#Chapter 133: With Teeth

DEREK There are threads that weave through a life unseen— Quiet, stubborn things that tie us to the world, to the people who change it forever. Most fray slowly, the work of years and distance, worn down by the everyday erosion of time. But some... Some are burned. Some are ripped away all at once, as if the gods themselves cannot bear to see them remain. I had thought ours was the kind that could endure anything. I had been wrong. The bond was splintering. I could feel it tearing—one thread at a time, unraveling inside my chest with a slow, sickening pull. Like someone was carving away pieces of me, scattering them into the cold night air. Beside me, Elena wavered. I caught the faint, broken sound of her breath, the way her body rocked as if invisible hands were yanking her apart. No. No, not like this. Erebus roared under my skin, thrashing against the wrongness sinking its claws into us. My own wolf refused to surrender. Refused to let what tet