Gwen’s POV It’s been four hours. Four hours since Stefan disappeared into the infirmary with Mari in his arms. I’ve spent most of that time wearing down a path in the living room carpet. My eyes keep darting to the hallway leading to the infirmary. Nobody has been allowed into the room since Levi had his leg set three hours ago. He left to recover in his room. Since then, only three people have been in the infirmary–Stefan, Mari, and the healer. A few times, I’ve almost convinced myself to go ahead and take a look. She is my twin sister, he is my mate. I should get to check on them. But the memory of Stefan’s threatening glare back in the forest is enough to keep me from doing it. If he looks at me like that ever again… I turn away from the hallway. Maybe I should get out of this house. Take a walk, a drive, anything. Because if I have to stay here one more minute and wonder what’s going on with them, I’ll go crazy. I take the stairs two at a time. In our bedroom, I open one o

Gwen’s POV I can barely see where I’m going as I take the stairs. Nothing. That’s all I got from him. Nothing. While I told him goodbye, while my heart broke into a thousand pieces, while I wished he would tell me I was wrong and I was the one for him. I blink to keep the tears at bay. They still break free, and I wipe at them quickly. There’s no time to cry. It’s over. Like I should have known from the day I realised he had mistaken me for my sister. Along the way, I lost my mind and thought I could have a fairytale ending. Should I be happy that it’s over soon? That I longer have to lie to myself? I get to the bottom of the stairs and head towards the kitchen. My plan is to get out of here without anyone noticing. Does it even matter? Unless he gives the orders, nobody can stop me from leaving. And I’ve already confirmed he doesn’t care what I do or where I go. He has found the one he was looking for. He has no reason to keep me here. I’m about to get into the kitchen

Stefan’s POV When I get to the briefing room, Hanna, Max, and Andreas are waiting. As I walk to my seat, Hanna rises from hers. “Gwen is gone,” she tells me. I take my seat. “I know.” All three pairs of eyes in the room follow me, as if awaiting further comment. When I offer none, Hanna adds, “Like she is gone gone. She took her car and I checked her room. Her things are gone.” “Let’s talk about Blackrise.” While Hanna looks at me as if I’ve grown a second head, Levi appears at the door. He is using crutches. While our kind heals fast, fractures take a while. “Can I talk to you for a second?” he asks as he hobbles into the room. He doesn’t wait for my reply as he walks right past the table and towards the door to my private office. I rise and go to him. After I’ve let us in and closed the door behind me, I ask, “What is it?” “What happened back there?” he asks as he settles in a chair and puts his crutches aside. “What?” If he too wants to interrogate me about Gwen, it’s not

Stefan’s POV When we…dammit. Now I’m referring to ‘we’? When I get back to the house, everybody is ready to roll. We don’t waste much time. Once they run me through the information they have and the plan, we hit the road. Levi isn’t happy about being left behind. I’m also not thrilled about going into what’s undoubtedly my most important battle yet without one of my best warriors. But his leg is not healed up yet. Mari is coming with us. If it was up to me, I would rather she stayed back at the house, away from danger. But she is the only one who’s familiar with Theodore’s hideout, so we can’t go without her. Also, as a shapeshifter, she can bolster our team in ways we couldn’t. Her unique abilities are why werewolves like Theodore keep shapeshifters–forcefully or otherwise. She can survey places we can’t see and get into nooks and crannies we can’t access, unseen. She is our best chance of infiltrating Theodore’s hideout at such short notice. “Any lead on Gwen?” Hanna asks, mee

Gwen’s POV The last thing I expect when Alexander brings me to take a shower is to be led into a bedroom that looks like it belongs in a modern luxurious mansion instead of an ancient castle. It’s nothing like the room I woke up in. A king bed sits in the middle of the room against the far wall, heavy drapery frames the windows, and an expensive Persian rug lies on the floor. The wall is adorned with oriental paintings. Next to the bed on one side is a vanity, and near the window, two armchairs and a table. Alexander stands in the doorway while I survey the room, which is on the third floor of the castle. “Do you like it?” I walk towards the window and peer outside. From here, I can see the beautiful compound outside. I can only imagine how beautiful the sunrise must look from here. “I love it.” He smiles. “I’m happy you do. I’ll leave you to it, then. I’ll be in the library.” An hour later, I head back to the library. I walk into the room but don’t see him. I’m about to turn