Chapter 41: Soul Transfer

I grabbed the soul stone with what was left of my mind. It glowed bright.

"Move me," I told it. "Into Cole. Now."

"Are you sure?" the stone's voice was old and tired. "Once you leave your body, the demon gets full control. Getting back will be almost impossible."

"I don't care. Do it."

"As you wish, Luna."

White light exploded.

I felt myself being pulled. Ripped from my body. My soul tearing free.

The demon felt it. Tried to hold me. "No! You can't leave! We made a deal!"

"The deal was my body. You have it. Never said my soul came with it."

The demon screamed.

Too late. I was already gone.

My soul flew through the air. Nothing. Just me. Heading for Cole.

He was on the ground. Barely breathing. The demons hurt him bad.

"Cole," I called. But no sound came out. No voice. No body.

Just me. Just my mind.

I touched his forehead. My soul pressed against his.

"Let me in. Please. I need you."

Nothing happened at first.

Then I felt him. Through the mate bond. Weak but there.

"Lita?" His voice in my head. Confused. Hurting.

"It's me. I need to share your body. Just for a little while. Until I get mine back."

"What happened?"

"The demon took my body. But not my soul. I used the stone. I'm here. With you."

Quiet. He was thinking.

"Will it hurt you?" he asked. "Sharing with me?"

"I don't know. Maybe. But I have no choice."

"Then come in. I'll keep you safe."

His mind opened. Let me in.

I slipped inside. Into his head.

It felt weird. Wrong. His body wasn't mine. His thoughts weren't mine.

But he was warm. Safe. Home.

"I've got you," he said in our shared mind. "Rest. I'll handle things."

I let go. Sank deeper.

And slept.

I woke up to movement. Walking. Cole's body. My mind riding along.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Back at the gym. The demons let me go after they took you." His mental voice was sad. Mad. "They have your body, Lita. They're using it."

"I know. I can feel it a little."

Through the mate bond, I felt my body. Far away. Moving. The demon controlling it.

"What's it doing?"

“Leading the demon army. Attacked at dawn. Hundreds.” The packs were losing. Cole’s feelings surged. Sadness, rage, guilt. “Your body is killing us. The demon is turning Luna's power on the wolves.”

"We have to stop it."

"How? You're in my head. Your body has a demon king inside."

"There has to be a way."

We walked into the gym. Pack members everywhere. Hurt. Scared. Fighting.

Alex ran over. Blood on his face. "Cole! You're alive! What happened?"

"Long story. Where's The Elder?"

"Command center. Second floor." Alex looked at Cole's eyes. Really looked. "Something's different."

"Lita's in my head. Her soul. The demon took her body."

Alex's eyes went huge. "What?"

"No time. We need The Elder."

We ran upstairs. The Elder stood over a map with red marks everywhere. Demon sightings.

"Cole." She didn't look up. "I felt something wrong with the mate bond. What happened?"

"Lita used the soul stone. She's in my head. The demon king took her body."

The Elder looked up. Her face went white. "That's bad."

"Can we get her body back?" I asked through Cole.

The Elder heard me. Her eyes got big. "Lita? You're awake in there?"

"Yes. Can we fix this?"

“Maybe. But it’s hard.” She grabbed an old book. “Soul transfers are tricky. The longer you stay in Cole, the more you’ll merge. Eventually, you won’t be two, you’ll be one.”

"How long?"

"Three days. Maybe four. After that, you can't separate."

"So we have until the prophecy anyway."

"Yes. But there's a problem." The Elder looked serious. "The prophecy says the Luna must die. But you're not in the Luna body anymore. The demon is."

My mind went cold. "So if my body dies tomorrow, the prophecy fails?"

“No. The prophecy will fix itself. It goes after the Luna soul. So it will strike Cole’s body, with both of you inside.”

Cole spoke out loud. "So we both die tomorrow? Together?"

"Unless we get Lita's body back first. Take out the demon. Put her soul back.” The Elder closed the book. “That needs an exorcism. The demon king is too powerful. Normal rituals won’t work.”

"Then what will?" I asked.

"A Luna exorcism. Only another Luna can remove a demon king from a Luna body."

"But I'm the only Luna."

"Right. You'd have to do it yourself. While not in your body. While fighting the strongest demon that exists." The Elder's face was dark. "It's never been done."

"But it's possible?"

“Technically possible. But risky. Fail, and the demon keeps your body, kills wolves with your power. And the prophecy still kills you and Cole tomorrow.”

Cole's hand squeezed tight. Our hand. Weird feeling his movements.

"So we die tomorrow or try an impossible thing and maybe die anyway."

"Yes."

I felt Cole's feelings. Fear. Anger. Love. All mixed up.

"We try the exorcism," I said. "We don't quit."

"Agreed," Cole said out loud.

The Elder nodded. "Then we get ready. The ritual needs special things. And we need to get your body close enough to try it."

"How?"

"We use bait. Something the demon wants badly." She looked at us. At Cole's body with me inside. "We offer what it's wanted from the start."

"What?"

"The Alpha. Cole himself. We make the demon think it can take him too. Have both Luna and Alpha. Then when it comes close, we attack."

"That's crazy," Cole said.

"That's the only way." The Elder pulled out her phone. "I'll call the other Lunas from old bloodlines. We'll need their power too. Even with all of us, this might not work."

"How many other Lunas?" I asked.

"Three. All hiding. All old. All weak from running from demons for so long." She started texting. "But they'll come. For you. For the prophecy."

My phone buzzed. In Cole's pocket.

Text from my body. From the demon.

"Hello, little soul. Like your new home? I'm loving mine. So much power. I'm killing your pack one by one. Come stop me. If you can."

A video. My body fighting wolves. Luna power burning them. Killing them.

I would have cried if I had eyes.

"We do this now," I said. "Not tomorrow. Now. Before more die."

"The ritual isn't ready," The Elder said.

"I don't care. Make it ready. Fast."

She looked at me. At the strength in my voice even without a body.

"Okay. We do it tonight. Sunset. Six hours to get ready." She started calling people. "But Lita, you need to know. Less than ten percent survive this."

"I don't care about odds. I care about my pack."

"Even if it means losing yourself? Becoming one with Cole forever? Never getting your body back?"

I felt Cole's reaction. Fear. But also something else. Hope maybe.

We could be one person. Together forever. Never apart.

Not the worst thing.

"Yes," I said. "Even then."

"Then we start."