Chapter 20 Romeo and Juliet (Ember's POV)
I left the gym without finding Trey again, my eyes burning with unshed tears. Sage materialized beside me as I pushed through the exit doors, falling into step without saying anything.
We walked in silence across campus, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows. Other students milled around, laughing and talking, completely oblivious to the fact that my world was crumbling.
"You want to talk about it?" Sage finally asked as we approached the dorms.
"Not really."
"Em..."
"I said not really." I kept my voice level, controlled. "I just want to shower and sleep and pretend today didn't happen."
"Okay." She squeezed my arm gently. "But I'm here when you're ready."
We climbed the stairs to our floor, and I fumbled with my key, my hands still shaking slightly. The familiar comfort of our dorm room should have been soothing, but instead it just felt like another cage.
"I'm taking a shower." I grabbed my towel and toiletries, heading for the bathroom before Sage could respond.
The hot water helped. I stood under the spray until my skin turned pink, letting the steam fill my lungs and the heat loosen the knots in my shoulders. When I finally emerged, wrapped in my towel, I found Sage had already showered in the hall bathroom.
She was walking around the room completely naked, rifling through her dresser for pajamas like this was the most normal thing in the world. Which, for Sage, it was. She'd never been shy about her body.
"Feel better?" She pulled out an oversized t-shirt, still making no move to put it on.
"A little." I grabbed my own clothes from my closet. "I just need to..."
A scraping sound at the window made us both freeze.
The window slid open, and Trey pulled himself through with the easy grace of someone who'd done this before.
"Em, I wanted to make sure you were..." He looked up, registered Sage's naked form, and his eyes went wide. "Oh my God."
Sage screamed, scrambling for the bathroom. "Trey! What the hell!"
"I'm sorry!" He spun around, facing the wall. "I didn't know... I thought you'd be alone..."
"Well, I'm not!" Sage's voice came muffled from behind the bathroom door. "And I'm naked! This is so embarrassing!"
"I can see that! I mean, I could see that. I'm not looking now!" Trey's face was bright red, his hands covering his eyes for extra measure. "I'm going back out the window."
"Wait." I grabbed his arm before he could move. "Just stay turned around. Sage, put some clothes on."
"I am!" Rustling sounds came from the bathroom. "But this is mortifying! I can never look at your boyfriend again!"
"He's not..." I started, then stopped. What was Trey, exactly? My mate? My boyfriend? My supernatural destiny? "Just hurry up."
More rustling, then Sage emerged wearing sweatpants and a hoodie that covered her from neck to ankle. Her face was scarlet, and she refused to look at either of us.
"I'm leaving." She grabbed her phone and keys. "Study group. Definitely a real study group that I was planning to go to anyway and not just an excuse to escape this humiliation."
"Sage..."
"Nope. Not talking about it. Pretending it never happened." She headed for the door, still not making eye contact with Trey. "Just... lock the door behind me. And maybe text before climbing through windows next time?"
The door closed behind her, leaving Trey and me alone in the suddenly quiet room.
"You can turn around now," I said softly.
He did, his face still flushed. "I'm sorry. I should have texted first. I just saw you leave the gym looking upset and I wanted to make sure you were okay."
"I'm fine." The lie felt automatic. "Just benched from volleyball until further notice, but totally fine."
"Em." He moved closer, his hands finding mine. "You don't have to pretend with me."
The tears I'd been holding back since leaving Coach's office finally broke free. "It was the one normal thing I had left. The one place where I was just Ember, not the Silver Wolf or a prophesied destroyer or anyone's weapon. And now that's gone too."
He pulled me against his chest, one hand stroking my hair. "I know. I'm sorry."
We stood like that for a long moment, and I let myself just feel safe in his arms. Feel like maybe, despite everything, we could figure this out together.
"We should run away." The words came out muffled against his shirt.
"What?"
I pulled back to look at him. "Run away. Leave all of this behind. Start over somewhere no one knows us, where there are no prophecies or pack politics or father-daughter reunions with hunters."
"Ember..."
"I'm serious." I moved to sit on my bed, and he followed. "Why can't we just go? Get in your car and drive until we hit a city where supernatural politics don't matter. Somewhere we can just be two normal teenagers."
"Because we're not normal teenagers." His voice was gentle but firm. "And pack bonds aren't just political, Em. They're magical. Connected to my very being."
"So break the bond."
"It's not that simple." He took my hand, lacing our fingers together. "If I completely sever from Ravencrest, the breaking could kill me. The pack bond is woven into my soul, my magic, my wolf. Tearing it out would be like tearing out part of myself."
"But you said you'd choose exile. You said..."
"Exile isn't the same as severing." He squeezed my hand. "Exile means I'm no longer welcome, no longer protected by pack law. But the magical connection remains, even if it's strained. Complete severing is different. It's final. Fatal, usually."
I stared at our intertwined hands, feeling hope slip away. "So we're trapped."
"We're in an impossible situation," he corrected. "But that doesn't mean we're giving up."
"Feels like it."
He was quiet for a moment, then: "Have you been having dreams?"
The question made me pause. "What kind of dreams?"
"Prophetic ones. Visions of the future." His expression was troubled. "Because I've been having them through our bond. Ever since we completed the mating."
"I..." I thought about the dreams I'd been having every night. Dreams of babies with silver eyes and dark hair. Dreams of choosing between paths that led to light or shadow. Dreams of standing at a crossroads with two children in my arms. "Yeah. I've been dreaming about being pregnant."
"Every night?"
"Every night." I looked at him. "Does that mean..."
"It means the prophecy is already in motion." His voice was heavy. "Your body knows what's coming, even if we don't. The dreams are preparing you."
"But we've only... I mean, it's only been once during the heat. That doesn't guarantee..."
"With mates during a heat cycle, it almost always results in conception." He touched my stomach gently, reverently. "You're probably already pregnant, Em. The dreams are confirmation."
The reality of it crashed over me. Pregnant. With twins. Children I'd have to raise knowing every choice I made would determine their path.
"I'm not ready for this." The admission came out as a whisper.
"Neither am I." He pulled me close again. "But we'll figure it out. Together."
We lay down on my narrow dorm bed, tangled together in a way that should have been uncomfortable but felt perfect. His heartbeat steady beneath my ear, his arms solid around me.
"I love you," I said into the growing darkness. "Even though everything's falling apart and we're probably doomed and my father is a hunter who might try to kill us both. I love you."
"I love you too." He pressed a kiss to my hair. "Whatever comes next, at least we face it together."
I felt myself drifting, exhaustion from the game and the emotional rollercoaster of the day finally catching up. Trey's breathing evened out, and I thought he'd fallen asleep too.
Then I felt him move.
Not the normal shifting of someone trying to get comfortable. Something else. Something wrong.
I opened my eyes to find him sitting up, his back rigid and his eyes open but vacant. Empty.
"Trey?" I sat up too, touching his arm. "Trey, are you okay?"
He didn't respond. Just stared straight ahead, his lips moving soundlessly.
Then words came, but not in his voice. Something older, stranger, layered with power that made my wolf whimper.
"Blood and ash." His mouth formed the words mechanically. "Crimson moon. The father comes."
"Trey, you're scaring me." I shook his arm, but he didn't react.
"The witch falls." His empty eyes turned toward me, looking through me rather than at me. "The wolf kills what she loves."
"Stop it." I shook him harder. "Trey, wake up!"
"Death and birth. Shadow and light." His hand found my stomach, pressing against it with unnatural precision. "Two paths. One choice. The mother decides which world burns."
"Trey!" I grabbed his face, forcing him to look at me. "Wake up! Please!"
His eyes suddenly focused, clarity rushing back. He gasped, pulling away from me. "What happened? Why are you crying?"