An hour later, Carmen returned to the pack house.
As soon as he reached the door, he caught a faint whiff of something foul. Of course, Liora wouldn’t give up so easily. She
must’ve prepared something, just waiting for his return.
With a swift kick, he slammed the door open. The lights were off inside. The house was completely silent.
Carmen spoke to the darkness, unbothered.
“Liora, are you satisfied now? I left Evelynne and came back. Isn’t this exactly what you’ve been waiting for after days of
silence?”
There was no response. He didn’t seem to mind. He casually flipped the light switch and made his way upstairs step by
step.
“I’m really curious what you’re up to this time. What, did you actually die? Liora, we’re not kids anymore. When will you
finally grow up? Stop playing these games. If you’d just behave, I’d be more than willing to spend time with you.”
The stench grew stronger the higher he climbed. A couple of flies buzzed past his face, making him frown in disgust.
What the hell was she thinking, turning the house into a dump?
He reached the second floor and stepped into the living room. The stench hit him like a wall-thick, suffocating. And yet,
he still hadn’t figured out what it was.
The next second, he groped for the switch on the wall. The light snapped on.
What it revealed made everything clear.
It was only then that Carmen realized what that stench really was.
It was the smell of a rotting corpse.
The scent of death filled the room-the buzzing of flies, the slick, squelching of wriggling maggots, and the unbearable silence of Liora’s dead body.
Carmen’s breath caught in his throat. Still frozen with his hand on the switch, he stared at the figure on the couch. The corpse was already bloated and discolored, lying there in complete stillness.
“Liora…?”
He spoke her name softly in disbelief, his voice hoarse in a way he’d never heard before. He took slow, hesitant steps toward her.
No one responded.
His heart thundered violently in his chest, slamming against his ribs as if it wanted to burst out. His wolf whimpered low and long from within him.
“Liora come on that’s ana..al
joke this far.”
He tried to sound calm, but as he got closer and saw her face, his voice began to shake.
It was Liora. Undeniably her.
A wave of nausea rolled through him, and he turned to the side and threw up.
When he finished, he slumped to the floor, sitting beside her body, staring at it like he still couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He reached out a trembling hand, wanting to touch her but before he made contact with her decaying skin, his eyes caught sight of a piece of paper lying beside her.
There were only a few lines written on it.
He picked it up, reading every word slowly, and with each word, his heart sank deeper into darkness.
“Carmen,
The truth is, I’ve been dead all along. These past five days were a gift from the Moon Goddess.
She said if you told me you loved me, I could live again. But you didn’t.
So I died. And I don’t love you anymore.
You can love Evelynne all you want.
From this moment on, you’ll never see me again.”
His hands trembled uncontrollably. He looked at Liora again, his pupils contracting, his face twisted with complicated
expression.
It felt like someone had wrapped a hand around his throat, squeezing until he couldn’t breathe. When he lifted his head, the light above him felt blinding. When he lowered his head, all he could see were the flies, the writhing maggots, and the
lifeless body of Liora.
Carmen couldn’t hold it in anymore. He bolted to the bathroom and vomited again, violently.
The sound disturbed the swarm of flies feasting on the body. He didn’t know how long he’d been retching when his
phone buzzed in his pocket.
Dazed, Carmen answered it without even checking who it was. His voice was raw, and he forced out a bitter, mocking
laugh.
“You really went all out this time, didn’t you? I’ll admit it-you won. Liora, this time… you won.”
There was a chilling silence on the other end.
Then, after a few seconds, Evelynne’s voice broke through.
“Carmen? It’s me. It’s Evelynne. Can you come back and stay with me?”
Chapter 10
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