It took two days of being alone with Fenris. For me to begin slowly to find my peace again. We talked about everything that had happened. Although I did not fully tell him what I saw during my dream. Or what I truly felt about it. I dismissed it mostly as stress or warped fears already present within me. Though, I did not know if he believed anything I said. But he did not push me to say more.

Instead, he observed me while I tried my best to act normal. He was probably waiting for me to slip up, like always. For these two days, he did not let me out of his sight, or even out of the room. Instead, he constantly held me in his arms, leaving little room for anything else.

On the third day of this bliss, Fenris finally let Melody know I was fine. To my surprise, she rushed over with treats that could last for a lifetime. She did not even let Fenris open the door fully, shoving him out of the way and hurrying into the room. I could not help but laugh at the whole thing. The door slammed in his face because of her haste to reach me.

She was such a silly girl. My reaction to his pain prevented him from going off on her. She was oblivious to what had happened. Even asked him what he was doing standing there stunned by the door. Though Melody came in with gifts and an explosive entrance, I could not help but avoid her gaze while she addressed me. It terrified me she would judge me the same way Layla had. Upon noticing my insecurities, she was quick to tell Fenris to leave the room for us to have some alone time.

For a moment he glanced at me, to see if I was alright with it. In response, I nodded to let him know I was fine with being alone with her. Remarkably, he walked out without putting on a fight after that. If it had been anyone else, he probably would have not gone out of the room.

Ben visited me after Ryker told him what happened. While Ben was here, Fenris never left my side. Even though Ben was one of the few I trusted the most. Maybe it was the 'girl talk' that he wanted me to have space for. I had never had a girlfriend before. Cora had tried to become one for the longest time, but I always slipped her off as overly friendly.

Grabbing Shade, I placed her between us to be a shield of somewhat. I braced myself for what was coming next, fiddling with her fur.

"Lilith." Melody reached out to me.

I refused to face her. I even pulled back a bit from her approach. What she had witnessed that day was something that could never be unseen. Part of me feared she would try to avoid me or look at me differently than she had before. It hurt to even think of losing her. Even if she only had been with me for a week. She was something I wanted in my life. A new feeling... along with an unfamiliar pain I had never felt before.

"I am sorry you had to see what you saw..." I trailed off, apologizing for the gruesome sight she beheld that day.

In response, she huffed, a bit annoyed by my apology.

"Lilith! Listen to me." Melody began.

I kept my eyes planted on Shade, who tilted her head, wondering why I would not face Melody head-on. To Shade, she was the least scary person in this building, but that was probably because of her runt nature.

"Look, I will not pretend to know how your body got to that state, since I was not there when it happened. But it had to be painful, right?" Melody started grabbing onto my hands and facing me straight on.

I felt terrified of what came if I lost a person as kind as her. Her sudden touch made me feel weird inside, though. She was not scared of touching me, even after what she saw in that bathroom. Even Tania, who knew everything that occurred to me, treated me like something that was brittle. Yet Melody... held me, just like any other day.

How was this possible? Everyone who ever found out about the condition my body was in always looked at me with pitiful eyes. Like if I were something unstable. Even though I could not bring myself to face Melody yet, she continued.

"Of course, it had to be so painful for you. I am sorry that ever happened to you. I wish I could have been there to protect you from it. I am so sorry." Melody cried.

The tone in her voice triggered me finally to glance at her, only to be stunned by the sight of her tears rolling down her cheeks. Instead of pitiful eyes, she looked at me with sadness. It was like it hurt her to see me like that. Someone like her was so new to me, I did not know how to handle her. She was weeping for me, while I did not know what to do with that.

The rejection and prejudice were the things I was used to. This... was something else entirely.

"Melody..." I whispered her name, mystified by her reaction to what I had experienced.

Even without knowing the details of how it happened, she wept for me. When Fenris showed only anger when he first saw my body, she showed only sadness. I could not even begin to understand them both. These two wolves would be the end of me.

"I am so sorry!" She continued, apologizing for something she had no control over or had done.

She was the same age as Liam. Meaning she would have been twelve when Silverant's fall happened. She would have been a small child. There would have been no way for her to even try to stop it. Not even Fenris could convince the adults that something was wrong with me back then, even though he tried so hard. It was no one's fault but the sisters’.

"Do not cry... It is not your fault." I tried to comfort her by placing my hand on her shoulder.

It was almost as if it had fallen into deaf ears since she just continued to bawl. I did not know how to do it right.

"I know... but I..." Melody sobbed.

I shook my head before doing something I had never done to anyone but Fenris. I threw myself on her, hugging her ever so closely. She held me back, too.

"It is okay... Thank you... For shedding those tears for me. You do not know how much they mean to me." I whispered, holding her close to me.

Fenris opened the door, looking for the phone he had forgotten on his bed. Melody did not notice him come in, but from the moment Fenris saw her sobbing. He turned right back around, only to slam into Liam, who had rushed to the door upon hearing Melody's cries. The sight of the boys almost tumbling into each other alone made me chuckle.

Was it okay for me to be this happy?

"I will protect you, too. Just Like Fenris..." Melody mumbled a bit, continuing to sob.

I could only simper for her kind words. Would she say that if she knew everything that happened that day? I tried to soothe her as best I could, but she quickly pulled away from me. There she saw the audience we had gained. The moment the boys came into her view, she picked up a pillow from the bed and threw it at them.

"What are you two staring at! Get out!" Melody yelled, fuming from the fact they had interrupted us.

Even though it was not her room, it was not long before she stomped towards the door and kicked them out, yelling at them some more. Something along the lines of respecting a girl's privacy and such. She did not let Fenris or Liam explain why they had come in, either. She would not accept apologies from either of them too. Melody had such a small body compared to Layla, yet she seemed more fearless, scolding at two bigger wolves like they were pups.

The boys were harmless wolves to Melody, but the surrounding air did not seem to be one of a runt. The sudden change in her mystified me yet again. She was always a feisty one and fearless, too. Liam was right about Melody. Though to me she was my one and only friend. That was what Fenris called her, right? Could she truly be my first? She knew nothing about me, though.

I did not want this relationship to begin with a lie. Collecting my thoughts, I waited for the boys to leave as she slammed the door on them both.

"Men... are just terrible, aren't they?" Melody huffed, turning back to me.

However, all the previous frustrations flushed away from her face when she saw my expression. I gently smiled at her before I patted beside me, motioning her to sit down with me back on the bed.

"Melody... Would you like to hear my story?" I asked, feeling scared yet resolved to do this.

I wanted her to know everything, even if Fenris scolded me later, even if she hated me afterward. Normally, I would always avoid anything that had to do with my past. Even Fenris did not know my story from my side. What they knew was from a pack of files when Tania first took my account. Well, even that was missing a lot of details from my side of the story.

It had always scared me to speak on it, yet something about Melody told me it would be okay. There was something different about her. Kind of when something just clicks into place perfectly. Two kindred souls. Maybe... it was because of her... I felt something that I had not felt since meeting Fenris. She had also not been a victim of my doing.

"I will listen to anything you want to say to me," Melody answered, sitting beside me attentively to every word I was about to say.

She seemed worried that I would push past my limit, though. This was a tale I had not spoken about. Even though it was engraved in my mind almost every night. Some nights I would relive it, others I would not. Lately, what haunted me the most was the dream I had that ended with Fenris's death. I also had a second reason for doing this.

If after this whole thing went down. If she still could look at me the same way. Maybe... she could help me figure out the festival's meaning. Even though she was designated as a 'runt', she was also a Lycan.

"Are you sure? You might hate me once you know." I warned, hoping she would back away from me.

In response to my concern, she glanced at me in disbelief.

"I really doubt that." She assured me, leaving me to shake my head slightly.

She was one of a kind. I would miss her dearly if this pushed her away.

"Hah... Even so... Before I start. I just want you to know I am grateful for everything. And thank you for showing me what is it to have a friend. Never had one before." I smiled, only for her to look at me with such a sorrowful expression.

It felt like I was telling her goodbye when our relationship had just started.

"I have never had one either... A broken wolf and a witch... What a pair we are." Melody mumbled, releasing a sigh before gazing back at me.

"I will always be your friend that I am sure of." She declared, grabbing onto my hands tightly.

I glanced away from her and towards Shade, who asked me if I was sure of what I was about to do. That would be a hard hill to die on, according to Shade. There was no going back, though. If I wanted a genuine friendship, she would have to know everything.

"Let us see after I tell you my story. If you still feel the same about me," I whispered, feeling a bit regretful, yet I pushed forward.

When my lips parted again, I began my story from the beginning until the end. I told Melody everything about my childhood. How my mother slowly went insane after my father had left us. How she died at the hands of the Cerberus order after they had raided in pretenses. How grandmother...

Stella had gone crazy after my mother's death and blamed me for it. How she treated me whenever I failed to do anything, she wanted me to do perfectly. I retold how she beat me senselessly for just calling her my grandmother.

Then... I told Melody about my light. How I met Fenris. How I watched him play with Liam, Ezra, and Owen before getting pulled out from the darkness. A blackness that was slowly consuming me. Fenris himself had done that once he found me. How being with him made me feel alive. How I probably fell in love with him the first time I saw his smile. That he was my only reason to exist and the purpose I wanted to live.

Subsequently, I retold how Stella tore me away from everything to use me as a sacrifice. For a ritual to open the gate to the nether world. How she beat me to a pulp before locking me up in a dark room for what felt like ages. When she came back, it was to carve my body to what it was today. How the smell of burning flesh still lingered vividly in my mind.

I continued to tell Melody about how it felt to wake up in freezing water. Before walking down a hall of witches who were glad to see me sacrificed. How I was thrown into the sacrificial circle before Stella ravished me with a wooden stick, ruining me for life. I retold the moments when I woke up alone, minutes before they completed the ritual.

I told her what I had done in my stupidity, where I ended up changing the spell. My mistake had made me become the vessel of the realm the witches wished to unleash into this world. How I destroyed Silverant because I could not control my own emotions. I continued to tell about all the people I killed.

How I made the man I loved more than life itself an orphan and crippled his brother. Including Liam and how he lost his family because of me. I told her. How much I wanted to die when everything was set and done but could not without damning the world to death.

Throughout my story, I never dared to glance at Melody, who listened to me without interrupting, fearing her expression. It was the first time; I had ever spoken about it other than the time at the hospital. When Tania took my partial story along with everything else that they discovered in my medical treatment.

Fenris, he knew from the files what had happened to me. Never dared to ask for my personal account. He was afraid it would hurt me to relive it. And he was right. It hurt, yet all I felt was hollow by the end of it all. I was empty. No anger or hate, just nothing. Something disconnected me from the entire event of my torture.

Yet... I felt responsible for the fall of Silverant. Maybe if I had died that day. Maybe if I had not done that spell that bound me. Maybe then the crystal would have been able to close the gate. Instead of being bound to me. If that would have been the case, then they would not have to live in constant fear of the world ending.

If it were not for me, everyone would have had a better life. For a moment, we sat in silence. I collected my thoughts before I slipped. Her silence... lowered my guard.

"If I think about it... I think... it would be better for Fenris... No, for everyone, if I could die without destroying the world. I want to die just to make it easier for everyone. But I cannot... I am trapped in this cage called life instead... forced to see the man I love marry another, unable to tell him anything of how I feel." I laughed nervously, feeling a hole open in my chest.

They always meant for me to be a caged bird. Never to fly on my own or be free. All the kindness Fenris wasted on me when I did not want to be saved was pitiful. I did not deserve to be rescued after my epic failure to protect his world. The years never erased that from my mind. I lived because I had to, not because I wanted to. No matter how many times Fenris embraced me, it would never change the fact that he would never be mine.

Even though I should have been okay with just living by Fenris's side. No matter what form it took, I got selfish. Before I realized it, I wanted more than just to be by his side. I... wanted him to live with me. To... have everything with him, but even that was impossible. Even if he had forgiven me for everything else.

I could never change everything I had done. Even if I had not caused the death of hundreds of people, nothing would change the fact that he was the next alpha and destined to marry the beautiful Layla. The moment those words left my mouth, Melody snapped, pulling me into her sweet embrace.

"Do not be so stupid! You survived! That is all that matters! You are a survivor, goddamn it, realize that!" Melody declared, holding me in her arms ever so protectively.

The only thing I could do was grip onto her shirt. I did not expect her ever to touch me again after hearing my story.

"What?" I gasped, completely bewildered by Melody's words.

She held me tightly to her bosom. Her heartbeat was loud enough to ring in my ear, too. She was so worked up.

"After listening to all of that... How could you blame yourself for everything that happened?" Melody huffed, angered by my story, but none of it was towards me.

She was holding me so protectively, just like Fenris did whenever I woke up from a nightmare. Or when I was in danger.

"I killed all those people... Melody. That is something that cannot be changed. How can I live when thousands died?" I argued, trying to pull away from her.

She denied me though. There was no way she would let me go after hearing that. It shocked me how she showed no fear towards me. Did she even know what the netherworld was? She had to... Everyone in the world knew after what happened fourteen years ago. It was not something that was hidden, just me. I was the only piece of the puzzle that was concealed from the public view.

"No, you did not kill all those people. You were just ten, for crying out loud, Lilith! If anyone must pay, is that sisterhood that did this to you. You... were just trying to save everyone, not caring what happened to you. So, what if it backfired! You were just ten years old! How can anyone judge a ten-year-old girl who had been abused in ways no one should? Lilith, you are so brave and kind. Live... Live and survive, Lilith. That is what should matter to you." Melody cried again.

I was stunned, unable to answer her kind words. Her hands trembled, clasping me. She said something I had never heard from anyone. Eerily reminded me of Klein... when he told his Lilith to live. It resulted in her living for revenge and full of hatred. Unlike her... I hated no one, but I had no desire to live other than Fenris. Fenris was my everything.

"I do not know if I can... I am just..." I began, only for Melody to interrupt me soon after by squeezing me a bit.

"Of course, you can! Lilith, you must live. Not because of the thing inside of you, but because you have the right to. Fight for whatever you want to!" Melody smiled gently, pulling away from me as tears fell off her cheeks.

It left me in awe of her. She was just too bright. Could anyone like her really exist? If they did, then how many could I meet?

"I..." I trailed off while she placed her forehead against mine.

She truly did not blame me for anything. Grabbing onto my chest, it stung with a pain I thought I would never feel again. I could live...? Was that really a thing possible for me?

"You have just as much right to find happiness as anyone else in this world. I am rooting for you and Fenris. Do not let the psycho bitch win!" Melody reassured, leaving my heart wide open.

She smashed all the walls I had placed between my heart and this world. Tears flowed out of my eyes before I even realized it. Again, I broke. Unable to stop my emotions, I cried in her lap. In response, she whispered sweet things, trying to soothe me.

There was no hint of hate or anger in her words towards me. All I felt was her affection. I never expected her to cry for me or for her to say I had a chance at life. This was a first for me. Even after hearing everything I said, she pushed me forward with little fear. Shade wanting in on the warmth laid next to her.

Much to my surprise, she did not pull away or push Shade away after knowing what she truly was. Instead, she petted Shade with her free hand, who purred in response.

"You did your best, Lilith. Now it is time for you to reach for everything you want in the world. It owes you that much." Melody hummed, petting my hair before singing a lullaby.

Her grandmother used to sing it for her when she was distressed. She again left me not knowing what to do with this kindness. That kept being poured my way. Tania, Ben, Liam, Fenris, and now Melody had been the only people to understand me. When all others damned me.

Maybe I could live a life like this. Perhaps I could live happily if they surrounded me. Possibly my past did not damage me as much as I thought. If people could see me as more than just a monster. Maybe I could be normal. When Fenris finally arrived back with Liam, who had helped him carry some food bags, he stood stunned by the door.

We had diminished most of our supplies in the prior days, thanks to Layla's slumber party. He was shocked to find me on Melody's lap, sobbing. I could not control myself. It was surreal for someone to accept me. Even more so after knowing all the details, I experienced. I had always thought if I ever shared my side of the story, it would have ended in rejection.

But here was Melody, accepting me for everything I was. Danger and all. Fenris dropped the bags where he was, running towards us, only to stop by the bed frame. He was concerned about me.

"What did you do?!?" Fenris growled at Melody, wary that she had hurt me.

He always was so protective, my wolf. Little did he know she had done the complete opposite. Instead of pain, she had filled me with a bit of hope. Wish to live... The hope that I severely lacked. Without looking at him, she continued to caress my hair. Melody did not care about him or his presence.

She was only here for me. What I needed was all that mattered to her, even though a scary, angry mighty wolf was standing next to her. Little did I know... That she would soon turn into a fearless wolf showing her own fangs. To the alpha, that seemed distressed by my condition.

"All I did was tell her to live," Melody answered, not wanting to take her eyes off me.

It left him wanting more than just that.

"What?" Fenris questioned, not knowing what she meant.

Without knowing, he had stepped into a land mine that was about to blow in his face. Slowly, she shifted towards him. I felt the atmosphere change.

"Lilith told me everything about her past." Melody began turning fiercely towards him.

"Fenris... Did you know she wants to die? How sad is that? Isn't Lilith your fucking charge?!?" she huffed at him.

He stood there, not knowing how to respond anymore.

"How could you fail so badly to protect her?! No... How cruel can you be parading that psychotic, heartless bitch around Lilith! Especially when she is so vulnerable?!?" Melody went off on him.

Her sudden burst of anger caught him off guard. Lifting my head off her lap, I saw her staring down at Fenris, almost like she was about to launch at him. Lycans and their anger... She truly was like any normal wolf. In the emotional aspect at least, yet she was much weaker in strength. She would be one hell of a Lycan to reckon with. If she ever recovered, her full connection to her beast form.

"Melody..." I whispered her name, not realizing how frustrated she was with everything that had happened to me.

Fenris already knew how I felt, but not that I still wanted to die. That was something I kept within myself. Thought no one would care to know. I did not even know I still felt that way. Well, until I told her about my past. It was always there eating at me, though. Even though I slept in the arms of the man, I loved every night.

"Melody... I..." Fenris did not know how to answer her, glancing away.

He felt like a failure.

"Lilith wants to die Fenris! It is all she wants, not to survive but to die! She thinks everyone will be better off if she were! Fix this god damn it! She does not deserve this!" Melody demanded he fixed me right away.

When he could not do that in the last fourteen years. No one could. I never allowed myself to open to anyone other than Fenris himself. Clenching his hands into a fist, he glanced towards me with an expression of pure melancholy. My heart stung when I saw him like that. I had done what I never wanted to do. I hurt him.

"Melody, it is not as easy as it seems, come I will explain." Liam tried to ease the situation.

She did not want to understand it. All she wanted was to protect me in her own way. The things I could not say myself, she said freely. How I wished to be like her. Maybe if I were, Fenris would not have had so much pressure on him. I would not have been a burden on his life. Even so... he...

"No! This is enough! Fenris, you need to do better! She is more than your ward, isn't she?!?" Melody snapped at them both.

I never thought she would respond this way. She was so angry, but none of it was towards me. This had to stop. Even though all Melody did was try to defend me, Fenris was not to blame for this. He was my everything. If I ever wanted to live, it was for him alone. I did not want him under more pressure than he had already been because of me.

Melody... If only everything were as simple as she wished. I could not stand Fenris being put into the spot by her, even if she just did it to protect me.

"Enough... Fenris is doing his best. He is always doing his best!" I said, wiping my tears away.

I was trying to stand up for my beloved wolf, who was caught by surprise by my words, too. This would be the first time I ever saw Fenris not care about who was around us. Grabbing me by my shoulders, Fenris pressed his forehead against mine. Again, it looked like he wanted to say so many things to me, but could not.

Instead of putting it into words, he pulled me to meet with his lips. It left everyone in the room speechless. Liam already knew, but Melody did not. I would never dare let anyone know about what we did behind these closed doors.

Before I knew it, Fenris's tongue glazed over my bottom lip, causing me to open up, unable to resist him. With a gentle smirk, he pushed his smooth muscle into my mouth before caressing mine. His tender kiss left me feeling a bit hazed, causing me to grip his shirt with my fists. He had done nothing like this in front of anyone.

Separating from me to allow me to breathe. He licked his lower lip before glancing at Melody, who was flustered upon seeing what he had done. Her face could not be any redder than it was.

"I will keep reminding her as many times as I need to, that she has a reason to live." Fenris declared, pulling my head onto his chest.

His heartbeat was so loud that I could feel it against my cheeks. It was pounding, just like mine. For a moment Melody stared at us, shocked. I had never told her we had a physical relationship. But the way he made it sound. Was it an emotional one, too? Were my feelings not alone? Had I heard him correctly before? There was just no way.

No... he was not meant to be mine. Could he be mine?

"Y-you b-better!!!" Melody squealed, running out of the room.

Taking the opportunity that the door was opened, Liam followed her out too. Once the door closed shut and everyone was out, we were alone once again. At that moment Fenris pushed me down onto the bed. He seemed angered by what had happened. Had I bothered him yet again?

However, instead of yelling or scolding me, he pulled me into his arms. There he held me quietly for a couple of minutes, thinking about what to say to me.

"You... Told her." Fenris sighed, triggering me to hold on to him.

I nodded to confirm that I had in fact told Melody everything.

"Why?" He questioned why I would trust someone who I had just met.

Something was different about her, though. She wanted nothing from me, even though she was just as broken as I. A kindred spirit... Maybe that was the reason I opened my heart to her. I never expected her to become so overprotective of me, though. Did Melody think of me as fondly as she had become to me? Was any of this okay?

My heart was becoming a storm that I did not know what to do with. All that was clear to me was that I did not want Fenris to burden himself with me further. I wanted to be his equal.

"I did not want to lie to her," I replied honestly, closing my eyes trying to steady my heart.

Was he going to yell at me?

"Do you know how wrong that could have gone?" Fenris continued to question my actions, holding me close.

"Yes... I know." I answered plainly.

He sighed in response.

"Heh... What is done, is done, I guess. That girl... is something special though." Fenris noted, chuckling a bit, remembering her fiery outburst.

I snuggled myself into his chest. Much to my surprise, he was not angry that I had told someone else something that was considered an untellable secret. No, what bothered him was that I had never told him that myself.

"Yes, she is." I simpered, still feeling stuffy from all the crying.

For a moment, we both stayed in silence. Fenris recollected his thoughts on what he wanted to say next. He was treading carefully around me. I guess he did not want to hurt me.

"Do you really still want to die?" Fenris whispered, not really wanting to ask me that.

The pain in his voice was something I did not expect. Would he cry for me if I did? That would be the last thing I would ever want to happen.

"I do... or I did... I do not know anymore," I replied, not wanting to lie to him, either.

I glanced away from him, trying to avoid the subject a bit, but this time he would not let it go.

"Why?" He asked, grabbing onto my chin before pulling me to face him.

His eyes were so sad and full of frustration. That was not the answer he wanted to hear from me, while that was not the expression I wanted him to have.

"I do not deserve to live," I confessed, touching his cheek with my fingertips.

His warmth tingled into them. Maybe... I could change for him.

"Lily..." Fenris muttered, narrowing his eyes, not liking my choice of words.

"I hurt so many people. I am nothing but a..." I mumbled, not wanting to finish.

I had decided to not tell him what I felt. I slipped with Melody, but I would not burden him further. I as well... was afraid of how he would answer if I called myself a burden. His duty and responsibility... like Ryker called me. I wanted to be more than just that to him, though. Could I be?

"You are...?" Fenris tried to coax it out of me.

Shade hopped between us, squeezing her way towards me before laying among us.

"Nothing..." I answered, pulling away from his cheek, leaving him wanting more.

"Lilith," Fenris growled, knowing I was hiding something.

But instead of answering him, I tried to change the conversation. I would not allow him in.

"Why did you kiss me in front of them? I... I thought... No one could know." I asked for him to sigh in response to me changing the topic.

"Well, you already kissed me in front of Layla." Fenris pointed out, causing me to stutter a bit because of it.

I pushed myself away, narrowing my eyes a bit.

"M-melody did n-not see you r-return the k-kiss." I stuttered, only to realize how he never really returned the kiss while in front of Layla.

"Actually... you never returned the kiss," I whispered, feeling hollow, thinking about it.

It was like a hole open up in my chest.

"I..." Fenris trailed off, not wanting to say what he wanted to.

It took him everything to keep it in. It was probably something along the lines that she was going to be his wife.

"I am sorry. She is your future wife; I should have respected that." I tried to hold myself together.

He suddenly to pull me into another kiss. Instinctively, I responded. His tongue played with mine. Before I knew it, he was on top of me, drowning me in a flurry of kisses. Separating himself to allow me to breathe, Fenris seemed annoyed by what I had said.

"I do not want you to apologize ever again. To anyone. Not Layla, not Kira, not even Ryker." He growled, leaving me surprised.

He said nothing when we were with the others, but now that we were alone. He reminded me how much he hated hearing me apologize.

"Fenris..." I murmured his name while reaching for his cheek.

Before I could meet with it, he kissed me again, gentler this time. Sitting me up, I was between his legs as he intertwined his hands with mine. Again, our moans turned into one. He met my eyes with his.

"Lilith, you... are a part of me. If you die... I would lose that part of myself with you. I would lose..." Fenris stopped himself before finishing by biting his lip.

Even though I wanted him to finish that sentence, I did not push him further.

"Do not worry, I cannot die," I assured him, trying to ease him of those feelings.

All it did was leave him annoyed. I really was not good at trying to comfort anyone. For a moment, he just shook his head, unable to realize how I could not see how he felt for me.

"You can be so dense sometimes. I do not want you to live just because you cannot die, Lily." He sighed once again, trying to get what he felt across to me.

Maybe I knew, but I also wanted him to say it.

"I know," I whispered, for him to huff a bit because of it.

"I do not think you do. I cannot say it straight yet, but... How can I make you understand?" Fenris grumbled.

I giggled a bit in response to his annoyance.

"Maybe I know... Just cannot believe it." I smiled.

My words caused Fenris to growl before repeating that I did not know. Remembering Melody's words. Maybe... I could be like her. I just had to be bold and let nothing stop me this time. It was true I did not know the real reason Fenris cared for me. Or why he slept with me. If it was because I was his sense of duty or something else... Maybe... I could make it something more without having to know.

Fenris never seemed to mind the scars on my body, nor the skeletons in my past. Instead, he cared for me, no matter what. Melody had said he looked at me differently from others, too. Could I truly be... something else other than a duty for him? Could he love me freely? For once, the cage that surrounded me blurred.

I tried to make my escape.

"You... Ben... Melody... Liam. All of you confuse me. I think I could live. That is if I can I make a stupid wish first." I began facing him straight on.

Just like I did with Melody. There was no more holding back my true feelings for him. I wanted to be his equal in every way. All these years he had been caring for me, but from now on I would care for him too. It would be a two-way street. Live, Melody said. I would try to do just that in my own way.

"And what would that be?" Fenris asked, gripping my hands.

I mean... who could really stop me from wanting him? Liam was right. I had suffered enough. Melody was right, too. I had to fight for what I wanted. Fenris was also correct. I had to stop saying sorry for everything. Possibly the world owed me something for once.

Perhaps Fenris was not out of my reach. Maybe Ryker was right. They could not contain me any longer. All that truly held me back were my fears and trauma. Could I be something more than that?

'Be bold, Lilith.'

All I had to do was break free and fly. That would be the only way to prevent everything I wanted to stop. One step at a time, though. Maybe I could get there one day.

"Become mine." I suddenly declared, triggering Fenris's cheeks to flush red.

He seemed to be surprised by my declaration. I heard him right that day. He called me his love when he held me. And maybe what he wanted to say before was he would lose his heart if I died. Even if these were just dreams or delusions, I had to believe in them to move forward. If I forgot the pain then...

If I could just focus on all the good that happened within these past few days. It showed I could be accepted. All I had to do was to push forward and not take a step back. That I can be loved.

"I..." Fenris trailed off, not knowing what to say to me.

But his expression told me everything I needed. It was adorable. I had him right where I wanted. There was nothing more to hold back on. Melody's outburst made me realize what I truly wanted in this world. And it was to protect those dear to me. And that would start with tethering myself in the heart of the man I loved.

So that no one else could have him. Even if he was not mine to have in the end. I would make it so no one could have him the way I did. Taking my chance, I pushed him onto the bed frame behind him as I smiled, feeling for the first time confident. The hope that had been filled into my heart burst and swell within me.

"Ever since I saw you at that silly game store. I have loved you, Fenris."

It only took me fourteen years, but I finally could tell my wolf what I felt all these years, with no one stopping me. Even if he already knew, I did not care. I wanted to tell him in my voice. He had to know what it meant to me every time he held me in those arms of his. From this moment onward, I would try to wish to live, just to be with him and those who were dear to me.

And... nothing would stop me from trying to break free from my cage.