She was right in front of me. 
There was nobody else in that space. Nothing between us. 
We had been in similar situations more than once. 
Yet , every inch of my body felt like plunging in front and going in for her lips, though my conscious mind, knew full well that she was now out of my reach. 
How was that possible? 
How could things turn like this? 
" I am sorry for your loss. I had no idea, your father was killed. I deeply regret not being able to attend his funeral. " I finally forced myself to say something. Sherizad, however, wasn't even looking at me. 
I dared to take a bold step to try and dismiss the tension that was brewing. 
" Did you come to my pack to tell me about your marriage? "
Another stupid question on the line. 
Sherizad turned at me with fire in her eyes. Her eyes were always very expressive but this was something else. 
I have no idea who came over me but in an impulse, I tried to grab her by her waist and pull her hands towards me.
" Do you have the slightest idea what I was going through... "
" Get away from me Alpha Ryan. You and I have some moral standards to maintain. Whatever you think we had,is nothing more than the ash that is left after the charcoal burns. "
She gave me no chance to complete my sentence. 
And just like that, the great wall of silence was back between us again. 
We were standing in the study which once used to belong to Sherizad's father. She was looking straight out of the window while her fingers fidgeted with the handle of his chair. 
I cleared my throat to draw her attention.
" I will continue with what I wanted to talk to you about Sherizad. "
I knew she was listening though she didn't turn in my direction. 
" The moment you entered my court that day , was the darkest moment of my life. I had just witnessed my mother being burnt alive and was about to kill my own father with my own hands. "
This time she turned towards me with confusion. Her lips parted, though she didn't say anything. 
" I found out that my father was the one who ordered my mother to be burnt at the stake because he apparently found out that she wanted to kill him. "
I completed the explanation to satiate her curiousity. 
To my surprise she smiled. 
It was a sad smile. Her face looked pained as she smiled and placed her hand on her chest and bowed a little at me. 
" I had no idea you had to go through hell while I was mourning my father and struggling with pack hierarchy. " she heaved a loud sigh while she straightened up. 
" Guess, this was all written in our fate. This was where our path was supposed to end. "
Before I could pull her into my open embrace and rebuke her claim, there was a loud commotion coming from the outside. 
The small group looked at us terrified. There was Midnight. There were a few others from both our tribes. Nobody apparently looked injured but the blood they were smeared in, definitely was of werewolf origin. 
" What is it Midnight? "
She came forward trembling. 
Then she looked at me. 
" The Healers were attacked by the Grey Wolf Hounds. All of them are dead. Only one survives. "
There was not another moment to waste as we ran where the injured Healer was barely breathing. 
He tried to get up as soon as he saw me coming. 
" You don't need to get up, " I bent down beside him and grabbed his hand to support him while he was trying to sit up. 
The gnashing on his flesh was still bleeding but he insisted that I listened to what he had to tell. 
" Alpha... Alpha Ryan... you must be warned... " he tried talking, grabbing tight onto my shirt. 
" It's them... the darkness... the dark magic that threatens to take over these lands... " He then swiftly turned his attention towards Sherizad. 
" It is coming for you as well. Don't let your guards down in the absence of an Alpha in your tribe.... they have the same origin.... We could feel it. When we were carrying the dagger dipped in dark magic, we could feel it resonating with the Grey Wolf Hounds when they were attacking. "
" Guards call for help... Call Healers from the other tribes. Quick... " Sherizad barked as we both bent over the dying Healer from my tribe. 
I had brought in the best of the best , that we had. They could trace their origins back to the earliest in Healer history. 
With all of them gone, I knew that they were leaving behind a void that was irreplaceable. 
" I think we might need to call for an all Alpha meet immediately. There is something sinister brewing in the northern lands. We must immediately trace the imposter who has been posing and replying to our letters as the Northern Chief. As we saw with our own
eyes, there is nothing left, nobody left, in the Northern Lands. "
Sherizad did not reply. She simply nodded and then stood up before leaving me with the corpse of the Healer on my arms. 
" Please make sure that we are able to bid proper goodbye to the Healers who came in to lend their helping hands. 
Spread across the lands and bring in all their remains. They will be given all their due respect. "
She left after handing out that piece of instruction to her subordinates. 
I saw her walking solemnly towards the lands that stretched outside the facility where we were at the moment. 
Every muscle in my body wanted to run after her. 
But there was an invisible string, holding me back. 
I wanted to cut it open. I wanted to severe all boundaries of morality and marital ties. 
I wanted to turn the wheels of time back, even if it was for one last time.