Chapter 47 Voices
CHAPTER 47: Voices
Aric's POV
I jolted awake like someone had punched me in the chest.
My heart poubded hard against my ribs, loud enough that I could hear it in my ears. For a second, I didn’t know where I was. The room was dark, quiet, my bed cold on one side like it had been for far too long. Then the sound came back to me.
My name... It had been clear. Sharp. Soft and desperate all at once.
“Aric.”
I sat up fast, breath heavy, my hand gripping the sheets like they could anchor me. Sweat clung to my skin. My pulse refused to slow.
Seraphine.
I rubbed a hand down my face and laughed bitterly under my breath.
“You’re losing it,” I muttered to myself. “That’s what happens when you don’t sleep.”
But my chest didn’t believe that lie.
For days now, sleep had been a stranger. When I did manage to drift off, it never lasted long. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face. Angry. Hurt. Proud. Every version of her haunted me, and the worst part was knowing I deserved it.
Part of my mind twisted the knife deeper, whispering that she was probably out there right now, plotting war against me, sharpening her blade, turning humans against Lycans. That thought was easier to hold onto than the truth. Anger was simpler than longing.
Yesterday played again in my head, unwanted and sharp.
The hunt with Vespera had been forced. Smiles I didn’t feel. Laughter that scraped my nerves raw. We’d barely entered the forest when something hit me hard and sudden.
Her.
That pull. That heat under my skin. Seraphine had been there. I knew it with every part of me that mattered.
I’d broken formation without thinking, running toward the feeling like an idiot. My heart had been pounding with something close to hope. But when I got there, all I found was blood.
A dead human.. no Seraphine.
The soldiers had arrived seconds later, tense and alert. They told me no woman had been seen. No human girl. Just a spy, already dealt with.
I had stood there, staring at the body, my chest tight, my instincts screaming that something was wrong. But I hadn’t pushed it. I hadn’t ordered a deeper search.
Defeated, I’d let it slide.
Now, sitting upright in my bed, I cursed myself for that weakness.
Sleep wasn’t coming back. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood, my body heavy, my thoughts worse. I grabbed a bottle of wine from the table and headed for the balcony.
The night air was cold against my skin as I stepped outside. I leaned against the stone railing and drank straight from the bottle, not caring how it burned on the way down. The stars above were sharp and cruel, like they were mocking me.
I stared into the darkness and thought about the only woman I had ever truly loved.
And the one who had betrayed me the hardest.
By the time the sky began to lighten, the bottle was empty. So was the next one. And the one after that.
Sunrise found me still there, slumped against the railing, three empty bottles at my feet, my head pounding and my heart feeling worse than ever.
I heard her before she knocked.
Her steps were familiar. Light but sure. Confident. My sister never tried to hide her presence.
“I’m here,” I called out hoarsely. “Balcony.”
The door opened, then closed. Moments later, Lyrin stepped outside. Her eyes flicked to my face, then down to the bottles, then back up again.
She didn’t smile.
“Are you good?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “I’m good.”
She snorted softly.
“You look fantastic.”
I didn’t respond.
She leaned beside me, resting her arms on the railing, staring out at the waking forest.
“Word is you’re doing really well with Vespera,” she said casually. “Everyone’s saying the mating is set soon.”
I sighed and took another swig from the bottle I hadn’t realized I was still holding.
“Yeah,” I said again. “It is.”
There was a pause. A long one.
“I can see through you,” Lyrin said finally.
I stiffened.
“No, you can’t.”
She turned to face me fully now.
“You’re not over her.”
I laughed, sharp and humorless.
“Don’t start.”
“You’re not,” she repeated. “And you know it.”
I stared ahead, jaw tight.
“She betrayed me.”
“Yes,” Lyrin said. “And you still love her.”
Silence stretched between us.
I exhaled slowly.
“Yesterday during the hunt,” I said. “I felt her.”
Her brows furrowed.
“Felt her how?”
“Like she was standing right beside me,” I said quietly. “I followed it. I ran straight into it.”
“And?” she asked.
“There was only a dead human,” I said. “Already killed.”
Lyrin frowned.
“No Seraphine?”
“No.”
She was quiet for a moment, then said slowly, “That doesn’t sound right.”
I scoffed.
“Nothing about this is right.”
She glanced back at the room behind us, then lowered her voice.
“I don’t like Vespera,” she said bluntly. “I never have. And I don’t want her as Queen.”
I gave a tired smile.
“You’re late with that opinion.”
“She’s cornered you,” Lyrin said. “I can see it. But it’s not too late. You could still reach out to the humans. Talk. Maybe even talk to Seraphine.”
Something in me snapped.
“It’s too late!” I shouted, the sound echoing across the balcony. “I signed the decree last night. Sealed it. Stamped it. After the hunt.”
Her eyes widened slightly.
“All humans are to be killed on sight,” I said, my voice rough. “No exceptions.”
Lyrin stared at me like she didn’t recognize me.
After a long moment, she laughed. Not kindly.
“You’re pathetic,” she said flatly.
I turned to her, anger flaring.
“Watch your mouth.”
“No,” she shot back. “You used to be strong. Now you let yourself be pushed around by a woman you don’t even love.”
“That’s enough,” I growled.
She shook her head.
“I’m done. I won’t be part of this mess.”
She turned and stormed inside.
“I’m leaving the pack for a while,” she threw over her shoulder. “Figure your shit out, Aric.”
The door slammed.
I stood there alone, shaking with anger. I grabbed the bottle at my feet and hurled it against the wall. It shattered, glass exploding everywhere. A sharp pain sliced into my palm, but I barely felt it.
“Damn it!” I roared, smashing another bottle, then another, until my hand was bleeding and my chest hurt from screaming.
Then it came again.
Soft. Clear.
“Aric.”
I froze.
My breath caught. My heart nearly stopped.
“Seraphine?” I whispered aloud, blood dripping from my hand. “Can you hear me?”
The air felt charged. Alive.
I straightened slowly, my pulse roaring in my ears.
“Seraphine,” I said again, louder now. “Answer me...!”