Chapter 69

Alex

Calista’s voice surged within me like an unstoppable tide.

She is us.

I stilled, breath caught. Calista?

She is what we could have become.

The truth struck like a hammer.

No. Don’t be ridiculous.

Yes.

Of course, the proud wolf refused further explanation.

In her presence something shifted before I even understood it: a deepening resonance, as though a note had dropped an entire octave. The familiar rose-gold warmth evaporated, replaced by cold, luminous blue fire edged in silver.

“She is a body without a soul,” Calista said, her tone razor-sharp. “She is a debt—one Weston tried to pay in our place.”

My eyes stung. She was right. The clone wasn’t our enemy; she was the price of someone else’s choice, a bill we never agreed to settle.

A panicked scream tore from the fake Alex. The castle trembled—stone groaning like ancient bones. The roar pounded through my ch