Chapter 95: Fifteen Months Later - Riven's POV

I stared out at the training grounds before me as the wind whipped past me. Everything had changed so much in the last year, but some things always stayed the same.

I reached up, my hand frozen over my heart. The bond was still there, aching just as it always did. I almost couldn’t breathe through the pain anymore.

When I told Callista to go home that night, I hated myself for it. But that was only the start.

She went home all right. She went home and continued with her life as if I didn’t exist. Not that I paid much attention to her either. The rest of our school year was spent awkwardly avoiding each other in class and in the hallways. We were the talk of the entire school until the end of the year.

Then came that summer. While Callista spent the summer with her family, I was stuck here training daily in and out. My parents were worried about me, but didn’t say much. They were a bit confused, mostly because Callista and I had every intention of staying together, then we just weren’t.

Then came our junior year. This time, I didn’t have all my classes with her, so I was able to stay far away from her. I honestly barely saw her. Then, after my day at the academy, I’d come train with the Alpha King and stay on the weekends. That went on until I finished my junior year and summer came again.

I didn’t see her at all, not even at a distance.

Now, we’re going to be seniors and…I wasn’t sure I’d see her at all.

Kensley stepped up behind me, her hand resting on my shoulder. “Still thinking about her?”

“Of course, Kensley,” I said, my voice trembling. “I’m always thinking about her.”

“It’s been over a year and you two have barely spoken to each other,” she whispered. “You’ll both be eighteen soon. That means you can finally have your ceremony.”

I scoffed. “She’s never going to mate with me now. Not formally.”

“Your father is worried about you,” she whispered.

I rolled my eyes at that.

He had taken on the role of dutiful father and my parents had come clean about the entire ordeal. I still felt like they were my parents, though, even if they weren’t blood related. Of course, my father was an entirely different issue. I still wouldn't call him father or dad. It felt too weird.

“Why is he worried this time?”

She shook her head. “He thinks it was a mistake to let her go and you need to bring her back. She is going to be your Luna.”

“I told you that my decision was final,” I snapped. “Leave her out of this.”

“But your condition,” she urged. “You’ve only gotten worse.”

I let out a low, humorless laugh. My gaze dropped to the ground beneath my boots. The dirt was worn down now from months of the same routine. I fought, controlled it, then repeated. I did it over and over again until there was nothing left but instinct and exhaustion.

“I’m doing better than Raze,” I whispered. “He is the one whose eyes never change back from black and has black veins. You don’t see those on me, do you?”

Kensley didn’t respond right away. She didn’t have to. I could feel the doubt in the way her hand tightened slightly on my shoulder before she let it fall.

“You’re not okay,” she said quietly. “I know what you’re trying to do, but she’s not safe, even away from you. It doesn’t matter what the demon is doing now. It’s what he can do later.”

My jaw clenched, but I didn’t argue with her this time. There wasn’t a point. We both knew the truth.

The demon had gotten quieter over the last year, but that didn’t mean it was gone. If anything, that made it worse. It wasn’t clawing at the surface like before. It wasn’t reckless or loud.

He was patiently waiting and watching.

And every now and then, when my control slipped just enough, I could feel it pressing closer.

“You think bringing her back here is going to fix that?” I asked, my voice sharper now as I glanced at her. “You heard what they said. We don’t even know what helps or hurts it. At least this way she’s far away from me if I lose my mind.”

Kensley hesitated. “No,” she admitted. “But you were better when she was around. You had less of a chance of giving in.”

My chest tightened at that. Of course I was better when she was here. She grounded me. The bond and having her close steadied something in me that nothing else could reach. Even when I spiraled and the demon slipped in, I fought as hard as I could to ensure he went back down. It might not have mattered, but I was trying.

“That doesn’t matter,” I said, forcing the words out. “If I lose control, she’s the first one I go to. You think I don’t remember what Raze said?”

The image hit me before I could stop it. I could see her running while I hunted her.

My hands curled into fists at my sides, claws threatening to break through again before I forced them back. Silence stretched between us.

Kensley exhaled slowly. “You can’t keep living like this. You’ve kept your distance for fifteen months. Now you need to talk to her.”

“I can continue to stay away,” I shot back immediately. “And I will.”

I didn’t have a choice, and it wasn’t about me. It had never been. If there were even a remote chance that the vision would come true, I wanted to do everything I could to stop it.

The wind picked up again, cutting across the training grounds as I lifted my gaze back to the horizon. The forest line blurred slightly at the edges before sharpening again, my vision adjusting as I forced myself to focus.

Distance. That was the only thing keeping her safe. Distance and control.

“You’re not the only one hurting,” Kensley said softly. “The Alpha King has been keeping an eye on her and she’s not doing well, Riven.”

“She’s fine,” I bit out.

“Riven, lie to yourself all you want, but she stopped being an ambassador for the academy last year. Her sister has been extremely worried about her and says she’s barely eating anything. And now her parents have even come to talk to the Alpha King, because they’re afraid of losing her.”

“No, that’s not true. I saw her at the end of the school year. She was fine and laughing with Kalley.” I blinked rapidly, trying to think back to how she looked at that moment. That was a little over two months ago. “She looked fine all year.”

Kensley looked at me with pity in her eyes. “Riven, they’re here now. Maybe you should go talk to them.”