The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart.

-Unknown

●Torrin●

"Alexander!" I yell as loud as I can. "Alex!" I yell once again, looking down at Natasha's limp body. Her heart had stopped beating, her blood running cold rapidly. She was still, very still. No sign of life evident in her features. When her eyes had finally shut, it felt like part of me had been ripped from my body. I'm numb, the feeling of something missing is in my heart. I close my eyes, as it got harder to breathe. There was a funny feeling in my chest.

Opening my eyes, I face her again. Her body pale, her hair dry and tangled. Her lips aren't pink anymore, but grey. She felt heavy, heavier than usual.

Moving my shaky hand from the back of her neck, blood was all over my hand. Her blood was everywhere, the dark red color burned in my mind along with the last words that came out her mouth.

"Call me crazy Scarface, but all tonight I've been getting these memories of you. Memories that seem to have been erased from my mind. You wouldn't have anything to do with that?"

She knew?

How could she know?

... How could she remember?

The sound of the bedroom door opening snaps me out of my thoughts. "Torrin, why the hell..." Alex starts to say but stops once he sees what's wrong. Confusion marks his face but soon does worry. He opens his mouth again, fumbling over his words. "... What happened?" He questions, before running towards me.

"Get help." Is the only thing I can muster up to say. Looking down at Natasha, I pull her body closer to me, not wanting to let her go. Alex doesn't move, he's in shock. "Go!" I yell, in desperation. He snaps out of it and doesn't say a word. He only stands up and runs out the room, his clothes soaked in her blood. "Please wake up," I beg, her dead corpse. My voice sounded so fragile and weak, that I didn't even recognize it as my own. "I know I'm annoying to be around and... and confusing, but I... I need you. And I can't do this without you." My head lowers. "I can't do anything without you."

Reality hits. She didn't move. Her body didn't become warm again and her heart... it didn't pump with blood. Nothing happened. She was still... dead. Gone and never coming back.

"What the hell happened?!" Yiska yells, stepping into the room. His eyes widen at the sight before him as runs towards me, pulling Natasha out of my arms. He looks down at her, holding her face in his hands. "What... what happened?" He asks again, this time more quietly. Tears well in his eyes and when he blinks, they finally fall.

"Rahul happened," I answer, shakily rising to my feet as plenty of people start piling into the room. "He's the one that... that did this. His scent is all over her body. Both his and her mother, along with others that I can't recognize."

"Why... why would he do this?"

I shake my head, looking down at Natasha. "Because he's a sick bastard that loves taking away the most precious things." My fist ball up. "And he loves torturing me."

Walking towards the door of the room, Yiska stops me. "Where are you going?" He asks, looking me in the eyes.

"To kill him." I answer, before walking out the room. My head lowers as Natasha's voice plays over and over inside my mind. Her smile, her walk, ... her taste everything flashes in my head. My chest hurt, it was getting harder to breathe again. Walking into one of the abandoned rooms, I slam the door shut and lean my head against one of the walls, thinking about one of our car rides.

-

The car is completely quiet as I pressed my feet down on the gas. From the corner of my eyes, I watched as Natasha leaned more into her seat and bit her lips, trying her best not to release a sigh. I banned her from sighing because it was getting so annoying to hear her do it. Or at least that's the excuse I came up with.

She sighed a lot when she was bored, which was an observation I made from watching her for such a long time.

Biting down on her lips, Natasha lifted up her hand to turn on the radio. When she did, music blares through the car speakers, frightening the hell out of me. I glared at her, before putting the volume down and turning off the radio. "Don't touch the radio," I mumbled, before averting my gaze back on the road. The car fell back into silence, which I loved.

Natasha huffed, before staring out the car window, watching as the car's icy tracks imprinted on the road. The tracks were getting erased by fresh white snow. The wipers moved frantically over the windshield. Natasha stuck her hand out once again to open the radio, but me being fast, slapped her hand away. She glared at me. "You didn't have to hit me!"

My eyes stayed glued to the road. "Yes, I did. You would've turned the radio back on if I didn't."

"Why can't we just listen to the radio?" She asked. "It's so boring in this car and it's not like you want to have a conversation."

I did want to have a conversation, but I didn't know how to start it off. My hands tighten on the steering wheel. "It's bad enough I was ripped away from what I was doing at the kingdom, to come here and help you find these stupid stones. The least you can do while we're on this trip is just shut that big mouth of yours!" I shouted. "Stop turning on the radio and stop sighing all the time. Just lean back and stay quiet."

"Well excuse me for just wanting to hear the radio," She mumbled. "It's not like there's anything else to do in this car."

"Just shut up!" I yelled. It wasn't necessary, but getting on her nerves was amusing.

"You don't tell me what to do." She resorted.

I took my eyes off the road and looked at her. "I just did."

Her lips turned upwards. "But am I doing it though?"

I let out a groan in annoyance, which caused her to smirk.

I scoffed. "You're so childish."

She shrugged. "I know."

I mentally smirked, she was something else.

-

Alex walks into the room, concern written all over his face. He shuts the door, leaning against it. "Are you alright?" He asks.

I keep my head against the wall. "What do you think?!" I say harshly. Too harshly, in fact, it wasn't his fault that this happened. All he did was ask a question, I had no right to take my anger out on him. He had just gotten out of the infirmary this morning. "I'm sorry Alex."

He shakes his head. "No, it's fine." He says. "It was a pretty stupid question. Besides you have a right to be angry... to be hurt." He says, walking closer. "You can vent to me ya know... about her."

I scoff. "I don't want to talk about her."

"Don't do that Torrin, don't act like you aren't hurt about this because I know you are. You're my brother, I know you. I know that you're hurting over this... that you liked her more than you want to admit. I've seen the way you looked at her. She gave you hope."

Lifting my head up, I glare at him. "Stop it!" I yell, having enough. "Just stop it!"

"No!" He yells, catching me off guard. "Stop holding things in. You've done it all your life and today's the day you stop. It's not healthy. Now vent to me!"

"What do you want me to say! That I'm hurt? That my heart feels like it's been broken yet again? That every fuckin woman that comes into my life is dead!" I shout. "Mom, Haley, my baby girl and now Natasha! The one person that I never expected to..." I shut my mouth shaking my head.

"Love." He finishes. "You love her Torrin. It's okay to admit it. It's alright."

I open my mouth to say something, but I'm cut off at the feeling of wetness on my cheeks. I swipe at my eyes to get rid of it, but more just came. A lot more. "I'm crying," I whisper in shock, it's been years since I've allowed myself to cry. "It won't stop."

Alexander pulls me into a hug. His hand wraps around the back of my neck. "That's because it's long overdue. It's okay to cry T, you can cry."

My bottom lip quivers and my shoulders drop. And then finally a sob escapes past my lips that causes my walls to fall. I clench my fists, not knowing whether to be mad or hurt. My mind is screaming, and I'm suffocating with each breath I take. Emptiness fills my heart as it gets harder and harder to breathe. "I love her." I finally admit. My Breathing hitches and my knees grow weak, causing me to fall onto the cold tile floor. Alex falls with me.

"Let it all out, Torrin." He says, and I do.

"After the blood bond, this... this feeling started to grow in me. It started off small, like her laugh, it would make me happy and her smile it would make me want to smile. And then after we had sex, I knew, I just knew that..."

"She was the one."

"Yeah. But before the sex, I'd get these moments where I'd screwed up and would insinuate or admit these feelings to her." More salty tears fall from my eyes. "I erased those moments from her mind, but just know... before she died she told me, she remembered."

Alex nods, rubbing my back. "That's good, that means she died knowing that she had a place in your heart." A knock sounds at the door, which causes me to push away from Alex. Standing tall, I wipe the tears from my face and rub my eyes. Alex walks to the door and opens it. "You are both needed in the crypt." A lycan girl says. "King Yiska would like to have a word."

"We'll be there," I say, running a hand through my hair. She walks away, leaving both me and Alex alone.

"Are you sure you're good to go?" Alex asks, looking at me. "You don't look like you're in the shape of going anywhere. Her blood is all over you."

"Her blood is all over you too. Plus, I'm sure whatever Yiska has to tell us can't wait. Now come on." I sigh, feeling guilty. "I'm fine Alex, really. Thank you for being here."

"Where else would I be?" He asks. He placed a hand on my shoulder. "Come on, let's go."

Walking out the room, my feet take steps across the tiles.

My steps weren't long but they were rapid As so many thoughts played in my mind. Alex walks behind me, probably just in case if I lost it again. It didn't take long to make it to the crypt.

It took about five minutes to make it to the stoned chamber beneath the floor of Yiska's kingdom. It wasn't dark, there was light in each corner to help you see. There are lycan drawings and writing all over the walls, along with some religious relics. The crypt is where the lycans lay their people to rest and even where they hold meetings, believing that the dead will help guide them to the best decision.

All eyes turned to me and Alex once we walked down. There were about five people already there in total. Yiska, his beata and third in command, along with their best fighter. And finally one of the pack elder, who was a woman with grey hair.

In the center of the room laid Natasha's dead body on top of a long wooden table. My heart thumped hard in my chest. Seeing her like this was torture.

Yiska sat on his golden throne, his eyes dead set on mine. His throne is crested with several jewels and decorative lycan prints that form an elegant coat of arms. He had another throne, much like this inside the kingdom. "I've called you both here because I... I wanted to try something." Yiska says, running a hand through his hair. He looked worse than me, you could tell that he had been crying. "Natasha is very important to me." He says, his words directed at Alex. Ever since they met, it was like the both of them had some type of secret. I asked Alex about it, but all he did was change the subject. From the way they looked at each other and acted in each other presence, you could tell something was up. "And losing her, it... it doesn't feel real. That's why I'm going to try bringing her back."

I blink at his words. "Like resurrection?" I ask. "Is it even possible?"

Yiska nods. He as-well still had on the clothes that were soaked in Natasha's blood. "It is with the right witch." He turns to his beta. "Bring her in." He commands.

Both beta and his third in command step out. Not even a minute goes by that they come back, dragging the witch that Natasha once befriended with them. "Let me the fuck go." She yells, thrashing around. Yiska's beta lets her go and pushes her, making her fall near Natasha's body. She stands up and looks down at Natasha's body. "Who did this?" Her voice is emotionless.

"Rahul did and you'd know that if you hadn't betrayed her for jack the fucking ripper!" Yiska shouts, his fist balling up. "She was your friend Raine and you let some fucking scum get in between that." He claps his hand together and nods his head. "But that's okay because now, you can make it up to her... by bringing her back."

Raine's eyes widen. "I can't do that Yiska. I'm not that powerful, hell it was Natasha that bought back Jack. She's the powerful witch, not me."

Yiska raises his eyebrows. "Try!" He shouts. "Just fuckin try." He says desperately.

Raine nods, before turning around to face Natasha. She places her hand on where Natasha's heart would be. "Wait!" I yell, causing everyone's eyes to snap towards me. "Are you sure about this?" I ask Yiska.

"Yes." He says, without a doubt. "If the roles were reversed, she would do the same for me."

I nod at Raine and she closes her eyes and begins chanting. "Nam qui dormit saxo lutum Videte vocationem surge parere Treck mortale per fores rursum congregabit carnem ambulant." She chants. "I call to the spirits, I call to the dead let me see Natasha again. I call to thee come to me to reunite once more. I wish to see whom I seek, whom I miss so mote it be." A strong gale of wind blows from the middle of nowhere, and the lights flicker. The ground beneath us rumbles. "I call to the spirits, I call to the dead let me see Natasha again. I call to thee come to me to reunite once more. I wish to see whom I seek, whom I miss so mote it be." Raine chants again, before screaming in agony. She quickly lets go of Natasha and opens her eyes.

I catch her before she falls. "What happened?"

Raine looks scared, her body is shaking. "Her... her soul. It's gone."

"What do you mean gone?" Yiska asks.

"It's nowhere to be found. Not in the underworld or in the Heavens. It's just gone."

Anger washes over me. "Are you sure?" I ask.

"I'm one hundred percent positive," Raine says. "Her soul is gone."

Giving Raine to Alex, I turn to walk away. "Torrin, where are you going?" Alex and Yiska ask at the same time.

"To figure shit out," I reply, before walking out the crypt. There's only one person that knows what the hell is going on. And I need to talk to him.

For everyone's sake.

So this book is almost over. We have about six to seven chapters left.🤘🏾

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