Chapter 47: Between Life and Death

I was floating. Darkness everywhere. No body. No pain. Just nothing.

Was this death?

"Not quite." A voice. Familiar.

I turned. Or thought I did. Hard to tell without a body.

James stood there. My brother. Looking exactly like I remembered. Alive. Smiling.

"James?" My voice echoed weird. "Am I dead?"

"You're in between. Neither alive nor dead. The prophecy brought you here." He walked closer. Or floated. Everything was weird here. "I've been waiting."

"Waiting for what?"

"To talk to you. Before you make your choice."

"What choice?"

"To die or to live." He gestured around us. "The prophecy thinks it needs your death. But it's wrong."

"How can a prophecy be wrong?"

"Because it was written by someone three hundred years ago. Someone who didn't know what a real Luna Alpha could do." James smiled. "Claire wrote it thinking all Lunas would be like her. Powerful but alone. But you're different."

"How?"

"You have a mate. A true mate bond. That changes everything." He pointed at my chest. Where my heart should be. "The bond keeps you tied to life. To Cole. The prophecy can't fully take you because part of you lives in him."

I felt it then. A thread. Golden and warm. Connecting me to somewhere far away.

The mate bond. Still there even in death.

"So I can go back?"

"Maybe. But there's a price." James's face got serious. "The prophecy needs a Luna death to seal the demons. If you go back, someone else has to die in your place."

"No. Not again. I'm tired of people dying for me."

"I know. But that's the rule. Ancient magic needs balance. A life for a life."

"Then I'll stay dead. I won't trade my life for someone else's."

"Even if that someone volunteers? Even if they want to die?"

A figure appeared beside James. Fading in like smoke.

Claire.

"You," I said. Anger rising. "You wrote the prophecy. You made this happen."

"I did. And I'm sorry." She looked different here. Smaller. Tired. "I thought I was saving us. But I just created a cycle of death. Luna after Luna dying. Never ending."

"So why are you here?"

"To break the cycle. To fix my mistake." She stepped forward. "I volunteer. I'll die in your place. End the prophecy forever."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I've lived three hundred years. Jumped from body to body. Destroyed lives. Killed people." Her voice shook. "I'm tired. And you deserve to live. You deserve the chance I never gave others."

"But if you die, the prophecy ends?"

"Yes. I created it with my blood. I can end it with my death." Claire looked at James. "Your brother helped me understand. Showed me what I'd become. A monster hiding behind good intentions."

James nodded. "She came to me here. In this in between place. We've been planning this."

"Planning what?"

"Your survival. Your future. Your happy ending." James smiled. "Let her do this, Lita. Let her fix what she broke."

I looked at Claire. Really looked.

She wasn't the scary woman from before. She was just tired. Old. Ready to rest.

"Will it hurt?" I asked.

"I don't think so. Not here. Here is peaceful." She touched my shoulder. "Go back. Live your life. Love your mate. Be the Luna I never could be."

"I don't know how to be Luna."

"You already are. You fought demons. United packs. Saved lives. You're everything a Luna should be." Claire stepped back. "Now go. Before the window closes."

"What window?"

"You've been dead for two minutes. After five, you can't come back. Brain damage. So go. Now."

The golden thread pulled harder. Calling me back.

"Thank you," I said to Claire.

"Don't thank me. Just live well. That's all the thanks I need."

I looked at James. "I miss you."

"I miss you too. But I'm okay here. Mom's here too. She says she's sorry. For everything."

"Is she happy?"

"Getting there. We both are." He hugged me. Felt real even though nothing was. "Go be amazing, little sis. Make me proud."

"I will."

The pull got stronger. I couldn't fight it anymore.

The darkness faded. Light appeared.

I heard voices. Shouting. Crying.

"Come on, Lita. Come back. Please come back."

Cole's voice. Desperate. Broken.

"She's been down for three minutes. We're losing her."

The Elder.

"Don't give up. Keep trying."

Alex.

The light got brighter. I felt warmth. Pain. Sensation returning.

My body. I was going back to my body.

One last look at James and Claire. They waved.

Then everything rushed back.

I gasped. Air filled my lungs. My heart started beating. Pain everywhere.

I was alive.

I opened my eyes. Cole's face above me. Tears streaming down.

"Lita? Oh god, Lita."

"Hey," I whispered. Voice rough.

"You died. Your heart stopped. You were gone for three minutes."

"I know. I was somewhere else. Talked to James."

"What?"

"Long story. I'll tell you later." I tried to sit up. Everything hurt. "Is it over? The prophecy?"

The Elder knelt beside me. Checked my pulse. My eyes. "Your heart is beating. You're alive. And the sun set five minutes ago. The prophecy time passed."

"So I'm free?"

"It seems so. The prophecy is satisfied somehow." She looked confused. "I don't understand how but you're alive and the deadline passed."

Because Claire died in my place. In that in between space.

But I didn't say that. Some things were meant to stay private.

"Help me up," I said.

Cole lifted me gentle. Held me close.

Around us, the pack gathered. All staring. All shocked.

"The Luna died and came back," someone whispered.

"She's immortal," another said.

"She's blessed by the moon."

I wasn't any of those things. I was just lucky. Lucky to have a brother who loved me. Lucky to have Claire fix her mistake. Lucky to have a mate who wouldn't let me go.

"Speech," Alex said. Smiling through tears. "The pack needs to hear from their Luna."

I looked around. At the wolves who fought for me. Bled for me. Almost died for me.

"Thank you," I said. Loud enough for all to hear. "Thank you for fighting. For believing. For not giving up."

They howled. All of them. A pack howl. Victory and relief and joy.

Cole held me tighter. "Don't ever do that again. Don't ever die on me."

"I'll try not to."

"Promise me."

"I promise. No more dying." I looked up at him. "Now can we please go inside? I'm tired and everything hurts."

He laughed. Picked me up. Carried me toward the gym.

The pack followed. Celebrating. Happy.

We'd won. Against demons. Against prophecy. Against death itself.

I was alive. Cole was alive. The pack was safe.

For now, that was enough.

Tomorrow we'd deal with cleanup. With rebuilding. With whatever came next.

But tonight, I just wanted to rest.

In my mate's arms. In my body. In my life.

Finally, truly, completely alive.