Chapter 236

Lily's Perspective The chaotic glow of emergency lights and the rising black smudge of smoke on the interstate grew smaller and smaller in the distance, finally swallowed by the rolling horizon. Xavier guided the SUV down an exit ramp, turning onto a narrow country road lined with overgrown weeds and sprawling oak trees. The world went abruptly quiet, the silence filled only by the steady shush of tires on asphalt and the subdued breathing of the five of us. Silence settled over the cabin like a heavy, damp blanket. My knuckles ached, bone-white from gripping the steering wheel. The order to turn around and retreat had come from my mouth, but each word had felt like a barbed hook being dragged from my throat. I knew it was right… we’d had no real choice. I was the leader of this team. The safety of everyone in this vehicle, the very survival of our entire pack, rested on my shoulders. But goddamn, it felt like shit. It felt like leaving a comrade on the battlefield a