Kael stood silently, watching Bella from across the room. She sat by the fire, her body turned away from him, but he could feel the distance between them stretching farther and farther. She barely spoke to him these days, and when she did, her words were cold and distant. He hated seeing her like this—so unreachable, so lost. It was as though the woman he once knew, the woman he loved, had disappeared into the shadows of her mind, and he was left grasping at the fragments of their past.
His heart clenched with frustration. What was he supposed to do? He had tried everything—he had been patient, he had been understanding, and yet it felt like nothing was getting through to her. Bella was slipping further away from him with every passing day.
As he stood there, lost in his own thoughts, Lira appeared at his side. She didn’t speak right away, but he could sense her presence, her quiet strength. She had been with him through so much, and now, she stood beside him, just as uncertain as he was about how to help Bella.
Finally, Lira broke the silence. “Kael,” she said gently, her voice full of understanding. “You can’t keep doing this alone.”
Kael turned to her, his expression tight with frustration. “I know, Lira. I know, but what else am I supposed to do? She won’t remember. She won’t even let me in.” His voice cracked, and he cursed under his breath. “She’s so far away from me, and I don’t know how to fix it.”
Lira’s eyes softened, and she placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s not about fixing her, Kael. It’s about helping her find herself again. But she’s not going to do that alone. She needs someone who understands what she’s going through—someone who knows the battle between the two sides inside her.”
Kael raised an eyebrow. “And who’s that supposed to be?”
Lira sighed and glanced at Bella, who was still lost in her thoughts. “There’s someone. Someone who can help her. Someone who’s been through this before.”
Kael frowned, confused. “Who? We’ve tried everything. There’s no one who knows more than we do about this.”
Lira hesitated, choosing her words carefully. “There is someone. Avalon. A vampire-wolf hybrid, just like Bella. She’s been living with her dual bloodline for a long time, and she’s learned how to balance it. She’s helped others like Bella in the past, and she might be the only one who can help her now.”
Kael’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of Avalon. A vampire-wolf hybrid? He had heard of such creatures, but he didn’t know any personally. The idea that someone like Bella existed, someone who understood her struggles in a way that no one else could, was both comforting and terrifying.
“A hybrid?” Kael repeated, his voice tinged with disbelief. “How can someone like that help Bella? She’s barely holding on as it is. And we’re supposed to trust someone like Avalon?”
Lira nodded, her expression serious. “Avalon has lived through the exact same struggles Bella is facing now. Her bloodline makes her rare, but Avalon has learned to control both sides—her vampire nature and her wolf instincts. She knows what it means to feel torn between two worlds. And she’s helped others like Bella before.”
Kael took a deep breath, processing her words. He had never felt more desperate. He had to help Bella, no matter what it took. But something about Avalon’s involvement made him uneasy. Would Bella be willing to trust her? And what if Avalon’s help came with strings attached? What if it was a mistake to rely on someone he didn’t even know?
“What makes you think Avalon can actually help her?” Kael asked, trying to suppress the surge of doubt that had risen in him.
Lira met his gaze, her eyes firm. “Because Avalon has walked the same path. She’s survived the inner war between vampire and wolf, and she’s learned to make peace with both sides. She can teach Bella how to do the same. But it won’t be easy. It will take time, and it will take patience. Bella has to be ready.”
Kael ran a hand through his hair, his frustration mounting. “And what if she’s not ready? What if she never is?”
Lira’s voice softened. “Then you’ll have to be patient, Kael. You can’t rush her. You’ve already tried that, and it only pushed her further away. But you can’t let her fall apart, either. She’s still in there, and if Avalon can help her find her way, you need to be there, supporting her.”
Kael stood still for a moment, the weight of Lira’s words sinking in. He wanted to scream in frustration, to demand that Bella remember him, remember their love. But he knew she wasn’t ready for that. She wasn’t ready to trust him, and maybe she wasn’t ready to trust anyone—not yet.
He looked back at Bella, his heart aching as he saw the vacant expression on her face. She wasn’t just distant; she was lost. She didn’t know who she was anymore, and she couldn’t find herself in a world that felt like it no longer made sense.
Kael turned back to Lira, his resolve hardening. “I’ll find Avalon. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Lira gave him a sad smile, nodding. “I know you will.”