Chapter 117
Elowen's POV
I pulled the office door open, ready to leave Drake and my mother to whatever justice those three Alphas would deliver. My hand trembled on the handle. Behind me, I could hear the ragged breathing of men circling their prey.
Good. Let them suffer.
I stepped forward, expecting to walk into the hallway. Instead, pure white light surrounded me. The doorframe vanished. The walls disappeared. Everything became endless, brilliant white.
My heart stopped.
"Am I dead?" I whispered. The words echoed in the vast emptiness, bouncing back at me from nowhere and everywhere at once.
Panic clawed at my chest. "Juno? JUNO!"
Silence. My wolf didn't answer.
"Oh God. Oh God, I'm dead—"
"No, child." A woman's voice drifted through the light. Soft. Ancient. "You are very much alive."
The light shifted. A figure materialized before me, walking out of the brightness like she was part of it. She was... perfect. Too perfect. Silver hair fell in a straight middle part down to her waist, shimmering like moonlight on water. Her eyes were pale gold, warm and knowing. Her skin looked flawless, porcelain smooth. She wore a flowing white gown that moved like liquid silk.
Her lips were soft pink, curved in a gentle smile.
My breath caught. She looked like every painting, every statue, every depiction of—
"No." I shook my head, backing up a step. "No, this is a trick. You're not real. Drake—he must have poisoned me or something. This is a hallucination."
The woman's smile didn't falter. "You think I am false?"
"I think I'm dying and my brain is making up comforting images." My voice cracked. "Or worse—you're some demon wearing her face."
Her golden eyes flickered with something. Amusement? Sadness?
"Look at your hands, child."
I glanced down. My hands were solid. Real.
"That proves nothing. Dreams feel real too."
"Juno?" The woman called out, her voice carrying authority. "Tell your human she's being stubborn."
"I... I think..." Juno's voice suddenly filled my mind, trembling with awe. "Elowen, we're in Her realm. The Moon Goddess."
"You could be fake too," I said to Juno, even as my heart started to believe. "This could all be—"
The woman—Selene—raised one hand. The white space around us rippled. Images formed in the air like projections.
Cindy sat beside Ethan's hospital bed, holding his hand. Her face was wet with tears. "Don't leave me," she begged. "Please don't leave me."
One more image. Alpha Austin's body on the ground, Luna Ella collapsed beside it, screaming.
"Stop." My voice broke. "Stop, please."
The images vanished. I was shaking, tears pouring down my face.
"Do you believe me now?" Selene asked gently.
I nodded, unable to speak. My knees gave out. I sank to the ground, or what passed for ground in this place.
"Forgive me." I wiped my eyes with shaking hands. "I've met too many liars lately. Too many people wearing masks."
"Your caution is wise." Selene moved closer. "Come. Sit with me properly."
She gestured, and a pool of water appeared from nowhere. Crystal clear. The surface perfectly still, reflecting the white light above.
I stood on trembling legs and walked to her. Sat on the edge beside her. My blood-stained dress pooled around me.
"You heard my prayer," I said, my voice still uncertain.
"I hear all prayers." Selene's golden eyes studied me with an intensity that made me feel naked. Seen. "But yours... yours carried such weight. Such desperation. The kind that echoes through realms."
"Don't refuse Her anything," Juno suddenly warned inside my mind, her voice sharp with fear. "When the Moon Goddess offers, you accept. No matter what."
What does that mean?
"Juno worries," Selene said, and I realized she was reading my thoughts. Reading everything. "She is right to. But I am not here to harm you, child."
I swallowed hard. "Then why am I here?"
"Because I wanted to know you before I made my decision."
Ice flooded my veins. "Decision about what?"
Selene didn't answer. Instead, she asked, "Are you happy, Elowen?"
The question caught me completely off guard. "I... I'm scared. My friend's mate is dying. Alpha Austin is dead. Everything is falling apart. How can I—"
"That is not what I asked." Her voice remained gentle. Patient. Like a mother speaking to a confused child.
I thought about Casper and Cassian. The way they held me. Protected me. Loved me despite everything. The way Casper's smile made my heart flutter. The way Cassian's intensity made me feel safe.
"I'm not unhappy," I said slowly, choosing my words carefully. "My life is better than most. I have two mates who love me. I have Cindy. I have purpose. I'm not... not unhappy."
"But are you happy?"
I reached down to touch the water, needing something to do with my hands. My fingers met only air. No sensation. Nothing. No wetness, no temperature, no resistance.
"What...?" I pulled my hand back, staring at it. "Why can't I—"
"You cannot feel the water because if you experienced the true force of this universe, you might not be able to return." Selene's expression turned serious, almost sad. "The power here would burn through your mortal form like paper in a fire. And you still have work to do in your world."
"Then why bring me here at all?"
"Because I wanted to know you before I made my decision," she repeated.
My hands clenched in my lap. "What decision? Please, just tell me."
Selene waved her hand. The blood stains vanished from my dress. The fabric looked brand new, pristine white like her gown.
"I am tired, child." Selene looked at the water, her reflection shimmering. "Do you know what it means to be immortal? To watch everyone you care for suffer and die, over and over, for eternity?"
"But... you're a goddess. Life is eternal for you."
"Life is not eternal for everyone I touch." Her golden eyes met mine, and in them I saw sadness. Ancient, bone-deep sadness that made my own pain look like a paper cut. "Every wolf I create. Every bond I forge. Every love I bless. I watch them all fade into dust. It takes true strength to let go, to keep caring, to keep loving when you know the ending."
My heart ached for her. I'd never thought about what the Moon Goddess must feel, watching her children live and die.
"Elowen." Her voice turned firm, losing its gentleness. "If you could only save one—Alpha Austin or Ethan—who would you choose?"
The question hit me like a physical blow. All the air left my lungs.
"Alpha Austin is already dead." My voice came out hollow, defeated. Despair clawed at my throat. "I saw him fall. I saw Luna Ella collapse over his body. There's nothing left to save."
"Death is not always the end, child." Selene's golden eyes held mine. "Not for me. I can bring him back."
My heart stopped. "What?"
"I have the power to restore his life." Her voice was calm, matter-of-fact, as if she was discussing the weather. "To pull his soul back from the void and return it to his body."
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. "You... you can bring people back from the dead?"
"I am the Moon Goddess." A hint of sadness flickered across her perfect face. "Life and death dance at my command. But such power comes with a price. Always a price."
My mind reeled. Austin could live again. Luna Ella wouldn't have to suffer. Casper and Cassian wouldn't lose their father.
But...
"So I ask you again, Elowen." Selene's voice cut through my spiraling thoughts. "If you could only save one—bring Alpha Austin back from death, or save Ethan from dying—who would you choose?"