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Chapter 4: The Burden of the Past
The morning came too soon. The dawn light filtered weakly through the trees, but Nigel didn't care. He sat in the clearing, staring at nothing in particular, his thoughts swirling in a mess of regret and frustration.
He should've been angry. He should've wanted to go after Aria and demand answers. But instead, all he felt was emptiness.
Her words echoed in his head: "Don't make things worse." He knew she was right. The last thing he needed was to make a move based on pride, to lash out like he always had before.
He was exhausted.
But he couldn't rest. Not yet.
Aria's words haunted him. Her reminder of the price of power. Of the choices he had made that had led them here. He had thrown everything away—his title, his pack, and most painfully, her.
But what now?
What could he possibly do to fix this?
He glanced up as the sun broke through the trees, casting a soft glow across the forest floor. The light felt foreign to him now, almost too warm. He was used to the cold weight of night, to the shadows that kept him hidden from everything he didn't want to face.
A sound broke his thoughts—footsteps, but not the soft, steady tread of a wolf. These were human steps. Heavy. Measured.
Before he could react, a figure emerged from the trees.
It wasn't Aria.
It was Lena, a former member of his pack, her eyes dark with worry as she approached.
"You've been gone all night," she said, her voice rough. "Everyone's been looking for you."
Nigel said nothing. He wasn't in the mood for pleasantries. Especially not with someone who hadn't been there when it mattered.
"Didn't think I'd find you here." Lena's gaze flicked to the spot where Aria had stood the night before, but she didn't say anything more. She knew better than to ask.
"I needed some time to think," Nigel muttered, pushing himself to his feet. He didn't want her pity. Not today.
Lena stepped closer, her brow furrowed. "You can't do this alone, Nigel. You've already lost the pack—don't lose yourself too."
"I'm not losing myself," he shot back, his frustration rising. "I'm trying to figure out how to fix this mess."
Lena shook her head, a sharp sigh leaving her lips. "You think you can fix everything? You can't. Not like this. Not after what you did. To her. To the pack."
He flinched at her words, but she wasn't wrong. Nothing could fix it. Not the damage he'd caused, not the betrayal, not the cold distance Aria had put between them. It was like everything he had ever worked for had crumbled around him, leaving nothing but ashes.
"You don't understand," Nigel whispered, his voice breaking for the first time. "I thought power meant everything. I thought if I could just hold on to it, I could make everything better. But now look where I am. Alone. And it's my fault."
Lena didn't respond right away, but there was a softness in her eyes, a pity he didn't want to see. She stepped closer, placing a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off.
"I know you think you can fix it, but the truth is... You can't fix everything. Not now. Not with Aria."
Her words cut deeper than anything he had expected. He turned away, unable to face her, unable to face the truth. The truth that Aria might never forgive him. That even if he tried, even if he begged, it might be too late.
"She's gone," he said softly, more to himself than to Lena. "I don't think I'll ever get her back."
Lena said nothing, but the look on her face was one of sympathy, something he didn't need, something he didn't want.
"Maybe," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "But you have to live with that. You have to live with the choices you made." She took a step back, her hand lingering in the air for just a moment before she lowered it. "Just don't let this destroy you, Nigel. You've already lost too much."
She left him there, standing in the clearing, the weight of her words pressing down on him like a mountain.
The sun was higher now, and with it came the harsh light of day, burning away the cold shadows of the night. But Nigel couldn't escape them. Not today.
He walked through the woods, his mind a fog of guilt and uncertainty. He needed to find a way out of this, to find a way to make things right. But how?
Suddenly, the thought struck him. Aria.
What if there was a way to make amends? To show her he wasn't the same person he had been before.
But how could he prove that to her?
The road to redemption was a long one. Maybe too long.
But for the first time, he had the smallest sliver of hope. He couldn't change the past, but he could control what came next.
And maybe—just maybe—he could convince her that he was worth something more than the man she thought he was.
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End of Chapter 4
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