CHAPTER 193: THE WEIGHT OF THE CONE

Josie

I never thought regret could feel this heavy. Like a stone pressed against my lungs, slowly crushing the air out of me. Every breath burned. Every heartbeat felt weaker than the last. My limbs were so cold that even the warmth of my tears couldn’t thaw them. I regretted leaving the pack the way I did—without a plan, without warning, driven by fear more than courage.

If I’d stayed, maybe things wouldn’t have turned out this way. Maybe I wouldn’t be here—curled on the cold, damp floor of the witches’ hut, my body trembling as if the life inside me was flickering out.

I wanted to sleep. Just... sleep. That was all I wanted. My eyelids grew heavier by the second, and the world blurred into shadows.

Then I heard it.

A whisper. My name.

"Josie..."

It was faint, like a breeze brushing against my ear. My mind struggled to focus, to make sense of it. The shadows moved, and then a familiar face emerged through the haze.

Kiel.

He looked wild—his hair damp with sweat, eyes glowing like molten silver, chest heaving as though he’d run through hell itself to get here. His scent hit me then—warm pine and stormfire—and my heart stuttered painfully in my chest.

"Josie," he said again, kneeling beside me. His voice was rough, broken. "We have to leave. Now."

I wanted to smile, to reach out and touch him, to tell him how much I’d missed him—but I couldn’t. My lips trembled, my voice a whisper. "Kiel... I can’t."

His brows furrowed. "What do you mean you can’t? You’re coming with me."

When he reached for me, the moment his arm slid under my back, pain exploded through me. I screamed—an ugly, raw sound that ripped through the silence. The agony was unbearable, tearing through every vein like fire.

Kiel froze instantly, his eyes widening in alarm. "Josie, what’s wrong?"

"The cone..." I gasped, clutching my chest weakly. "It’s draining me, Kiel. My powers—they’re being pulled away."

He glanced around, confusion darkening his features. "Cone? What are you talking about?"

I tried to lift my hand to point at it—the dark crystal structure pulsing faintly in the corner of the hut, connected to me by invisible threads of energy. Every pulse of light made me weaker, stealing another piece of me.

"That," I whispered. "It’s feeding on me."

He stared at it, frowning. "What the hell is that thing?"

"The witches call it a soul cone," I managed to say through gritted teeth. "It traps power. My power. If you touch it, it could destroy you."

Kiel’s jaw tightened. "Then I’ll destroy it first."

"No," I croaked, shaking my head weakly. "Kiel, don’t—"

But he wasn’t listening. He never listened when it came to me.

Before I could stop him, he stepped toward the cone. The air thickened, crackling with energy. My pulse raced in terror.

"Kiel, please!" I tried to crawl toward him, but my body gave out. "You’ll hurt yourself. You don’t understand—it’s—"

"I don’t care what it is," he snarled, his voice trembling. "You think I’ll just stand here and watch it kill you?"

He reached out, grabbed the base of the cone—and ripped it free.

The moment he did, light burst from the cracks in the crystal, a shockwave blasting through the room. I screamed again, my body convulsing as my connection to it tore apart violently.

Kiel stumbled back, his hands shaking, eyes wide from the sudden surge of power. "Josie!"

I could barely breathe, every gasp shallow and ragged. My vision swam with stars. "Kiel... you shouldn’t have..."

He didn’t answer. He knelt beside me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as he pulled a piece of cloth from his belt. Carefully, he covered the cone, sealing its glow before strapping it to his back.

His face was tight with determination—and something else. Fear.

That was when another voice sliced through the tension.

"Well, well. Look who came crawling into my den."

Liam.

The moment I saw him, my heart dropped to my stomach. He stood in the doorway, his expression cruelly amused, his eyes glinting with the same wicked hunger that had haunted my nightmares.

Kiel stood immediately, shielding me behind him. His wolf was close to the surface—I could see it in the way his muscles tensed, the way his eyes burned.

"You shouldn’t have come here, Kiel," Liam drawled, stepping further into the light. "This is sacred ground. For the witches. For me."

Kiel’s growl was low and lethal. "I’ve been waiting for this moment. You’re not leaving here alive."

Without another word, he lunged.

The impact was violent—two forces colliding like thunder. The sound of flesh meeting flesh, of snarls and grunts, filled the air. I tried to lift myself to see them, but every movement sent jolts of agony through me. My head spun.

Liam blocked Kiel’s punch and smirked, his hand brushing against the cone strapped to Kiel’s back. "You shouldn’t carry what you don’t understand, Alpha."

Kiel snapped his arm away. "Shut up."

"Oh, but you will understand soon enough," Liam said, laughter echoing off the walls. "That cone doesn’t just hold her power—it holds her life. The moment it’s destroyed, she’ll be too. And every ounce of her magic will be mine."

Kiel froze. His fists clenched. "You must be drunk if you think I’ll believe that."

"It’s the truth," Liam hissed. "You can feel it, can’t you? The energy bleeding into you from carrying it. Her soul, her essence—it’s merging with you. And when she dies, it’ll be mine to command."

"Enough!" Kiel roared, his voice shaking the walls.

He attacked again, faster this time. Liam moved to counter, but Kiel’s fury gave him strength. Every punch he threw carried his rage, his love, his desperation. Liam tried to vanish in that smoke-like trick of his, but Kiel was ready this time. He moved with him, striking the moment Liam reappeared, forcing him back against the wall.

"Not this time," Kiel growled, slamming him to the ground. "You don’t get to run."

I tried to get up, to help, but my legs buckled beneath me. My palms hit the floor hard, the world spinning violently.

"Kiel..." My voice was weak, barely a whisper. I could taste blood. "Stop... please, you’ll—"

He didn’t hear me.

Liam reached for the dagger at his waist, the blade glinting under the flickering light. He moved faster than I could shout a warning.

"Behind you!" I screamed.

Kiel turned—but too late. The dagger plunged into his side.

The sound that tore from him wasn’t a cry—it was a snarl, pure and primal. His hand shot out, gripping Liam by the throat. Blood seeped from his wound, dark and slow, dripping onto the floor.

Liam sneered, even as Kiel’s grip tightened. "You can’t kill me," he rasped. "She’s tied to me now. Kill me, and she—"

Kiel didn’t let him finish. With a furious roar, he twisted his wrist, snapping Liam’s neck with a sharp, brutal crack.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Kiel stumbled, his hand clutching his side as he pushed Liam’s lifeless body away. Blood soaked through his shirt, and his breathing turned shallow.

I crawled toward him, my vision dimming at the edges. "Kiel... no..."

He turned his head, his silver eyes softening as they met mine. "You’re safe now," he murmured. "That’s all that matters."

Before I could say anything, the door burst open.

"Josie!"

It was Varen. His voice echoed like thunder as he took in the scene—the blood, the shattered walls, Kiel swaying on his feet, and me... barely conscious on the floor.

He froze, eyes widening as they landed on the wound in Kiel’s side. "No—"

I wanted to tell him to help Kiel first, to do something, anything—but my throat burned. My words wouldn’t come. My body felt too heavy.

My gaze shifted to the cone still strapped to Kiel’s back. Its faint glow pulsed weakly, like a dying heartbeat.

"I’m useless..." I whispered, tears blurring my sight. "So useless..."

My fingers slipped against the floor. The cold crept up my arms, spreading fast.

And then, everything went dark.