.

I rolled to look at her. “You don’t know what you’re saying. You’re still a kid.”

“And so are you, even if you are technically mated to the boy in the next room,” she said, a soft smile gracing her lips.

I wanted to tell her everything and unburden myself of all the secrets I was carrying, but I couldn’t tell her and get her involved. That put her in danger too.

“Tell me,” she urged.

“Do you remember the vision I had?” I started, then stopped myself.

“I vaguely remember you waking up screaming just last week. Was that it?” She asked, her voice low.

No, I couldn’t tell her. Not the real details.

“Yeah, that’s the one. It was just intense, but prophetic visions typically are.”

“And that’s why you marked each other early?” She studied my face in the darkness. “Because of that vision? I knew it couldn’t be because of the mate bond pulling.”

“Well, it’s a mix of both,” I said, which wasn’t a lie. “The Moon Goddess marked us early for a reason and I knew that the vision had to be real. Why else would she?”

She huffed. “True, the Moon Goddess wouldn’t allow a bond to manifest early for nothing. But is it really a demon or is it figurative?”

“I don’t know yet,” I said, which was also a lie. I knew the demon was real and everything was going to play out just as I saw.

Sabine was quiet for a moment. “You’re still hiding something.”

“There are some things I can’t tell you,” I said softly. “Not because I don’t trust you, but because it will put you in danger. Do you understand?”

She nodded slowly, though I could see the hurt in her gaze. “I guess, but Callista, whatever it is that you know, I can tell you’re scared. You need me.”

"I am scared," I admitted. "This is bigger than anything I've faced before. And I don't know if we're making the right choices. But this is up to us. Not you.”

She sighed heavily. “Well, you’re the strongest person I know and you’ve never steered us wrong with any other vision. They have saved people several times. I trust your decision with the Alpha King’s offer.”

Her faith in me felt both comforting and crushing. "What if I'm wrong this time?"

"You won't be." She said it with such certainty. "Because you're too careful and too smart. And you have Riven with you now. You're not facing whatever this is alone."

I wanted to believe her and think that being careful and smart would be enough, but the demon inside Riven was unpredictable.

"When did you get so wise?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

She laughed under her breath and laid back down. “I’ve always been wise, but you’ve never noticed, because I’m your younger sister. But seriously, I’m here for you, even if you can’t tell me everything. Now, night night.”

“Night night, Sabine.”

We settled back down, but when she fell asleep, I was still wide awake. It was now one in the morning. I heard Riven still moving on the other side of the wall.

My phone buzzed softly on the nightstand. I grabbed it quickly, checking to make sure Sabine was still asleep before looking at the screen.

It was a text from Riven, asking if I was still awake.

I quickly typed back that I was and that I couldn’t sleep.

Instead of waiting for another message, I eased out of bed, then looked back. She was sound asleep. I took a few steps toward the door, ensuring that each step was as quiet as possible. My parents had to have fallen asleep, because I no longer heard them, so I creeped out of the room and made it to Riven’s.

He was sitting on the bed, looking down at his phone. His gaze jerked upward when he heard me in his doorway.

“What are you doing here?” He asked, his voice low as he looked at our shared wall. “What about Sabine?”

“She’s fast asleep.”

He set his phone aside and patted the bed beside him. I crossed the room quickly, closing the door softly behind me before climbing onto the bed. The moment I was close, the mate bond settled and hummed with contentment.

“So, couldn’t sleep?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

“No, of course not.” He ran a hand through his hair, his eyes red-rimmed and exhausted. “The demon won’t shut up tonight. I think it’s because there are technically three alphas in one house. It’s bad enough when it’s just me and my father.”

“What is the demon saying?” I asked, my stomach dropping.

He was quiet for a moment, his jaw working as if he were trying to decide how much to tell me. “That the Alpha King is lying and that his offer is a trap. If I accept it, then it will lead to the vision you saw.”

"Do you believe it?"

"I don't know." His red-gold eyes met mine, and I saw the fear there. "The demon lies constantly, but sometimes it tells the truth too. How am I supposed to know the difference? What if this time it's actually trying to warn me?"

I took his hand, lacing our fingers together. "What else is it saying?"

"That I'll destroy everything if we go to the mansion. That I'll become the monster from your vision. That you'll watch everyone you love die because of me." His voice cracked slightly. "That loving you will be what sets it free, not what contains it."

“So, it’s changed what it said, and the Moon Goddess said the opposite, which is what it the demon first said, right?” I asked, my voice hesitant. “He wants us confused and wants you to doubt everything, so when the time comes—”

“I make the choice that sets him free,” he finished.

He looked away, but I reached up, cupping his face with both hands and made him look at me.

“Stop. We’re not doing this. We’re not letting the demon drive us apart with fear and doubt.”

"I'm not trying to—"

I kissed him, cutting off whatever self-sacrificing thing he was about to say. For a moment he froze in complete surprise, then his arms wrapped around me and he kissed me back. It was soft and desperate at the same time, full of all the fear and love and uncertainty we couldn't put into words.

When we finally pulled apart, both breathing harder, I pressed my forehead to his.

"You're not alone in this fight," I whispered. "Not anymore. Stop trying to push me away."

He let out a shaky breath. “I’m so tired, Callista. I’m tired of fighting and not knowing what’s real. Being scared every second that I’m going to hurt you is even worse.”

"I know." I stayed close, our hands still intertwined. "But tomorrow we'll find out if the Alpha King gives us more time and then we will decide."