**Chapter 2: Teetering on the Edge**
š Lia
The sword at my neck feels like ice, its sharp edge biting just enough to make my skin sting. My hands are raised, trembling, as tears slip down my cheeks, hot and unstoppable.
I stare at Gavyn, his green eyes locked on mine, but they're not the eyes I know. Not the ones that laughed with me under the stars, that promised I was more than the cursed girl everyone feared.
"Are you going to kill me, Gavyn?" I ask, my voice shaking so bad it barely sounds like me. "Is this really how it ends?"
He doesn't move the sword, but his hand shakes, just a little. "I'm sorry, Lia," he says, his voice low and rough, like it hurts him to speak. "I don't want this. But the Alpha's ordersā¦ you have to come back to the pack."
"Come back?" I choke out, stepping back, the blade scraping my throat. My heels feel the cliff's edge, loose dirt crumbling into the darkness below.
"To what? To be locked up? To be killed?" My tears fall faster, blurring his face. "Do you really see me as a monster, Gavyn? Tell me!"
He's quiet, his eyes dropping to the ground, and that silence is worse than any answer. I nod, my chest aching like it's splitting open.
"I thought you were different," I whisper. "I'm sorry I can't be like everyone else. I'm sorry I'mā¦ this. But I'm not a monster."
My voice breaks, and I want to believe my own words, but the blood on my handsāher bloodāmakes it so hard. The kind lady's face flashes in my mind, her gentle smile gone, torn apart by my claws.
"Lia, please," Gavyn says, his voice softer, almost pleading. "Just come with me. Don't make this harder."
*They'll kill you,* my wolf growls in my head, her voice loud and sharp, like claws scraping my skull. *Let me out. I'll tear them apart.* Pain stabs through my head, and I drop to my knees, clutching my temples.
My nails sharpen, turning to claws, and I feel her pushing, trying to take over. "No," I whisper, my voice shaking. "You've done enough."
*Weak,* she snarls, her voice cold and cruel. *You're too weak to fight them.* I grit my teeth, fighting her, my whole body trembling.
"Lia, get up!" Gavyn shouts, stepping closer, his sword still raised. I hear more footstepsāguards, their boots crunching through the forest, coming to drag me away. "They're coming, Lia! Don't do this!"
I growl, low and raw, as my wolf surges again. My claws dig into my palms, blood dripping to the ground. The guards are close now, their shadows moving in the moonlight.
I want to let her out, to let her fight, to make them pay for hunting me. But I can't. I won't. I fight back, screaming inside my head, *Stop! You killed her! That's enough!* My eyes meet Gavyn's, and he's frozen, his sword steady, like he's ready to kill me if I move.
"Lia, look at yourself!" he yells, his voice cracking. "You can't control it! I see it in your eyesāthat beast is taking over! You're dangerous, even if you don't mean to be. It'll kill everyone, just like the prophecy said. You're cursed!"
I stare at him, my breath hitching, and a bitter laugh escapes me, sharp with pain.
"So a prophecy decides my fate, right?" I say, my voice shaking. "Some old words say I'm a monster, and that's it? No one cares that I didn't want this? That I didn't ask to be this way?" Tears stream down my face, and I wipe them away, smearing blood across my cheek.
"I just wanted to be normal, Gavyn. I wanted to be enough."
He flinches, his sword lowering just a fraction. "I know," he says, quieter now. "But she's dead, Lia. You killed her. I saw it."
"I didn't mean to!" I scream, my voice echoing off the trees. "It was my wolf! I couldn't stop her!" My head throbs, my wolf growling louder, *Let me out. They betray you. I'll end them.* I shake my head, tears falling. "I'm trying," I whisper to her. "I'm trying to be me."
I look behind me, the cliff's edge so close now. The ground drops into a black void, the wind howling up from below. My heart pounds, but not with fearāwith something heavier, like giving up.
I turn back to Gavyn, my voice steady despite the tears. "You all want to kill me," I say. "The pack, the guards, even you. So why don't I end it here? Everyone will be happy. No one will have to worry about the cursed girl anymore."
His eyes widen, and he steps forward, the sword wavering. "Lia, no," he says, his voice urgent. "Don't do that. Come with me. We'llā¦ we'll figure something out."
I laugh, but it's broken, empty. "Figure something out? Even my father, the Alpha, doesn't want me. He turned his back on me tonight, Gavyn. He let them scream for my blood. And you think I'd go back with you? To what? To die?"
"Lia, please," he says, his voice cracking. "I don't want you to die. I'm trying to save you. If you come back, maybe they'll show mercy."
"Mercy?" I spit, my hands shaking. "They've hated me since I was born. They called me cursed before I could even walk! And now you're one of them, Gavyn. You think I'm a monster too."
"I don't!" he shouts, his sword shaking in his hand. "I'm doing my job, Lia! I have to! She was one of us, and youā"
"I loved her!" I cut him off, my voice raw. "She was kind to me when no one else was! I didn't want to hurt her! I can't get her face out of my head!" I sob, my knees buckling, but I stay standing, the cliff's edge calling me.
"You were my best friend, Gavyn. You said I wasn't cursed. Was that all a lie?"
"It wasn't a lie," he says, his voice barely a whisper. "But I saw what you did. I saw what you became. I can'tā¦ I can't ignore that."
His words shatter me, and I take another step back, my heels right at the edge now. Rocks crumble, falling into the darkness.
I'm ready to let go, to fall, to end this pain, this curse, this wolf inside me. "If I'm such a monster," I say, my voice quiet, "then let me finish it. Let me make it right."
"Lia, don't!" Gavyn yells, stepping closer, his sword dropping slightly. "Please, don't do this!"
I lean back, the wind pulling at my hair, my heart breaking. Just as I'm about to step into the void, a deep voice cuts through the night, sharp and commanding.
"Stop."
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