Present DayMakayla’s POVI’m numb as Christobel weeps, recounting the details of my father’s final moments and my mother’s swift departure from Io. Should I be crying with her? Is it right for me to cry when I don’t know these people and was the cause of so much heartache? Realistically, I know it isn’t my fault, but guilt still weighs heavy on my heart.If my mother hadn’t been pregnant with me, would she have been able to fight the Elders and take back control of Io with my father?“You’re just like her, you know?” Christobel sniffles, smiling wearily as she squeezes my hands gently. “I can tell you’re already blaming yourself for what happened. But it wasn’t your fault. It will never be your fault.”Clearing her throat, she wipes her eyes on the sleeve of her blouse, never releasing my hands. “Your mother had to kill your father because he was going on a rampage. Everyone who was there that day acknowledges that she saved the pack from total destruction. We all know Nemora as a he

Christobel excuses herself, leaving Rafe and me alone. The door isn’t closed for three seconds before he wraps himself around me in a crushing hug. At the same time, his guards come down, and I feel all of his emotions intensely. They mingle with mine, clouding my already confusing feelings. I can pick out a single, strong undercurrent of sadness. The deep, heartbroken kind that permeates everything and makes it heavy like a dead leg.You’d think he was the one who just discovered he had wrongly accused his mother of a crime for his entire life.“Are you okay?” I ask, rubbing his back and kissing his shoulder.“I should be asking you that,” he grumbles into my shirt, squeezing me tighter. “How do you feel knowing the truth?”“About my mother? Numb. I can’t process all of this in a single afternoon.” I release my mate, slipping from his grasp and wrapping my arms around myself. It’s not the same as it once was. Giving myself a hug used to be the only comfort I could get. It used to feel