Broken fragments of the whole piece

Broken fragments of the whole piece
I opened my eyes to the shine of the morning sunlight that crept through the slits of the blinds, spilling faint gold across the dusty floorboards. For a moment, I didn’t remember where I was.
My heart weighed heavy and my eyes, they were even heavier. I looked to the side, and there, I saw Zias and Elara, the former in the latter’s embrace as they both slept.
The sight of them brought it all back.
I pushed myself up slowly, realizing I was still in yesterday’s clothes. The ache behind my eyes reminded me how much I’d cried. My hair clung to my neck, and my throat felt dry.
‘The window… empty’ I remembered seeing Ciel there before falling asleep. I blinked, my eyes darting around the room as I instinctively searched for Ciel.
But he wasn’t in the room. Neither was Selena.
I had myriads of thoughts flash through my mind at this, my heart began racing in panic.
Did they return to the pack already? Were they already on the path to revenge? Did Selena lose it and Ciel followed in pursuit of her to stop her from recklessly getting herself killed?
What happened?
I looked towards Elara in a daze, pondering what to do. Curled up on the bed with one hand resting protectively over her son’s back, her lashes fluttered lightly against her cheeks, like she was caught in a fragile dream. For the briefest second, she looked peaceful; and that hurt even more, because I knew what waited for her once she woke.
It was the reality of losing her mate, her husband… I’d wish I slept forever and never woke to face that reality too.
I hesitated, half tempted to go find Ciel and Selena. A part of me worried that something had happened while we slept, that something terrible must have happened. But then looking at Elara, I couldn’t bring myself to move.
Someone had to stay.
Someone had to be here when she woke and remembered everything.
I swallowed hard and sank back down to the edge of the bed, clasping my hands together. The silence pressed heavy around me. The faint hum of the morning wind outside the cracked window mixed with the creaks of the old house. It was strangely comforting, even if it made me feel trapped in yesterday’s grief.
My gaze drifted to Zias. His little chest rose and fell softly. He’d been sleeping for a long while.
The fear from yesterday must have stressed him to the point where his mind had to force shut down for so long. Poor boy, he still had no idea what’s happened to his father. He probably still thinks he’d...
My heart twisted.
That small boy would never know his father’s voice again. Never feel his hands lift him up or hear his laugh echo through their home. It wasn’t fair -none of it was- and yet, here we were, in a world that kept moving like nothing had happened.
I sighed quietly, brushing a strand of hair from my face. My thoughts kept looping back to the moment Ciel had held me last night. The steadiness in his voice when he said they’d pay for what they did.
I wanted to believe him. I really did.
But revenge wouldn’t bring Icarus back. It wouldn’t fix Elara’s shattered heart or erase the image of his lifeless body from my memory.
“Michael… Icarus…” I whispered under my breath, as if saying their names would keep them from fading.
I heard Elara stir awake with a faint sound escaping her lips. The sound was something between a sigh and a sob. Her hand clenched around the sheets, and I sat up immediately. Her lashes fluttered and her red swollen eyes found me.
For a long moment, she didn’t say anything. She just stared blankly ahead, as though unsure if she was really awake. Then her lips trembled.
“He’s gone, isn’t he?” she whispered.
The words stabbed deeper than I expected. I nodded faintly, afraid that saying it aloud would make it worse.
Elara’s hand went to her chest, and she let out a slow, shaky breath. Tears welled in her eyes again, but this time, she didn’t cry as much as she just… breathed through it. Like someone who had no tears left.
I reached out and held her hand gently. “He wouldn’t want you to break, Elara,” I said softly. “He’d want you to stay strong for Zias.”
Her eyes flickered toward her sleeping child. She swallowed hard and gave a faint nod. “I know… but knowing doesn’t make it easier.”
I squeezed her hand. “No. It doesn’t.”
Silence lingered again between us, heavy yet tender.
I wanted to say something more. I wanted to comfort her and convince her with something wise. But I didn’t know how to make sense of the chaos inside me either.
I was forced into silence, holding her hand until her breath would hopefully steady again.
…
Meanwhile, in the hallway, outside the room.
Ciel stood near the end of the hall, leaning slightly against the wall with his arms folded. His sharp pale-blue eyes scanned around, cautious of everyone and everything. “ So?”
Selena stood opposite him, her arms crossed, her expression composed but weary. Her usual sharpness was dulled, replaced with a haunted kind of coldness. Ciel had brought her out here to discuss how she got to know about Icarus’ situation and had arrived at his place when she was supposed to be at the packhouse.
“I should’ve caught on sooner,” she murmured.
Ciel turned his head slightly, his gaze narrowing. “What do you mean by that?”
Selena exhaled, rubbing her temple as though the memory hurt to think about. “I mean, I should’ve realized what Jerome was plotting long before any of this happened.”
Ciel’s expression hardened. “Start from the beginning.”
She hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “The night after Michael died… Icarus he-- he came to me. He said something was wrong with the pack, that I should stay in my room that night. I thought he was just being cautious. He’d always been paranoid about the hunter sightings, so I didn’t question it.”
Her lips pressed into a tight line. “But later that night, he came to my door again, asking to stay inside. Said the air outside didn’t feel right.”
Ciel frowned. “That doesn’t sound like Icarus.” In truth, the beta had always been careless and nonchalant, taking every situation as light as a matchstick.
“It wasn’t,” Selena agreed quietly. “That’s why it felt strange. He looked… different. His eyes had trembled like I’d never seen before, like he’d been faced with a life-threatening decision and had yet to decide. But I didn’t think much of it then. I should have…”
Ciel’s fists clenched at his sides, his voice dropping low. “And after, how did you know to come to his place? Did something happen?”
“Yes,” she said with a nod, her tone trembling slightly. “Icarus came to me earlier yesterday, right before Alyssa was kicked out of the pack. He said Jerome was researching the cure ritual and might even be behind its spread in the pack. That’s where I should have realized, cause-- how did Icarus come to find out Jerome was doing all of this? I thought she’d asked him to help look into it like she asked us… I didn’t know Icarus had investigated and had found Jerome to be behind it and had been caught in the process, causing Elara and Zias to be held hostage to silence him.”
Ciel’s eyes widened as he listened to Selena rambling on about what had happened. “The cure ritual? Who asked who to help look into it?” he frowned in confusion and asked.
Selena froze, realizing too late what she’d said.
Ciel took a step forward, his tone sharp. “You said they’d asked you and Icarus to look into it? Who?”
She met his gaze for a long moment, torn between guilt and hesitation. Then she sighed, her shoulders sagging in surrender. “Icarus wasn’t working alone. Alyssa had asked him and myself to help look into the cure ritual.”
Ciel blinked, disbelief flickering across his face. “Alyssa?”
Selena nodded slowly. “She didn’t know much, but I assume she learnt from her hanging around Michael and wanted to look into its authenticity.”
Ciel’s jaw tightened. He turned away for a moment, staring out the tall, cracked window at the other end. “So Jerome found out… and decided to silence Icarus?”
Selena lowered her gaze. “He did. Hah! I found the note Icarus left before leaving the packhouse after Alyssa was kicked. He’d told Jerome that it was Alyssa who asked him to look into the cure ritual--Jerome suspected someone had made Icarus look into it as my brother was too nonchalant to care about such matters. Icarus explained everything in the note. He was to lure Alyssa to his place where she would be killed. I immediately ran to his home to find him but…” Her voice broke slightly, though she fought to hold it together. “By the time I got there, it was too late.”
Ciel’s hands trembled slightly. He slammed his fist against the wooden frame beside him, the sound echoing sharply through the corridor. “Damn that bastard.”
Selena flinched but didn’t stop him.
“Michael, Icarus, those pack members he’d make his research test subjects who’d lost their minds and had become savages. They’re all gone because of him!” Ciel growled through clenched teeth. “How many more does he want to take?”
Selena looked at him quietly, her face shadowed with remorse. “...”
Ciel exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down his face. “You did right coming. I’m afraid if you’d stayed at the packhouse to fight, things might have gotten worse. And we wouldn’t even know what’s happened and what Jerome had really been up to.” Ciel sighed again. “But from now on, we have to do this carefully. Gamma Jerome isn’t as easy to deal with. If we want that bastard gone, we have to outsmart him as a team.”
Selena nodded. “Agreed.”
For a moment, the two stood in silence, the morning light cutting soft lines across their faces. The weight of loss, betrayal, and vengeance hung between them like a storm waiting to break.
Finally, Ciel straightened, glancing toward the end of the hall. “They’re probably awake now. We should return.” He planned to talk to Alyssa later about the cure ritual thing. A part of him was furious as he’d told her before to not look into the matter. However, he felt if she hadn’t, a lot of things about gamma Jerome wouldn’t have come to light. Besides, Alyssa not looking into the matter wouldn’t have prevented any of this from happening at some point.
Selena gave a faint nod, her expression softening.
They both returned to the room.