Elroy POV:
The world was spinning.
Dead.
The word echoed in my skull, bouncing around until it became a physical pain.
Mate is gone, my Inner Wolf howled. It was a sound of pure devastation. He threw his head back in my mind and screamed, a sound that tore through my mental barriers.
I grabbed the photos, my hands shaking so hard I nearly ripped them. "This is fake. You faked this!"
"Read the coroner's report," Korey said, leaning against the doorframe. He looked tired. "Time of death: approximately 180 days ago. Cause of death: Silver poisoning and blood loss."
"She can't be dead," I gasped. "If she were dead, the bond... I would have felt the bond snap."
"Did you?" Korey asked quietly. "Or were you so drugged by Ivonne's sorcery that you missed the moment your other half died?"
I froze.
Six months ago. I remembered a night. I had been at a gala with Ivonne. Suddenly, I had felt a sharp pain in my chest, like a heart attack. I had collapsed. Ivonne had given me a drink, told me it was just stress. She had massaged my temples, her scent overwhelming everything else.
I had forgotten it by morning.
"Ivonne..." I whispered.
"She paid the Rogues," Korey said. "I found the transaction records. She wanted the Luna position. Annis was in the way. She used a blood-mimic spell to keep the bond dormant so you wouldn't suspect."
I scrambled backward, away from the photos, away from the truth. My back hit the wall. "No. Ivonne loves me. She is my Mate."
"She is a witch and a whore," Korey said calmly. "And you are the fool who let her kill your true Mate."
I couldn't breathe. The air in the cabin felt thin.
Suddenly, Korey's eyes changed. The gold of his iris shifted, swirling with a silvery mist. It was Spirit Sight. A rare ability, usually found in Seers, not Alphas.
He looked past me. He looked into the empty corner of the room.
His expression softened. The anger drained away, replaced by a profound sadness.
He began to hum. It was a low, haunting melody. I recognized it. It was a lullaby Annis used to sing to her belly when she was pregnant with Emma.
Korey raised his hand, palm open, reaching out to the empty air.
"Hello, my White Wolf," Korey whispered.
I looked at the corner. There was nothing there. Just dust motes dancing in the light.
"Who are you talking to?" I croaked.
"She is here," Korey said, his eyes fixed on the invisible spot. "She has been screaming at you for an hour, Elroy. But you are too blind to see her."
Annis POV:
He saw me.
For the first time in six months, someone looked at me, not through me.
Korey's silver gaze locked onto mine. I felt a warmth spread through my spectral form. It wasn't the heat of a fire, but the warmth of recognition. Of being acknowledged.
"Korey," I wept, though no tears fell. "You found me."
"I never stopped looking," he whispered.
I floated toward him. I wanted to touch him. I wanted to feel the solidity of a friend.
But then, Elroy scrambled to his feet.
"Stop it!" Elroy yelled, looking between Korey and the empty corner. "Stop playing games! There is no one there!"
His denial was a physical force. It hit me like a wave.
"She is right in front of you," Korey said, his voice hard again. "She is looking at you with hate, Elroy. Can you blame her?"
Elroy turned to where Korey was looking. He squinted. For a second, just a split second, I saw his eyes widen. Did he see a shimmer? A distortion in the air?
"Annis?" he whispered.
Then he shook his head violently. "No. She's dead. You said she's dead. Ghosts aren't real."
He turned and ran. He shoved past Korey and bolted out the door, into the forest.
And the curse yanked me backward.
"No!" I screamed, reaching for Korey. "Help me! Don't let him take me!"
Korey stepped forward, his hand swiping through the air where my arm was. He shivered. "I will come for you, Annis," he promised the air. "I will break the tether."
But I was already being dragged away, pulled through the trees, following the coward who was fleeing from his own sins.
