Chapter 145: A Step Ahead
Josie
When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was how wrong everything felt. My body moved, but it didn’t feel like my body at all—it was lighter, floating almost, like I wasn’t tethered to the ground anymore. Around me, there was nothing but light. Blinding, searing, endless light. It was so bright that when I blinked, I couldn’t see shapes, shadows, or even my own hands. For a horrifying second, panic clawed at my chest.
"Am I going blind?" I whispered into the void. My voice echoed back at me, hollow and trembling.
The brightness seemed to pulse in answer, until a soft, melodic voice broke through it. A woman’s voice—calm, steady, and so clear that it made the panic inside me stutter to a stop.
"Child," the voice said.
I turned sharply to my left, and my breath caught. She was there—the Moon Goddess herself. Radiant, untouchable, her presence both gentle and overwhelming. Her long silver hair spilled like liquid light over her shoulders, her eyes gleaming with wisdom and authority that made me feel impossibly small.
"Moon Goddess?" I whispered, unable to believe I was looking at her. She was pure, serene, almost fragile in beauty, but I could feel the power radiating from her. A dove made of fire.
"Yes," she answered simply, her gaze steady on mine.
Confusion crashed into me. My mouth went dry. "What’s going on? How... how did I get here?"
Her expression softened, though it was still lined with something heavy. "I brought you here," she said. "Because I needed to make sure you are fine."
Her words shook me. "Fine? You mean... alive?"
The memory of my mates burned across my chest, and I blurted out before I could stop myself. "My mates—are they okay? Are they safe? Do they know where I am?"
I could hear the desperation in my own voice, feel it rise like a wave that threatened to crush me. But the Moon Goddess tilted her head, as though my words carried an ignorance I wasn’t aware of.
"Do you not remember?" she asked.
Her tone made me falter. My brows knitted together. "Remember what?"
The brightness shifted, and then, in front of me, the light bent until it formed an image. My stomach twisted violently as I saw it: Liam, his face hard, using the darkness to absorb me, to pull the very essence of who I was into him.
My knees weakened. "No..." I croaked. My hand shot out uselessly toward the image. "Is that... is that what happened to me?"
My voice trembled when I asked the next question. "Am I... dead?"
The Moon Goddess’s eyes narrowed, but there was no cruelty in her voice. "Not yet. But you will be... if you do not wake up."
I froze, staring at her as my mind spun. "Wake up?" I repeated. "I don’t understand. I thought I was awake."
She shook her head. "Your enemies have drawn you into the edge of nothingness. If you want to survive, you must embrace your powers fully. To their maximum. Only then can you destroy what stands against you."
My chest tightened with a mix of dread and anger. "My powers..." I muttered. "They’re not a blessing. They’re a curse. I’ve never wanted them. They’re the problem. I’m the problem."
The Moon Goddess’s expression sharpened, her silver eyes flashing with something dangerously close to anger. "Do you truly think me an idiot?"
The question hit me like a slap, and I felt the blood drain from my face. "No—I—"
"I did not strip your wolf away only to burden you with weakness," she continued, her voice echoing like thunder through the endless brightness. "I gave you this power because you are meant to wield it. You are not less, Josie. You are more. And if you waste what has been given, you insult not just me, but your own destiny."
My throat closed up, shame flooding me. I had insulted her—my Goddess—and I hadn’t even realized it. The words tumbled from my mouth in a rush. "I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—"
But she cut me off with a sharp wave of her hand. "The time for apologies has passed. The time for action is now. Do something, or you will die."
Before I could respond, a zap—sharp, electric—struck me in the chest. My whole body jolted, and the world spun violently. When it cleared, the brightness was gone, and in its place was something cold and real.
A blade.
I gasped as I saw the edge of a knife hovering dangerously close to my face, glinting in the dim light. The hand holding it was steady, and above it, Michelle’s manic laughter filled the air like poison.
"Wake up, Josie," she sneered.
Instinct took over. With a growl, I jerked my head forward and slammed my forehead against her wrist. Pain exploded across my skull, but it worked—the knife twisted off balance, slicing through the air inches from my skin instead of into it.
Michelle cursed, stumbling back.
I groaned, shaking off the disorientation, and turned sharply. That was when I saw him.
Liam.
He stood there, his eyes wide with shock, his lips curled in disbelief. "You... you were never supposed to wake up," he spat. "What the hell are you? Why won’t you just die?"
His words sliced deeper than any knife. My chest burned, my rage boiling over as I looked between him and Michelle. I had trusted him once. Foolishly.
"I thought you were too good to be true," I snapped, my voice low, vibrating with fury. My gaze burned into his. "But tell me something, Liam. Where is she? The witch you’re working for? Where’s the real puppet master hiding?"
He barked out a laugh, dark and cruel. "She’ll only show her face if she wants to. Not before. Besides..." He smirked, his voice dripping with malice. "Death is already calling your name."
I narrowed my eyes and straightened my spine. "Not today." My voice came out like a growl, steady and dangerous. I tore my gaze away from him and locked it on Michelle.
Her smirk was back, sharp and condescending.
"You should be ashamed of yourself," I said to her, my voice steady despite the fury shaking inside me.
"Me?" Michelle tilted her head back and laughed, a high, grating sound that clawed at my ears. "I’ve always been a step ahead of you, Josie. Always. And I’ll always have the means to make anyone my lapdog. That’s why I’ll be queen. Not you."
Her words made bile rise in my throat, but then she leaned forward, her eyes gleaming with cruelty. "Tell me, did you think it was smart to send Liam to sniff out the truth about that little child you’re carrying? To see if it was Kiel’s? What a pathetic gamble."
Rage flared hot through my veins. "You disgust me," I hissed. "I’m not afraid of you, Michelle. Release him now. Let Liam go."
She burst out laughing again, her face twisting with mockery. "You’re a fucking joke. Comedy hour is over." She raised the knife higher, her voice dropping into something feral. "Time to end you."
She lunged.
I ducked, but the world around us shifted—the fake trees I hadn’t even realized we were surrounded by suddenly tangled around me, catching my arms and legs, holding me in place. Their roots twisted like snakes, pulling me back.
Michelle’s grin widened. "Pathetic."
She lifted the blade again, her voice sharp as she barked, "Liam! Save me the trouble. Finish her!"
But I snarled, my teeth grinding together as I forced my head up to glare at her. "No one’s going to save you now, Michelle."