Chapter 160
Elowen's POV
One moment I was cradling Ronan's bleeding body, the next—darkness swallowed everything.
When my vision cleared, I stood in the center of a cathedral. The Gothic arches stretched up into shadows above me. Stained glass windows showed twisted scenes I didn't want to look at too closely.
My hands were clean. No blood. No dirt. Like the chaos on the mountain had never happened.
"What did you do with him?" My voice echoed off stone walls. "Where's Ronan?"
"Safe." Raven's voice came from somewhere I couldn't see. "Relatively speaking. He's resting on the mountaintop. I healed enough to keep him breathing."
Relief and suspicion warred in my chest. "Why would you—"
"I need your full attention, sweetheart. Can't have you distracted by a dying Alpha." His tone was almost bored. "Besides, I'm not a complete monster. Just... mostly one."
I spun around, trying to find him in the shadows. The silence pressed against my ears like water. My breath bounced back at me from every direction.
The emptiness inside me throbbed with each heartbeat. The bond with Casper and Cassian—still gone. Still silent. That hollow ache where my mates and babies used to hum beneath my skin felt like an open wound that wouldn't stop bleeding.
I'd felt this wrongness since Raven first dragged me into his realm. But knowing it didn't make it hurt any less. Each moment without them was agony.
My hand moved to my stomach. The gesture felt automatic now. Protective. Even though I couldn't feel them anymore.
"What do you want from me?" I demanded.
"Such hostility."
I whipped toward the voice. Raven stood near the altar now. But he looked... completely different.
Gone was the plain face with forgettable features. Gone were the boring gray eyes and mousy brown hair. Now he wore an expensive black suit that probably cost more than everything I owned. His hair was dark brown and perfectly styled. Sharp cheekbones. A face that belonged on magazine covers.
He'd been hiding his real appearance the whole time.
"You were pretending," I said. My throat felt tight. "All those times before. That wasn't your real face."
"A face is just a tool, sweetheart." He smiled, showing perfect white teeth. Then he jumped up onto the altar and sat down, legs swinging like a child on a playground. "I wear whatever serves my purpose."
The casual movement made my skin crawl. This creature had just nearly killed Ronan. Had ripped me away from my mates and unborn children. And now he sat there like we were having afternoon tea.
"Get to the point." My voice came out harder than I felt. "Tell me what you want so I can refuse and we can all move on."
He laughed. The sound echoed in a way that made my bones ache.
"I'm here to help you, actually."
"Help me." I crossed my arms over my chest, partly to hide how badly my hands were shaking. "Right. Because demons are known for their charity work."
"Such sass." He tilted his head, studying me like I was a puzzle he wanted to solve. "I like that about you. Most people are so boring when they're terrified."
"I'm not terrified." The lie tasted bitter on my tongue.
"Liar." But his smile widened, like my defiance amused him. "Let's talk about your little problem with the Moon Goddess, shall we?"
My stomach dropped. "How do you—"
"I know everything that happens in my territory, sweetheart. And Selene's little ultimatum?" He made a tsk sound. "Very harsh. Even for her."
I said nothing. My jaw hurt from clenching it so hard.
"She wants you to give up your mate bonds or your babies, correct?" He swung his legs again, heels thudding against the stone altar. "Quite the impossible choice."
"It's none of your business."
"Oh, but it is." He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "Because I found a loophole."
The word hung in the air between us. A loophole.
My heart started to race. Hope fluttered in my chest—unwanted, dangerous hope that I tried desperately to squash down.
"What loophole?" The words slipped out before I could stop them.
"Selene asked you to give up your 'destined mate bond' to resurrect Alpha Austin." He held up one finger. "But she never specified which type of bond."
"There's only one type of mate bond." My voice sounded uncertain even to my own ears.
"Is there?" His eyes gleamed red for just a second. "What about second chance mates? What about chosen mates? What about rejected mates who form new bonds?"
My breath caught. "You're saying..."
"I'm saying Selene left herself open to interpretation." He jumped down from the altar and started walking toward me. Each footstep echoed too loudly. "She wanted you to reject your bond with the Thornwood twins. But she never said you couldn't form a new one immediately after."
"That's insane." I stepped back. My heel hit something—a pew. "You can't just... you can't trick a goddess. You can't abandon your family. Your—the people you love."
"Why not?" He stopped a few feet away. Close enough that I could smell him now. Metal. Incense. Blood. "People do it all the time. And besides..." His voice dropped lower, almost intimate. "Do you really think Casper and Cassian would ever look at another woman? Especially when you're carrying their children?"
My hand moved to my stomach again. That empty, aching space where life should be growing.
"They would never," I whispered.
"Exactly." He smiled. "They're completely devoted to you. Obsessed, really. So even if you technically reject the bond, they won't seek another mate. You'll still be together. Still be a family. You'd just be... technically unbonded for a brief moment."
I shook my head. "This sounds too easy. There has to be a catch."
"Oh, there's always a catch, sweetheart." He moved closer. I could see flecks of gold in his red eyes now. "The magic required to fool a goddess? It's complicated. Dangerous. And..."
"And?"
"And Selene might already have someone lined up to replace you."
My blood turned to ice. "What?"
"Think about it." His voice turned soft. Almost gentle, which somehow made it worse. "She gave you an impossible choice. She must have known you'd struggle to decide. What Alpha female wouldn't have a backup plan?"
"No." My voice cracked. "No, she wouldn't—"