Chapter 240

Chapter 240
Natasha's POV

I glance down at my hands—clean of blood—but the life inside me feels disturbingly absent. My baby... is it still there? Fear claws at my chest, savage and unrelenting.

The last thing I remember is blood staining my fingers. Victor must have stabbed me. The bastard finally got what he wanted!

"Damn it, I can't die," I desperately paddle forward, my limbs flailing uselessly through the silver void. "Alexander needs me, my baby needs medical help!" Suddenly my body pulses with strange power, but every attempt to move feels like swimming through molasses.

"You're not dead, Natasha." A gentle female voice echoes around me, rippling with otherworldly harmonics like a thousand voices speaking as one.

My breath catches as a massive silver wolf materializes in the light before me. Her coat shimmers like captured moonlight, surrounded by what appear to be floating black holes, but on closer inspection are swirling vortices with countless stars dancing within them. I stare, mesmerized, feeling my consciousness being pulled toward those spinning spirals.

Then she moves, her fur flowing like liquid mercury. Each step she takes leaves twinkling silver traces behind her, like stars mapping her path.

"Astra? Is it really you?" I can't believe my eyes. I never imagined she would be this breathtaking.

"For many years, I've been waiting for this moment." The silver wolf approaches slowly, her eyes the same shade of green as mine. The sensation is indescribable—like looking at a mirror reflection that's somehow also your soul's twin.

I reach toward her, then hesitate mid-motion. "I screwed everything up, didn't I?" My voice breaks, guilt washing over me like a tidal wave. "I couldn't control your power in time... Alexander might have..."

Astra shakes her head, her silver mane rippling like ocean waves. "Don't be so quick to blame yourself." She circles me with graceful steps. "Some things, even a Lunawolf cannot control."

The silver space suddenly warps, transforming into flowing memory scenes. "What is this?" I gasp, reaching out in wonder. The images show fragments of Alexander and me, from our first meeting to our final standoff on the cliff.

I hadn't realized how much Alexander and I had been through together. Without thinking, I reach out to touch his face—still confident and strong in the memory, nothing like moments ago when Victor had him pinned down in agony. Tears float around me as my hand passes through the illusion.

I desperately try to gather the fragmenting images, but they slip through my fingers, continuously breaking apart and reforming.

Too afraid to reach for Alexander's face again, I turn to Astra, my throat tight. "What... what's happening?"

"You're in the middle state of awakening," Astra sits, her tail curling elegantly around her body. "Time has no meaning here."

I whirl toward her, terror gripping my heart. "What about my baby? And the real Alexander? Victor's knife... I felt blood..." My voice trembles as my hands instinctively cradle my abdomen.

Astra steps forward, gently nudging my hand with her nose. "Don't worry. We're merging now. That knife can't hurt us anymore."

I look skeptically at my stomach—no wound visible, but anxiety still churns inside me. "Then why am I here? Why not let me go back?" I pace anxiously, dread coiling around my heart like a serpent.

Astra's ears suddenly droop, her eyes flashing with sorrow. "There's something... I must ask you, Natasha." She seems reluctant.

"What?" I drop to my knees to meet her gaze, a sense of foreboding washing over me.

Astra avoids my eyes. "If... if you return and find Alexander has already..."

"No!" I leap to my feet, fists clenched, my entire body shaking. "Don't say it! He's not dead! He can't be!" Hot tears float around me, sparkling like diamonds in the void.

I can't imagine life without Alexander.

Without Sophia... without my baby...

Everything around me starts to blur. My chest feels hollowed out, like someone carved away a vital piece of me.

Astra sighs softly. "I could let you stay here, Natasha. No pain. No suffering."

"That's not living, Astra." I wipe at my tears, but the droplets floating around me only multiply.

"Do you understand what you're refusing?" Astra rises, her form growing more majestic, nearly filling my entire vision. "Here, there is no betrayal, no pain, no goodbyes."

I shake my head, a bitter smile tugging at my lips. "Also no Alexander's smile, no Sophia's hugs, no first cry from my baby." As I speak, my resolve to return only strengthens.

"Even if he's already dead, you still want to go back?" Astra seems puzzled. Despite being my wolf, she can't comprehend how deeply humans can feel.

I take a deep breath and straighten my spine. "Yes. Whatever's waiting for me, I need to face it myself."

Astra simply nods.

"Very well."

The silver space suddenly collapses, and I feel a dizzying freefall. "Astra!" I cry out, grasping for something, anything, but catching only emptiness.

"I'm always with you, Natasha," Astra's voice whispers in my ear, like a gentle sigh.

My eyes snap open to find myself lying at the cliff's edge, the storm finally passed. The clouds have parted, revealing a full moon hanging heavy in the night sky.

I stare at my hands in shock—they're silver wolf paws.

I've completely transformed.

This realization echoes through my mind as I feel my body lighter and stronger than ever before, every muscle charged with power.

I try taking a step, amazed at the coordination of my four limbs. The sensation is incredible, as if this is how I was always meant to be. But I don't have time to indulge in this novel experience—I must find Alexander.

The air is thick with the metallic scent of blood, making my heart clench. My senses have become extraordinarily sharp; I can smell every fragrance, hear every distant sound.

When I spot Victor lying on the ground, my pace slows. There's a massive wound in his chest, the silver dagger shattered into fragments scattered around him. I don't linger for him, but continue searching for Alexander.

Then I see him.

"Alexander!"