Chapter 124
Spirit Realm
Between Death and Life
Soft light surrounds me.
At first, it feels like floating in nothingness–no sound, no pain, no pressure on my body. Just… peace. My breath doesn’t hitch. My heart doesn’t race. It’s part of the air itself. Free.
as if /
Then, I see her.
A woman with long silver–blonde hair flowing like moonlight stands before me, dressed in a white gown that shimmers like frost on a still lake. Her eyes are striking–kind, deep, and knowing. Familiar in a strange, aching
way.
“Anastasia…?” I whisper, even though I’m unsure how I know her name.
She smiles, that soft, ethereal kind of smile that eases every frantic thought in my head. “Hello, Ellaine.”
My chest tightens. “I’m… I’m dead, aren’t I?”
The way her expression falters–just slightly–is all the answer I need. She nods solemnly. “Your physical body… is broken. You used everything–your magic, your soul, even your pain–to end him.”
I lower my eyes. “Luca.”
Anastasia nods. “You destroyed him completely. But it came at a cost.”
I pause. “Then why am I still here? If I died… why do I still feel like me?”
“Because of me.”
That voice–familiar, fierce, and warm–echoes gently across the light. I turn, and there she is.
Mika.
My wolf. My other half.
She stands tall and strong, golden eyes glowing with a quiet pride. A spectral presence, radiant and real. The same voice that had whispered to me in the darkest nights. The one that never left–not even when I did.
“You have me,” Mika says, her voice like a forest breeze. “And I will always be with you, Ellaine.”
Tears blur my vision. I step closer, trembling, and she touches her forehead to mine.
In that moment, I feel it. The bond. The truth. The depth of who I am.
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Chapter 124
I am not just a girl.
Not Just a mate.
Not just the vessel for a power passed down by fate.
1am Ellaine Rollin Lycaon. Luna. Fighter, Survivor. A daughter of the moon and flame. A soul forged through rejection and reborn through sacrifice.
“I don’t understand,” I murmur, glancing between Mika and Anastasia. “Am I alive or not?”
Anastasia smiles again, gentler this time. “Your soul is here. But your body… lies wounded in the realm of the living. Burned, fractured by the magic you unleashed. It’s holding on–but barely.”
A cold chill slips down my spine. “And if it can’t hold on?”
“Then this becomes your permanent home,” Anastasia says softly.
I close my eyes. The last thing I remember was Francesco. His voice screaming my name. His eyes filled with something deeper than fear–something more consuming than pain.
Love.
“Francesco,” I whisper, the name fragile on my lips.
Mika lifts her head. “He hasn’t left your side.”
“You saved his world,” Anastasia says. “But you also shook it. Francesco doesn’t know if you’re still in there. He’s afraid of believing–of hoping–only to lose you again.”
“Can he hear me?” I ask, desperate now.
“The bond is faint,” Mika says. “But it’s not broken. You still carry his mark, even here.”
I reach up, instinctively touching the side of my neck–remembering his lips, his warmth, the way he never rushed me, never forced anything, even when his soul screamed for me.
“Then I need to go back. I need to tell him-”
“You’re not ready,” Anastasia interrupts gently. “Your soul and power are out of balance. And the path back to life… it isn’t open yet.”
I drop to my knees. “So I’m just trapped?”
“No,” Mika says, kneeling beside me. “There is still a way.”
“But it cannot be walked alone,” Anastasia adds.
I blink. “Then what do I do?“.
Chapter 124
“You call for him, Mika says. “And if his heart reaches for yours… the veil may open.
A silence follows, heavy and holy.
Then Anastasia moves toward me, her movements slow, as if each step takes away a part of her. Her light has begun to fade her edges no longer shine like before.
I notice it instantly. “You’re… disappearing.”
She smiles, but her voice carries a quiet ache. “My time is ending, Ellaine. When I gave you my magic, I gave you
everything that was left of me. I was never meant to stay.”
“No.” My voice cracks. “I still have questions. I don’t know how to do this without-”
“You can,” she whispers. “Because you’re not like me. You’re stronger.”
She kneels and takes my hands into hers. “I lived in the shadow of my mate, of expectations, of the curse I carried. But you… you broke the chains. You stood in front of death and chose love. That makes you more than a vessel. It
makes you a light.”
“I’m afraid,” I admit.
“And yet you still want to go back,” she says, tears brimming in her glowing eyes. “That’s courage, Ellaine. That’s
what makes you Luna.”
Her light grows fainter still.
“Promise me you won’t let guilt hold you,” Anastasia whispers. “Promise me you’ll live–not just survive.”
I squeeze her hands. “I promise.”
She leans in, pressing her lips to my forehead, a mother’s final blessing. “Then rise, Luna.”
And with that… Anastasia fades.
Her light drifts into the realm like stars dissolving into dawn.
I’m left with Mika, whose eyes never leave mine.
“Are you ready?” she asks.
I nod.
I place my hand over my chest and close my eyes. I think of Francesco–the way he laughed when I rolled my eyes, the way he touched my fingers like they were glass, the way he said, “Don’t ever say sorry for being you.”
I whisper into the bond.
“Francesco…”
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Chapter 124
A heartbeat.
Then another.
The light around me ripples.
He heard me.
Even through pain, through silence, through the fog of death he heard me.
And suddenly, Mika smiles.
“Then hold on,” she says.
The realm begins to shift. The stars pulse. The thread between soul and body tightens.
And I feel it–heat, pressure, sensation. Fingers around mine. His hand.
His voice, hoarse and cracking: “Ellaine… please come back to me.”
I’m coming, I whisper in return, as the veil begins to open.
