Chapter 106 Between life and afterlife

Chapter 106 Between life and afterlife
Soraya

When I opened my eyes, Evander was sleeping on the floor. I just lay there, unmoving. He had no idea I was awake.

I could see the pain in Evander’s eyes. He had cried so much, his body was still shaking.

Was this how he would actually react if I died?

I shook my head. Why the hell was I even thinking about that now?

“Evander,” I said, his name weak in my voice, just like my body.

He got up so abruptly, staring at me like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“Hi,” I said softly.

“You’re not dead,” Evander said, wiping tears from his face. His hair was a mess, his clothes looked torn.

“You’re not dead,” he kept repeating as he walked slowly toward the bed. “You’re not dead.”

“I’m not dead, baby,” I said, sitting up slowly.

Evander pulled me into his arms, holding me so tightly it almost hurt.

“You’re not dead,” he repeated again and again. “I thought I lost you.”

I shook my head. “You’re going to actually kill me if you don’t let go.”

He let out a broken laugh and slowly loosened his grip.

“How are you still alive?” he asked. “The doctor confirmed you were dead.”

I cupped his face with my hands, forcing him to look at me.

“I didn’t die,” I said softly. “My soul got pulled out of my body. It was Sarah.”

“What?” he whispered.

“She told me that since she’s being buried, her soul will be free. She won’t be trapped here anymore. So she needed to tell me something.”

Evander’s expression shifted immediately.

“It was a rabbit wolf that killed her.”

His jaw tightened. I knew instantly he understood what I meant.

“Evander… what is a rabbit wolf?”

“A very, very dangerous creature,” he said quietly.

“How do we get rid of it?” I asked.

He cupped my face with both hands.

“That is not something you need to worry about. You need to worry about recovering.”

I smiled faintly. “I’m not sick. What happened… was just something that needed to happen.”

"Sarah told me not to blame myself," I added silently.

I felt something strange then—peace. Like the weight in my chest had finally loosened.

“So her soul was trapped here?” Evander asked.

I nodded. “Yes.”

“That’s so sad,” he said softly.

“Very, very sad. She didn’t deserve what happened to her. I just hope she finds peace in the afterlife.”

“Me too,” Evander said.

He took my hands and kissed them gently.

Then he placed one of my hands on his chest. His heart was racing.

The moment he spoke again, his voice broke.

“When I thought you were dead… I wanted to die too. I wanted to join you.”

My breath caught.

“Don’t say that, Evander. Please.”

He was still shaking. And for the first time, I realized—he wasn’t just afraid of losing me.

He was terrified of living without me.

I felt really horrible that he had to witness such a thing.

“Can we leave here, please?”

“Of course,” he said quickly.

I got off the bed. My legs felt a little bit wobbly. This was the first time I was experiencing something like this, and I hoped it would be the last—because never again.

I walked.

I walked quickly to the door, but Evander, who had been standing there, didn’t move. I turned around to look at him.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

He shook his head. “I’m just glad you’re alive,” he said again before sweeping me into his arms.

“You know I can walk, right?”

He shook his head. “You’re not allowed to walk. At least not yet.”

He carried me straight to his place. When he passed by the doctors, everyone stared, confused, but Evander didn’t stop for anyone to ask questions.

When we got to his place, he took me into the room and placed me back on the bed.

“You know I’m fine,” I said again, but he wasn’t buying it—not even a little bit.

“Soraya, I need you to tell me what exactly happened and how it happened. Your soul being pulled out of your body is something I’ve only heard of once, and the amount of power it takes to do that… that’s like killing you temporarily. You were actually dead.”

“I know,” I said. “Sarah said she had been practicing, and it took her a while to get the hang of it—trying to communicate with us.”

He frowned slightly. “She must have had a strong connection to you. That’s why she was able to pull you.”

“Maybe,” I said.

“By the way, if my history professor asks you why I was screaming about bees in her class… this is why.”

He smiled faintly. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“I’m glad I’m okay too,” I said.

I still felt a little weak, so I lay back down on the bed. Evander sat by my side without moving.

And we didn’t speak.

We just stayed there quietly.

Everything that happened today showed us what our lives would be like if we lost each other—and I didn’t want to live in a world where I had to lose Evander.

It would be better if I died and he got to live.

I stared at him from the corner of my eye while pretending to sleep.

He was shaking.

Evander was a powerful Alpha, a man who could withstand a lot of things—but I had never seen him this afraid.

I kept my eyes half-closed, pretending to be asleep while watching him carefully.

His hands rested on his knees, clenched so tightly his knuckles had turned white. Every few seconds, he would glance at me like he thought I was going to die again.

He exhaled sharply and leaned forward, elbows on his thighs.

“I can’t lose you,” he whispered in a low voice, as if afraid to wake me up. “I really can’t. Life isn’t worth living if you’re not in it. Soraya, don’t leave me.”

He cried as I lay there still. I didn’t move a single muscle. I just heard the man I loved break.

I didn’t know how to convince him that I wasn’t dying or that I wasn’t going anywhere. What happened today was a one-time thing, but how do you tell someone you love—who just saw you die—that they should forget about it?

He stood and walked to the window, then came back again, unable to settle. He sat on the edge of the bed, restless.

“I can fight anybody. I can go to hell and back for you. But I can’t lose you. I can’t,” he said.

I had read that when a mate dies, it feels like a part of the surviving mate is cut off. And maybe that was what he was feeling right now.

And I didn’t know how to comfort him.

So I lay there on the bed, still pretending to be asleep.

After almost 2 hours of pretending to be asleep, he finally got on the bed and lay beside me, his arm draped over me. He leaned closer again and whispered into my ear, “I would love you. I will protect you. I will fight for you.”

He lay down, then I turned to look at him.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” he asked, surprised.

I smiled. “I heard everything you said. Please, Evander, I need you to stop worrying, okay? I’m fine. I am alive, and I love you for everything you do for me, and I will always love you. I’m not going anywhere. I am not dying soon. I’m going to become your wife, Evander.”

And that actually made him smile.