Chapter b161 /b

Caleb’s POV

The sight of it made my chest tighten, the soft pastel curtains and the neatly made bed a stark contrast to the chaos outside.

This bwas /bAurora’s room…I could scent her from every corner, as if she had only just left this room. Thankfully, it wasn’t empty like the room downstairsi, /iint the simplicity of it all didn’t sit right with me.

The room was tiny, barely having space for a single bed, a tiny study desk and a closet. It felt like a sharp contrast to the vastly different lives we bhad /bbeen living before we even met. And it made me feel even more guilty about how i had ignored her, scorned her before the Moon Goddess made me realize she was bmy /bmate.

Damien must have noticed my hesitation, so he strode forward to take action.

“We can’t stay here,” Damien said; his voice hoarse as he mmed the door shut, keeping the fire at bay, for now. “The fire will catch up to us bany /bminute now.”

“There’s got to be another way out.” He crossed the room in quick strides, heading for the window, and I followed, desperation wing at my chest. If this didn’t work, we were out of options.

Surprisingly, as Damien opened thetch, the window swung open on its ownb, /bgiving us an exit way that we desperately needed.

But I couldn’t help but look back. The room felt stark and empty, its bare walls and minimal furniture doing little to mask the weight of what bhad /btranspired here. My gaze flickered to the window Damien had already managed to pry open, letting in the cool air that carried with it the faintest scent of smoke–a reminder that time was slipping away.

“Jump down after me,” he said, his voice steady but clipped, urgency wrapped around each word. “The fall isn’t too hard, but it’s better bto /bturn before we bhit /bground. Can’t take any chances with this sted houseb./bb” /b

He didn’t wait for my response, trusting that I’d follow, as he threw himself bout /bof the window. Mid–air, his form shifted, muscles and fur recing skin in an instant, his wolfnding gracefully below without a stumble. He looked up, his beyes /bglinting with the glow of the firelight in the distance, waiting for me to follow.

I stepped closer to the window, bracing myself against the sillb, /bbut something tugged at me, keeping my bfeet /bfirmly nted on the floor.

“I’ll be down in a second,” bI /bcalled down to him, my voice low, but bhe /bmust’ve heard because bI /bsaw him nod briefly before lowering his head to scan the area. I turned back into the room, heading straight for Aurora’s closet. The small space was unassuming, like the rest of the house, but it carried her scentb–/bsoft and unmistakably hers.

My fingers moved quickly through the sparse belongings, pulling aside hangers and brushing past folded fabric until I found something that felt right. A scarf, worn but familiar, and a small silver bracelet that must have slipped off her wrist bone /bcareless day. They weren’t much, but they bwere /bhers, and they’d mean something when this ce was nothing but ash.

My heart was pounding in my chest, the roar of the fire growing louder behind me. I flung the items away, hoping to find something–anything–that could be of use, something other than this mess, that would actually hold an emotional value, but all I saw were old clothes and books, relics of a time that seemed distant and irrelevant now.

Frustrated, I was about to turn away when a small box tucked into the corner caught my eye. Something about itpelled me, and without a second thought, I grabbed it. The heat was unbearable now, the fire having reached the door, and thick ck smoke coiled around the room, making it almost impossible to breathe. I coughed violently, clutching the box to my chest as I stumbled back, every instinct screaming at me to get out.

I made it to the window, the only escape left. The mes bwere /brelentless, devouring everything in their path, and the smoke wed at my throat and eyes. I paused for a split second, looking back at the room onest time–my mate’s room. The memories here, the love and warmth, now reduced to ash and ruin. My chest tightened, not just from theck of air but from the realization that this was it. I turned to the window, ready to leap, when something made me freeze.

The smoke at the door wasn’t just smoke anymore–it had twisted itself into the shape of a grotesque human face, its features distorted and horrific. Its mouth opened wide, and an unearthly scream erupted, shaking me to my core. My grip on the windowsill faltered, and I was so startled that I lost my bnce entirely. My body plummeted through the air, the ground rushing up to meet me. For a moment, I was certain I would hit the earth with a bone- shattering impact, my heart racing with the inevitability of pain.

But then, like a force of nature, Damien appeared. His strong arms wrapped around me mid–air, the collision jarring but undeniably blife/bb–/bsaving. We hit bthe /b

b1/2 /b

bChapter /bb161 /b

bground /btogether, the impact knocking bthe /bbwind /bout of bme/b, but bI /bbwas /bbalive/bb. /b

bCoughing /band gaspingb, /bbI /blooked up at him, his face calm despite the chaos around us. For a momentb; /bneither of us bspoke/b, the weight of what kat képe sinking in. I clung to the box in my hands, feeling its edges dig into my skin, and whispered a shaky.

“Thank you,” I told him, my heart all but ready to burst out of my

chestb. /b

He nierely nodded. “Let’s get the fuck

Out of here before anything else happens.”

bChapter /bbComments /b

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