Chapter 154: not how its suppossed to go

Chapter 154: Chapter 154: not how its suppossed to go

The moment the brothers spotted Amelia, the tension in their faces eased.

Amelia barely gave them time to say anything before rushing toward them. She threw her arms around all three brothers, pulling them into a tight hug that left them momentarily surprised.

Reid chuckled, wrapping an arm around her waist and drawing her closer.

"Missed us that much?"

Amelia pressed her face against his chest. "I did."

"We were only gone for two hours," Enzo remarked, resting a hand on the back of her head.

"Two very long hours," Amelia replied, her voice muffled against them. "And you have no idea how worried I was."

Dean lowered his chin, looking down at her. "We were fine."

The sound of heavy paws approaching drew their attention. The enormous white wolf padded toward them, its tail swaying lazily behind it.

Caleb slid down from its back, landing less gracefully than he would have liked. His clothes were still damp, and his face remained unusually pale. He stood there for a moment, shoulders tense, looking as though he had barely noticed that they had arrived.

Dean’s gaze immediately settled on him. One eyebrow rose.

"Why does he look like that?"

Reid turned toward Caleb, his teasing expression fading as he took in his wet hair and drawn face.

"What happened to you?"

Caleb didn’t answer. His eyes remained fixed somewhere beyond them, and when Reid waited for an explanation, he received nothing but silence.

Amelia finally released the brothers and stepped away from their embrace.

"He went through a lot," she said, glancing at Caleb before turning back to them. "But before we get into that, tell me how your trials went."

Enzo exchanged a look with reid and Dean, and none of them seemed quite sure what to say.

Enzo was the first to speak.

"I... can’t recall what we did in there."

Amelia blinked. "What do you mean you can’t recall?"

"I remember entering the portal," Enzo explained, rubbing a hand over his jaw. "After that, everything is hazy. I know something happened, but I can’t remember the trial itself."

Reid frowned and pressed his fingers against his temple, as though trying to force a memory to surface.

"That’s strange. I remember winning, though."

Amelia turned to him. "How did you win your trials?"

"That’s the problem." He let out a frustrated breath. "I know I won. I’m certain of it. But if you asked me what I fought, what I had to do, or how I won, I don’t remember."

Dean replied. "Same thing happened to me."

Amelia stared at them, her brows drawing together. "All three of you?"

Amelia looked from one brother to the next. They all seemed genuinely confused. Whatever had happened inside those portals, they had come out without being able to remember it.

How was that even possible?

She opened her mouth to ask another question, but Caleb’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Amelia. I need to talk to you. Alone."

There was something different about his tone. His voice was quiet, but there was a firmness to it that made her turn toward him immediately.

Enzo’s grey eyes shifted to Caleb. "Whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of her partners."

Caleb met his stare.

"I don’t think you’ll like hearing what I’m about to tell her."

A brief silence settled over them.

The brothers expression turned serious,

Amelia judging by the way he was looking at her now, there was more to what he told her

She turned to the brothers.

"Just chill for a bit. I’ll explain everything later."

Enzo looked as though he wanted to argue, but she raised a hand before he could speak.

"And keep an eye on Amy’s portal. She’s taking longer than you three did, so I don’t want any of you wandering off."

The men reluctantly agreed and She gave the brothers one last look before gesturing for Caleb to follow her.

They walked a long distance away from the portals, where the others wouldn’t be able to hear their conversation easily.

The grass shifted beneath their feet, and a cool breeze brushed Amelia’s hair across her cheek. She tucked it behind her ear before turning to face him.

Caleb stood with his hands buried in the pockets of hus pants

"Was there something else you saw in the vision?"

His jaw tightened.

"Yeah."

She waited, but he seemed to struggle with how to begin. His gaze drifted toward the distant portals, then returned to her face.

"You might not believe me," he said at last, "but I saw you too."

Amelia’s stomach tightened.

She had expected him to tell her more about his own death, or something relating to his territory that he might have seen. First time she has heard about this, someone else seeing a future about her.

"What did you see?"

Caleb’s expression grew grim. For a moment, he looked as though he wished he could take back what he was about to say.

"You were lying on the ground. The three Ellington brothers were around you, and..." He paused, swallowing hard. "Your body was disintegrating. You were turning into dust right in front of them."

Amelia’s face went still.

Caleb watched her carefully

"They were devastated," he continued, his voice quieter now. "I’ve never seen anything like it. They looked as though they were losing the most important thing in their lives. You were saying goodbye to them, but I couldn’t hear what you said."

For a moment, Amelia couldn’t seem to draw a proper breath.

The thought sent a chill through her that had nothing to do with the breeze.

I am going to die...again?

Then one detail caught her attention, cutting through the fear.

"Wait." She lifted her eyes to his. "Did you say I was disintegrating?"

Caleb nodded slowly. "Your body was breaking apart. Piece by piece. There was nothing they could do to stop it."

Is that what the future holds for me?

The thought settled heavily in her chest. She had already experienced death more than once . She remembered enough of her previous life to know that how she died then, it hadn’t been this. She hadn’t turned to dust at all.

Her lips parted before she could stop herself.

"That isn’t how I died before..."

The words slipped out so quietly that she didn’t realize she had said them aloud.

Caleb went rigid.

His eyes sharpened, and every trace of the uncertainty on his face gave way to sudden suspicion.

He took a small step closer, searching her expression as though he might find the answer written there.

"Hold on." His voice had grown noticeably harder. "What do you mean, you died before?"

Amelia’s heart sank.

She hadn’t meant to reveal that.

Caleb stared at her, his brows drawing together as he tried to reconcile what he’d just heard with everything he thought he knew about her.

"You said you died before," he repeated, more slowly this time. "You weren’t talking about a dream or some kind of metaphor. You meant you actually died."

She said nothing.

"What the hell is going on, Amelia?"

He looked genuinely unsettled. "Who are you?"