The more Julian tried to hold on, the more I felt him slipping like his soul was reaching for something it could never grasp again. His desperation bled through the pack link, raw and trembling, until it shattered completely.
I could feel it the snap of our bond right as my spirit burst free into the night sky. For one fleeting second, I burned bright against the darkness like a shooting star across the moonlit clouds. Then… nothing. Silence.
I was gone.
The bracelet around his wrist the one I'd tied there when we first sealed our bond broke with a sharp crack. The beads scattered across the snowy ground, bouncing like tiny moons before disappearing into the frost. Just like us.
Julian stood there, frozen. His eyes were hollow, wide with disbelief. He looked at the empty air where I had stood, his breath uneven, his wolf scent filled with grief and confusion.
Then, without warning, he ran toward the statue toward me.
