I'm alive! And so sorry for disappearing for a week. Sometimes our personal lives get in the way :( thanks so much to those people who reached out to check on me and sorry if I haven't responded yet, this is my first time on wattpad in a while! But seriously, I'm so grateful to have such supportive people reading this book, so thank you, guys. Hope you enjoy this chapter. 

26. 

The home stretch feels like it takes the longest. On the outskirts of the shifter village, home feels almost within grasp. We've been walking for merely a few hours and yet it feels like days. Malik is so silent beside me that it's like I'm alone again, walking through the forest with only the bird calls to comfort me. Usually, we travel together, but Eric suggested spreading out. With their heightened senses, even when they can't see each other, they know where one another is, and they have a larger range to scope out for potential hollowers close to the village.

Malik stuck with me in the middle of the pack, considering I don't have the heightened senses of the others and would probably go wandering off in the complete wrong direction—Eric's words, not mine. It's been an hour since we split from the others. Elias went ahead, and Cassia and Eric are bringing up the rear.

My stomach churns with uncertainty the further we get. Elias' words play in my head, the way he talked about home, how he wanted me to find a home. When we left the shifter village, it was falling apart. But now that we have Elias back, will Elias be the needle that stitches everything back together? The answer is more and more unclear as we move through the underbrush. Even if it is the case, it doesn't make me feel as hopeful as it once would've, not after seeing the look on Elias' face as he talked about leading the village. He doesn't want it. But he doesn't have a choice. None of us do.

I stare at Malik from the corner of my eye. Like the others, he is a part of the forest. The trees welcome him, guide him through, whereas it feels as though they cut me off, keep me from entering. Did Malik want to be a leader? Or was he thrust into it, just as Elias was?

The sun falls lower in the sky. Night will approach soon; the thought sends a shudder down my spine. A few months ago, I was terrified of the night because of the creatures, but then it became the only time I felt safe. Now, there is no time that's safe. Day or night, the hollowers aren't afraid anymore. But during day, there are no shadows to hide in. At night, when the forest turns sinister and the exposing sun hides away, the shifters have their wolves, Elias has his fire, and I have nothing but shadows to hide in. I quicken my pace.

My foot catches on a root and I stumble forward a few feet, righting myself before I fall. Malik puts a hand on my arm. "You okay?"

I nod, my cheeks warming. I'm still not as graceful as them, but I'd thought my days of clumsy stumbling were over. We carry on, but I can feel Malik's heated gaze on the side of my face.

"Caught in your head?" he asks, moving a branch out of the way for me.

"Something like that."

In the distance, a long, low howl echoes through the forest. It's a sound that used to send me hiding, but now, a familiar comfort swirls in my chest. "How are you doing?" Malik asks. "After what happened at the hollower village."

Instinctively, my hand palms over my pocket where the wooden bed frame sits. It's small and light, but it feels like it weighs a tonne, each step a chore. But I'm glad to have it with me, so grateful to Elias, even though he did risk his life to get it.

"Okay." I sigh. "There are much more important things to worry about."

He doesn't say anything for a few moments. I glimpse at him from the corner of my eye. He'd been so striking when we first met, with his black hair, pale skin and glacial eyes, an air of confidence lined each stride. Even now, after spending so much time for him, there's something sharp about him.

"I'm just excited to get back. It feels like years since we left."

"I know what you mean."

"Do you really think we'll be able to send some people to your village? For safety?"

"Of course. As soon as we get back, Elias will make arrangements. My guards can escort the group back safely. They'll be eager to get home to their families too."

"But you'll stay?"

He turns his head, lips tilting up slightly. "I'm not one to back down from a fight."

My breath catches.

There was always something in the way that he looked at me. His gaze was captivating, intense, like he knew me much more than he did. Even now, the intensity in his eyes hasn't gone away; they're as captivating as the day we met. I can't help but think of what Elias and I talked about. What if I do go to Malik's village? What will my life look like? The thought of starting over again makes the world feel unsteady, but Malik makes it a little less scary.

"You could go with them, too, if you wanted," he says.

"I'm not going to run away from this."

"I thought you'd say that."

"Tell me about your village," I say.

A serene expression overtakes his face and he looks away from me, forward. "My village is the most beautiful place in this world."

"Biased much?"

"Maybe a little bit. But ask Elias, I guarantee you he'd agree with me," he says, shoving a log out of our path. "The other side of the mountain is much more forgiving than this side here. There are old craters down below that filled with water, close to our village, and in the spring, fields of wildflowers litter the landscape."

Elias mentioned the wildflowers, and the lakes. It does sound beautiful. "But you didn't grow up there?"

He shakes his head. "Grew up in the mountains till I was six, then moved to the coast with the elders."

"And when did you become the leader of your village?"

"Only a couple of years ago," he says. "My mother led before me."

"What happened?"

His expression darkens and he stares ahead. "The hollowers got her."

"Malik... I'm so sorry." He nods in acknowledgement, still staring at the ground. "Seriously," I say. "I know what it feels like to lose someone."

He looks at me. "We've all lost people. The only thing we can do is keep our heads up, protect those who are still around."

I nod in agreement. He's right. But his words make my stomach churn. We've all lost people. I can't help but wonder how many more?

"Maybe you can show me your village," I say hesitantly, "after this is all over."

He shoots his gaze to me, surprised. "You want to visit?"

"Visit, stay... I don't know."

"What about Elias' village? Eric, and Cassia, and... and Elias?"

"You don't want me to come?"

"No, that's not it. I just thought..." he trails off, eyeing me awkwardly. "I thought... I don't know I noticed..." For the first time since I met him, he seems uncomfortable. "Elias is different with you."

Heat rushes to my cheeks. I duck my head so hair falls across my face, staring at my feet moving across the dirt. "Maybe I was wrong," Malik says.

"It's complicated."

"Love always is."

"It's not..." Love. I can't bring myself to say it out loud. The thought plagues me enough in my mind. I'm not even sure I know what love really is. But there's a feeling in my chest that belongs only to Elias. When I thought he was dead, I felt it. Lying on the sand on the coast, laughing so hard my stomach hurt, I felt it. Even up on the hill, when he told me I should go to Malik's, I felt it, stronger than ever.

I loved Darius, I loved Flo, and in a twisted way, I loved Charles. And yet I can never be truly certain that any of them really loved me. But when Elias looks at me, it feels like staring into direct sunlight. I shake my head, the heavy feeling in my stomach returning. Dwelling on thoughts of love will destroy me.

"Milena?" Malik probes.

I look at him. "There's no future for me and Elias, not one with a happy ending, at least."

"Why?"

I press my lips together. "Elias thinks I should go to your village. He thinks I'll be happier there, that I'll finally... belong."

His eyes narrow in speculation. "What do you think?"

"I think... I think it might be better for everyone if I did."

He doesn't say anything for a few moments, eyes still on me. His gaze makes it even harder to walk straight. "Do you know what I think?"

"What?"

"Elias is making a mistake."

His words are comforting, but it's so much more complicated than he knows. "You don't understand."

He puts a hand on my arm to halt me. "I'm serious, Milena." He steps closer, hesitantly, as if I'm going to run away. I have to crane my neck to look up at him, we're so close. His ocean eyes are undecipherable, trapping mine. We're not touching, but that damn shifter allure draws me closer, addictive, like a bee to honey.

His eyes search mine, voice low. "If I were Elias, I wouldn't let anything come between us. Not a person, not some uncontrollable gift, not even fate."

My breath hitches as his hands reaches up, brushing delicately across the side of my cheek. "You're someone worth fighting for, Milena."

I'm paralysed, his eyes holding me captive as they sweep across my face. Emotions war within me. One part of me wants to draw closer, to close my eyes and play his words in my head over and over until they're ingrained in my memory, because after being discarded by people my entire life, they feed a part of my soul I didn't know was wounded. But the other part of me knows it isn't fair, that no matter what, Malik doesn't understand what it's like for Elias.

I try to find words, but nothing comes out. Malik's lips tilt upwards slightly, his thumb brushing my cheekbone. "After everything, if you still want to, my village will welcome you with open arms."

Before I can say anything, he drops his hand and steps away. Seconds later, the trees rustle and Eric appears. He stops, eyeing the space between the two of us with a snarl. "Why'd you stop? We're almost there?"

Malik doesn't say anything, just turns around and continues walking. I take a shaky breath and follow, my cheeks flushed, words still caught in the back of my throat. Eric slides beside me, staring at me sideways. "You okay?"

My head is a mess of disjointed thoughts and feelings I don't know how to sort through. I don't even know if I should sort through them. But I press on, avoiding his eyes, and nod. "Yes."

~

We're not far from the village when dusk settles, bringing with it a cool wind. Lights illuminate in the distance, glowing through the forest. It's the first sign of life since we came across the hollowers in the village, and it makes my skin hum. I shiver in my thin shirt. We're back, and we have Elias.

He's waiting for us on the outskirts of the village, eyes drawing immediately to me when I arrive. I duck my head, as if he can read my thoughts with one look. Without a word, we continue on, all of us together again. I'm thankful for the silence, words still hard to find.

Malik walks slightly behind Elias, his stride confident. As if feeling my gaze, he turns. I avert my eyes, focusing on the trail ahead, but his words linger in my mind, the feeling of his fingers against my skin, so smooth, so unlike Elias'.

You're worth fighting for, Milena.

The words play in repeat in my mind. Only, they didn't come from the person I wanted them to. I watch Elias as we push through the trees, a tension releasing from his shoulders. The trees grow sparser, more familiar. Some trunks are marked with dents and scratches, probably from trainings. Up ahead, the stone castle looms over the trees, ominous against the darkening, navy sky.

Elias picks up his pace, less careful as he shoves aside branches and thumps across the earth. He hasn't been home for so long. And what kind of village will he be returning to? Everything changed when he was taken, and it wasn't for the best.

We pause at the edge of the treeline as the village comes into view. Cabins line the street, winding all the way to the foot of the castle. I start to move forward, but Elias puts his hand out to stop me. I turn to face him. His eyes are narrowed as he scans the village.

"What's wrong?"

"The lights, they're all off."

I follow his gaze. He's right, the cabins scattered throughout the land are dark. The street-lanterns haven't been lit. The only light in the entire village illuminates from the castle. The village looks... abandoned.

"What's going on?" Malik says, pushing past Cassia to stand next to me. "Where is everyone?"

None of us have an answer for him. Malik shakes his head, brows furrowed. "My men—"

"Get back," Elias hisses, grabbing my arm and pulling me down. My heart hammers as the others drop, aware of a threat I'm yet to notice.

Crouched in the bushes, I whisper, "What is it?"

"The castle doors," Elias says, "they're opening."

I watch the castle doors. They creak open, slow. Light floods across the earth before the castle as a figure emerges, their shadow cast across the earth. I narrow my eyes, heart falling into my stomach as they step into the light.

Cynthia.

~

DISCUSSION:

1. What do you think about Milena and Malik's conversation?

2. did you think Cynthia would have already infiltrated the village?

3. what do you think might happen next?