Chapter 67

• Seeking respite from the situation, Cielo excused herself to wander off the trail under the pretense of needing a moment alone. She simply craved solitude. Mara, her wolf, was in pain and barely responsive. Cielo's chest was filled with excruciating pain, and her will to live was dwindling. The moment she sat down on a log, Mara watched her languidly, ensuring she didn't succumb to despair. They both yearned to escape the pain and unbearable loneliness they felt. However, they had both endured too much to give up now.
• Resting her head in her hands, Cielo tried to steady her breathing and suppress the desperate screams threatening to tear her apart. The emptiness in her heart was nearly unbearable, and bottling up her suffering felt like a form of self-torture. She yearned for death. She felt she deserved death for destroying something so sacred. It was a sin against the Moon Goddess, and she deserved every ounce of pain this transgression inflicted. She didn't deserve love in her life, and she certainly didn't deserve the title of Alpha Queen in her lifetime. Not after what she had just done.
• As she wallowed in her thoughts, Mara growled at her. In hindsight, she was likely trying to warn Cielo, but in that moment she didn't care that Mara was upset. She just wanted to breathe without a weight on her chest. It wasn't until she heard a twig snap that she managed to rein in her dark thoughts and don her confident facade once again.