Chapter 31: Hoped She Was Right - Callista's POV

By the time we got back to the house, my father was waiting on the porch. His expression was straight, showing no emotion, but I didn’t miss the tension in his shoulders.

“Well?” He asked as we approached.

I squeezed Riven’s hand once before letting go. “For the sake of our mating bond and sanity, I’m going. I’ll move to Nightshade territory.”

Something flickered across his face. Though he had already laid down ground rules and deep down knew what I’d choose, he still hoped I’d stay home. “Under the conditions we discussed?”

“Yes, sir,” Riven said immediately. “Separate rooms until the bond is properly sealed. She’ll continue to study at Silver Moon Academy and she’s welcome to leave whenever she wants. You’re welcome to visit at any time.”

Dad studied him for a long moment, then nodded. "When?"

"Tomorrow?" Riven looked at me. "Unless you need more time—"

"Tomorrow's fine," I said, even though the word felt surreal. Tomorrow I'd be leaving my childhood home and everything would change.

"Then tomorrow it is," my father said gruffly. "Now get inside.. It's late and you've both been through enough today."

I hugged Riven goodnight, feeling the mate bond protest as we separated. It was getting harder each time, the pull more insistent and more demanding.

"See you tomorrow," he whispered against my hair.

"Tomorrow," I agreed.

I watched him drive away with his parents, then turned to face my family. My mother was crying silently. Sabine looked like she was trying not to. My father just looked tired.

"I know this is hard," I said quietly. "But—"

"We understand," Mom interrupted, pulling me into a fierce hug. "We do. It doesn't make it easier, but we understand. But just know you all are welcome to come here as well. Maybe we can arrange where you all are here and there, living between both homes.”

I nodded, but I wasn’t sure how that would work. We stayed up for another hour once we were inside, my parents going over rules and expectations. When I was finally in my room ,Sabine started helping me pack. Everyone acted like this was normal and not the end of everything I had known.

By the time I finally collapsed into bed, exhaustion should have pulled me under. We had two late nights and now it was Friday.

Instead of sleeping, I lay awake, staring at my ceiling. My mind raced with everything that happened from the challenges, to the demon, to the Alpha King’s calculating gaze. Then I thought of Riven’s confession of love and my own confession in return.

Eventually, my eyes grew heavy, and sleep claimed me.

The dream started differently than my usual visions. Normally, they were prophetic nightmares, but this time I found myself standing in a clearing bathed in silver moonlight. The air shimmered with an otherworldly quality, and I knew immediately that this wasn't a normal dream.

"Callista."

The voice was familiar. I turned to find a woman standing behind me, though calling her a woman felt inadequate. She radiated divine energy, her form seeming to shift between solid and translucent and her eyes containing the wisdom of millennia.

The Moon Goddess.

I dropped to my knees instinctively. "Goddess—"

"Rise, child." Her smile was gentle. "We don't have much time, and there is much I need to tell you."

I stood on shaking legs. "Is this real? Are you really here?"

“As real as anything in this world,” she said, moving closer. I felt power rolling off her in waves. “I’ve been watching you and your mate. You’ve done well so far, but the hardest part is yet to come.”

My stomach clenched. "The Alpha King. He knows something about Riven—"

“Don’t worry about that,” she interrupted, her expression turning grave. “He will prove a challenge for both of you, but right now, you need to focus on something more important, which is your bond with Riven and the darkness that lives inside him.”

“The demon,” I whispered.”

“Yes,” she said, standing before me. “The demon has been part of him since birth. It’s grown with him, fed off his strength, and his wolf’s very essence. And now it’s reaching its critical point.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice hesitant.

“The demon wants its freedom. It’s been whispering things to him, showing him visions and trying to convince him of things, but that’s all I know.” Her eyes held infinite sadness. “Love is the only thing that can contain the demon and with time, will destroy it.”

My throat tightened. “So the bond—”

“The bond is essential, but bonds can exist without love. They can be hollow things, based on attraction and instinct. Nothing more.” She cupped my face gently. “What I’m asking of you is harder. I need you to fall in love with him fully. Not just the mate bond pulling you together and making your stomach have butterflies. But real love, because you will see all his flaws and his darkness now. Choose him anyway.”

“But I already—”

“You’re not in love with him yet,” she corrected gently. “You’ve not been tested and put through it all, haven't seen him at his worst. Can you love him fully when you haven’t faced the moments when the demon makes him push you away, makes him cruel or cold or distant to protect you from what he thinks he is?" She paused. "Those moments are coming and when they do, you must choose to stay and to love him through it."

"Even when it's hard?" I asked.

"Especially when it's hard." Her smile was sad. "Love isn't tested in the easy moments, child. It's tested when someone annoys you, frustrates you, makes mistakes, and shows you their worst parts. That's when you discover if what you feel is real or just convenient."

I thought about Riven and his cockiness that sometimes drove me crazy, along with his overprotectiveness and the way he kept secrets. The demon that made his eyes go black. All the complications that came with being bound to him.

"What if I can't?" I asked quietly. "What if the demon is too strong, or I'm not strong enough, or—"

"Then everyone you love dies." She said it simply, without dramatics. "The demon will consume him completely. The vision you saw of your pack slaughterer will come to pass. Riven will become a weapon of destruction, and there will be no one to pull him back from the edge."

Fear coiled in my stomach. "No pressure, then, right?”

Her laugh filled the air. "I wouldn't have chosen you if I didn't believe you were capable. But you must understand what I'm asking. You're sixteen years old, Callista. You should be worried about school and friends and normal concerns. Instead, I'm asking you to save someone from a darkness that's been part of him his entire life."

"Why me?" I asked, my voice cracking.

“Because no one else can do what you do. There is something deeper in you that you will discover as you grow. It’s more than just your seer abilities,” she said, dropping her hands from my face. “Your soul called to his before either of you ever met. The bond didn’t form by accident or even by a stroke of luck. It formed because you both were meant for each other, meant to save each other.”

The clearing began to shimmer slightly as the dream started to fade at the edges.

"Wait," I said urgently. "How do I do it? How do I make sure the love is strong enough?"

“Stay with him,” she said, her voice growing distant. “Go with him to NIghtshade territory as you’ve agreed. Be with him through all the moments. Let yourself be annoyed when he’s arrogant and laugh when he’s silly. But don’t forget to hold him when he’s afraid and don’t run when the demon surfaces. Don’t let him push you away when he tries to protect you from himself.”

"That sounds impossible." My mind was already reeling.

"Most worthwhile things are." Her form was fading now, translucent and wavering. "But you can do this, Callista. I have faith in both of you. Just remember to stay with him. Love him through the darkness, even when it's hard. Even when he makes you want to scream and when the demon tries to convince you both that you're better off apart."

"And if I do all that?"

"Then the love you build will be strong enough to contain the demon. To keep it locked away where it can't hurt anyone. To give Riven the life he deserves instead of the weapon others would make him into." Her final words whispered through the fading dream. "Go with him, child. Stay with him and love him with everything you have. It will be enough. I promise."

"But what about the Alpha King—"

"One battle at a time." Her voice was barely audible now. "First, secure the bond. Make it unbreakable. Then face whatever else comes together.”

The dream dissolved completely, and I woke up with a gasp.

Sunlight was streaming through the window. It was morning already. I sat up, my heart pounding with the Moon Goddess’s words still echoing in my ears.

I had to stay with him and love him through the darkness, even when he annoyed me. My phone buzzed with a text from Riven.

“Good morning. Ready for moving day?”

I stared at the message, then looked around my room. There were a couple of suitcases packed, but I was nowhere near done.

I shook my head, typing out a message. “Ready, see you soon.”

Deep down, I knew the Moon Goddess was right. There was no real choice here, not for me. I was going to Nightshade territory and staying with Riven. I was going to fall completely, irreversibly in love with him. All of him. And somehow, that love was going to be strong enough to save him.

It had to be.

Because the alternative was something I could never let happen. I got out of bed, looked at the rest of my room. Without thinking twice, I started packing again as her words continued to echo in my ears.

I just hoped she was right.