Chapter 122 THE TAKEOVER

Chapter 122 THE TAKEOVER

LUNA LEENA POV

Damian’s hand gripped mine so tightly I could feel his fear through our bond. He was breathing fast, his eyes wild with panic. The healer sat quietly, watching us with a heavy expression after explaining who Gotham was.

“What can we do?” Damian asked urgently, his voice rough. “Tell us right now. That cursed woman must not take over my wife’s body. How do we get rid of her? There must be something! Anything!”

The healer thought for a long moment, his old face creased with worry. He looked at me carefully, then at Damian.

“Tell me something first,” he said. “How does the spirit react whenever The Alpha gets close to you? When he touches you or tries to comfort you?”

I swallowed hard before answering.

“Every time he comes near me… every time he touches me or kisses me, the voice loses control. It shouts angrily inside my head. It tells me to stay away from him. It says he makes me weak. That his love is making me soft and useless and the scar burns more.”

The healer’s eyes lit up with understanding. He nodded slowly.

“That is it,” he said. “That is the key. Your mate's bond with Damian is the one thing Gotham hates the most. Love, closeness, and physical bonding create light. Gotham is pure darkness and hatred. The stronger your bond becomes, the weaker she gets.”

Damian leaned forward desperately. “Then what should we do? Tell us clearly.”

The healer looked at both of us without shame.

“You need to be together. Intimately. As close as a mated pair can be. Have sex. Bond with each other fully and deeply. Do not hold back. The spirit fears this kind of light and connection. It will fight hard, but if you stay together long enough and pour your love into each other, it can push her out or at least weaken her control significantly.”

I felt my face heat up, but I didn’t look away. Damian’s grip on my hand tightened even more.

“We haven’t been together since the spirit started getting stronger,” I admitted quietly. “Every time he tried to get close, the voice would scream and make me push him away.”

The healer nodded. “That is exactly why you must do it now. Do not waste time. The longer you wait, the stronger she becomes. Go. Be with each other. Fight her with your bond.”

Damian stood up immediately, pulling me gently but firmly to my feet. His eyes were full of determination and love, even through the fear.

“Thank you,” he said to the healer.

We didn’t wait another second. Damian kept holding my hand as we left the healer’s hut. The walk back to the palace felt both long and too short. My heart was racing. I was nervous, but I also felt a spark of hope. Maybe this was the way. Maybe our love could still save me.

…….

The door closed behind us with a soft click. The moment we were alone, the air in the room felt thicker. Damian turned to me, his eyes dark with love, fear, and determination all at once. He stepped closer and cupped my face with both hands, his thumbs gently stroking my cheeks.

“I love you, Leena,” he whispered. “No matter what is inside you, I love you. We are going to fight this together.”

Before I could respond, he leaned in and kissed me. The kiss was slow at first, full of tenderness, but it quickly deepened. His lips moved against mine with hunger and desperation, like he was afraid this might be the last time he could hold me. I kissed him back just as fiercely, my hands sliding up his chest and into his hair. For a few beautiful seconds, the voice in my head was silent.

We moved toward the bed without breaking the kiss. Damian lifted me gently and laid me down, his body covering mine. His hands roamed over my sides, my waist, my thighs, touching me like he wanted to memorize every inch of my skin. I shivered under his touch. Every stroke of his fingers sent warmth spreading through me, pushing back against the burning of the scar.

“Stay with me,” he murmured against my neck as he kissed down my throat. “Feel me, Leena. Only me.”

He undressed me slowly, reverently, kissing every part of me he revealed. My shoulders, my breasts, my stomach. When his mouth closed over one nipple, I arched into him with a soft moan. The pleasure was sharp and sweet. The voice tried to scream in my head, but it felt distant, drowned out by the feeling of Damian’s hands and lips on me.

I pulled at his clothes until he was naked too. His body was warm and strong against mine. I ran my hands over his back, feeling the muscles tense under my touch. When he settled between my thighs and slowly pushed inside me, we both gasped. He filled me completely, stretching me in the most delicious way. For a moment, everything else disappeared, the scar, the voice, the fear. There was only us.

Damian moved slowly at first, deep and steady, his eyes locked on mine. “I love you,” he whispered with every thrust. “You are mine. She cannot have you.”

I wrapped my legs around him, pulling him deeper. The pleasure built slowly, wave after wave, until I was trembling beneath him. He kissed me again, swallowing my moans as he moved faster. Our bodies moved together perfectly, like they always had. Sweat slicked our skin. Our breaths mixed. The bond between us glowed brighter than the scar ever could.

The voice screamed louder in my head, furious and desperate. Stop! He weakens you! Push him away! But I held onto Damian tighter, refusing to listen. Every thrust, every kiss, every whispered “I love you” pushed the voice further back.

When the pleasure finally crashed over me, I cried out his name, my body tightening around him. Damian followed right after, groaning deeply as he spilled inside me. He collapsed on top of me, breathing hard, still buried deep. We stayed like that for a long time, skin to skin, hearts beating together.

For the first time in days, the scar felt cool. The voice was silent. Damian lifted his head and looked at me, his eyes soft and full of love. He brushed damp hair from my face and kissed me gently.

“Are you still with me?” he asked quietly.

I nodded, tears slipping from the corners of my eyes. “I’m here. For now… I’m still here.”

He smiled and pulled me closer, wrapping his strong arms around me protectively. We lay tangled together, breathing slowly, letting the warmth of our bond settle over us.

But even as I drifted toward sleep in his arms, I knew the fight wasn’t over.

The voice was only quiet. It wasn’t gone.

…….

I woke up in the middle of the night with a scream trapped in my throat. The voice was no longer whispering. It was screaming. Loud. Sharp. Endless. It filled my entire head like thunder, shouting words I could barely understand but felt deep in my bones.

Mine… Mine… This body is mine!

I clutched my head and sat up quickly. Damian was sleeping beside me, but I couldn’t stay. The noise was driving me crazy. I slipped out of bed and ran out of the room barefoot, my nightgown flowing behind me. The corridors were dark and silent, but the voice inside my head was deafening.

I burst out of the palace and ran straight to the garden. My only safe place. My feet hit the cold grass as I covered my ears with both hands, but it didn’t help. The voice was inside me.

“Stop!” I screamed, falling to my knees near the fountain. “Get out of my head! Please!”

The voice only grew louder. I started scratching at my arms, trying to tear the burning scar out of my skin. My nails dug deep, drawing blood, but the pain didn’t silence the voice. It laughed. It laughed loudly inside me.

I screamed again, loud and broken, my voice echoing through the garden.

“Leena!”

Damian’s voice called from behind me. He must have woken up and seen the empty bed. I heard footsteps, his and several guards running toward me.

I wanted to run to him. I wanted to jump into his arms and beg him to make it stop. But my body wouldn’t move. My legs felt locked in place. A heavy pressure pushed down on my soul, like chains wrapping around me.

I felt myself being pushed back. Deeper. Further into the darkness inside my own body. I was becoming a prisoner in my own mind.

Then I saw her. A woman dressed in long black clothes appeared in front of me, inside my mind. Her eyes were blood red, her smile cruel and triumphant. She stepped forward and took control of my body like it was nothing.

“No!” I screamed at her, but no sound came out of my mouth. “Get out of my body! This is mine! Leave me alone!”

She didn’t even look at me. She simply smiled wider and took full control. Someone touched my shoulder from behind.

“Leena, my love…” Damian said gently.

The moment he touched me, my body, no, her body reacted violently. With one powerful swing of my arm, I threw him away. Damian flew backward and crashed hard into a tree. He fell to the ground, groaning in pain.

I stared at him with a smirk that wasn’t mine. My eyes burned red.

“Hello, pet mate,” a voice said through my lips. It sounded like many voices speaking at the same time cold, ancient, and terrifying.

Damian pushed himself up slowly, his eyes widening in horror as he looked at me.

“Gotham…” he muttered, his voice filled with fear.

The woman in black Gotham laughed through me. She stretched my arms out, enjoying the body like it was a new dress.

“Finally,” she said in that haunting multi-voice. “This body is strong. Much stronger than the weak little wolf who used to live here. I think I will enjoy it very much.”

I screamed inside my own mind, banging against the invisible walls that trapped me.

Give me back my body! Damian! Help me!

But no one could hear me. Damian stood up, his face pale. The guards behind him looked terrified, their weapons shaking in their hands. Gotham turned my head slowly and smiled at them with my lips.

“Now…” she said softly, dangerously. “Where shall we start?”I kept screaming inside, but it was useless. My body no longer belonged to me. Gotham had taken over. And the nightmare had only just begun.