Chapter 86

Chapter 86
Felicia’s POV
The room grew impossibly colder as the figure of Diane took a step closer. Each step she made echoed like a thunderous beat in my head. I couldn’t move; my body was frozen in place. The walls seemed to close in, the shadows thickening around me, suffocating me slowly. My heart pounded so loudly I thought it might explode from my chest. Sweat trickled down my temple despite the chill that wrapped itself around my body.

No.

No.

It can’t be.

Diane was dead.

We had made sure of it.

I tore my eyes away, desperate to escape the nightmare, but when I looked again, she was even closer.

Her face was a ghastly pale, her lips bloodless, and her eyes, those once vibrant eyes were now hollow, dark pits staring directly into my soul.

As she took another step, I could see the wound.

Right there on her stomach. The place where Kael had struck the final blow.

A strangled cry escaped my throat.

“We… we killed you!” I choked out, my hand trembling as I pointed toward Kael, who now appeared beside me, equally frozen and wide-eyed.

Diane didn’t speak.

She simply stared, her mouth moving silently, like she was trying to say something that no longer existed in words.

The silence was deafening, worse than if she’d screamed.

“Whenen whnen,”

A baby’s cry suddenly pierced through the chilling silence, sharp and desperate.

Aurora!

The sound yanked me violently back. My body jerked upright and I rolled right out of the hospital bed, hitting the floor with a soft thud.

My hands scrambled frantically across the sheets, my breathing ragged.

It was only then I realized…

It was a dream.

Just a dream.

The hospital room around me was still. Dim night lights glowed faintly on the wall. Aurora’s tiny cries echoed softly, real and urgent, snapping me fully into consciousness.

I pushed myself up with trembling hands, my entire body drenched in cold sweat.

Goosebumps prickled every inch of my skin.

Still disoriented, I staggered toward the small bassinet by the side of my bed where my newborn daughter lay.

Her little face was scrunched in distress, her tiny fists flailing in the air.

My heart broke at the sight.

No, I couldn’t let my fear consume me.

I scooped her into my arms, pressing her close against my chest, feeling the rapid beat of her heart against mine.

“It’s okay,” I whispered hoarsely, gently rocking her back and forth.

“Mommy’s here. It’s just a bad dream.”

But even as I said it, the image of Diane’s hollow eyes clung to the edges of my mind.

Aurora began to settle, her soft whimpers fading into tiny hiccups as she snuggled deeper into my warmth.

I kissed the top of her head, inhaling her sweet newborn scent, grounding myself to the present.

Still…

The fear remained.

Gnawing at me.

Refusing to let go.

Diane had come to me in a dream.

And it didn’t feel like a normal nightmare.

It felt… like a warning.

I glanced around the hospital room, half-expecting to see her ghost lurking in the corners.

Nothing.

Just me.

And my daughter.

But the walls felt too close, the air too heavy.

I needed to do something.

Now.

Clutching Aurora tightly, I carefully made my way back to the hospital bed, sitting down with a thud.

My hands shook slightly as I reached for the small table beside me where my phone rested.

I didn’t hesitate.

I had to call my father.

Immediately.

Fumbling slightly, I unlocked the phone and scrolled quickly through my contacts, my thumb hovering over the name: Father.

I pressed it.

The line rang once.

Twice.

I bounced Aurora gently in my arms to keep her calm, whispering soothing words, even as anxiety tightened my chest.

Come on, Father.

Pick up.

Finally, the line clicked, and his familiar voice answered, laced with concern.

“Felicia?” he said. “It’s late. Are you alright?”

Tears sprang unbidden to my eyes.

“I…”

My voice cracked.

“I saw her, Father. I saw Diane.”

There was a beat of stunned silence on the other end.

“In a dream,” I added quickly, my voice shaking.

“But it felt so real.”

My father was silent for a moment longer, and then his voice came, low and serious.

“Tell me everything you saw,” he said.

I launched into the story, recounting every chilling detail. the coldness, Diane’s ghostly appearance, the way she pointed silently, the wound still visible on her body, how the room felt like it was closing in.

I expected him to dismiss it, to say it was guilt or stress from childbirth.

But he didn’t.

When I finished, there was a heavy silence.

“Felicia,” he said finally, his voice grave, “you must listen to me very carefully.”

I sat up straighter, heart hammering.

“There are powers in this world beyond our understanding,” he continued.

“The bond of the dead is not so easily broken, especially when betrayal is involved.”

I swallowed hard.

“You think Diane is… coming back?” I whispered.

“Not necessarily,” he said.

“But she might be trying to warn you. Or worse…”

He paused.

“Someone might be using her spirit.”

A shiver tore down my spine.

“What do I do?” I asked, clutching Aurora tighter.

“For now, stay calm,” he instructed.

“Protect the pup at all costs. And do not, under any circumstances, leave the hospital wing without proper guard.”

“Father…” I began, but he cut me off.

“I will be there before the next full moon rises,” he promised.

“We must prepare.”

Prepare?

Prepare for what?

But before I could ask, the line went dead.

I stared at the phone in my hand, my fingers trembling. The next full moon was just three nights away. I hugged Aurora closer, my heart thundering.

Something was coming. Something tied to Diane. Something dangerous. And this time, no dream would save us.

Suddenly, the door flung open. My mind darted.

Lucien strode in.