Chapter 106 Chapter 106

Chapter 106 Chapter 106
_Leah’s POV_

At first there was only the dark.

It felt heavy and soft at the same time. Like I was at the bottom of a deep lake.

Then I felt something warm.

It brushed against my cheek. It moved through my hair. Then I heard a low voice.

“Leah… please… open your eyes. Please.”

It was Kayden.

My heart stirred.

Athena’s voice came from very far away. Follow him. He is your way back.

I tried. I pushed toward the warmth...toward the voice. And then the dark cracked.

Light slipped in through the cracks. My chest hurt. My head throbbed. My fingers tingled.

I dragged in a sharp breath. Air rushed into my lungs. I coughed hard.

Familiar arms tightened around me at once. “Leah!” Kayden’s voice broke on my name. “Leah, look at me. Come on. Come back to me.”

My eyelids felt heavy but I forced them open. The world swam into focus. The first thing I saw was his face.

He was leaning over me. His eyes were wild and red-rimmed, his jaw was tight. There was dirt on his cheek and blood on his neck. His hair was messy. His chest was rising and falling too fast.

He looked like he had been to hell and back.

“Kayden,” I whispered. My voice came out weak and rough.

His breath shuddered. He let out a sound that was half laugh and half sob. “Thank the Moon Goddess,” he said. “You’re awake.”

I realized then that I was in his lap. He was sitting on the cold temple floor with his back against a broken pillar. I was cradled against his chest. His arms were wrapped around me like he would never let go.

The stone under us was hard. The air smelled like blood, smoke and burnt magic.

“She will be fine,” the seer said. “She has returned to her body. The spirit has settled. The bond has anchored her again.”

I turned my head a little.

The seer was kneeling beside us. Her face was pale with exhaustion.

I swallowed. My throat burned. “I’m… really here?” I asked.

She nodded once. “Yes. You are fully inside your body now.”

Athena’s voice echoed gently inside my mind. You did it, Leah. You came back.

Tears burned my eyes. “I… I thought I was going to disappear,” I whispered to her inside my head. “I thought I was going to get stuck in that void.”

You were stubborn, Athena replied. That saved you. That, and your Alpha’s foolish and loud heart.

Kayden frowned a little. “You’re talking to her, aren’t you?” he asked quietly. “To Athena.”

I blinked up at him. “Yes,” I admitted.

He huffed weakly. “Tell her thank you,” he muttered. “Even if she still scares me a little.”

I almost smiled. Athena snorted softly. I heard that.

I tried to push myself up.

Kayden loosened his grip a little but kept one arm firm around my back as I shifted, so I was sitting more upright in his lap.

Pain shot through my muscles. My body felt heavy and strange like I had been gone for days instead of… I didn’t even know how long.

I looked around.

The temple was a mess.

Stone was cracked in several places. Some pillars had broken at the top. The candles had either burned out or melted into puddles. The symbol Susan drew on the floor was smeared and broken.

Warriors were scattered around. A few were being helped by others. There was blood on the floor and on their clothes, but I heard low groans and curses, not silence. That was good. It meant they were alive.

I saw Fred standing near the entrance with a cut on his cheek and a torn shirt. He was giving orders in a hoarse voice. A few other wolves I knew from the pack were leaning on each other. They were catching their breath.

My chest squeezed.

“What… happened after?” I asked. “After the dark?”

Kayden tightened his arm around me. “You fainted… or your spirit let go. I don’t know the right word,” he said quietly. “One moment you were inside me. Then you left. You dropped to the floor. We thought…”

His voice broke. He looked away for a second.

The seer spoke gently. “Your soul slipped out of the host. That is normal. Possession is not meant to last. The body you were meant for tugged on you. It called you back. But the path between was not easy. That is why you were unresponsive for a while.”

“How long?” I asked.

“A few minutes,” she said. “It felt longer to him.”

Kayden let out a shaky breath. “It felt like years,” he murmured.

Guilt pricked at me. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

He stared at me like I had grown a second head. “Do not ever say sorry for surviving. Never. Do you hear me?”

I nodded slowly.

My gaze moved again. That was when I saw it.

On the floor, near the broken symbol and the dark pool of blood, lay Tariq’s severed head.

His eyes were half-open. He was staring at nothing. His mouth was still twisted in a small and angry snarl. His hair was matted with blood. The sight made my stomach twist but I could not look away.

Memories slammed into me; the sword, the red moon, Sarah.

I sucked in a sharp breath.

Kayden felt the jolt go through me. He followed my gaze.

“Tariq,” I whispered.

“Yes,” Kayden said. There was no pity in his voice. “He is dead.”

I stared at the gruesome sight a little longer. Then something inside me finally loosened.

He was truly gone. He would never wait for me again like a snake in the dark. He would never touch me. He would never hurt another girl the way he hurt Sarah.

I let out a long breath. Relief washed over me so strong it made me dizzy.

Athena’s voice softened. The monster is gone. The story of his cruelty ends here.

Tears spilled down my cheeks.

Kayden brushed them away with his thumb. “Hey,” he said softly. “You’re safe now. Do not cry.”

“I’m not crying because I’m scared,” I said. My voice trembled, but I meant it. “I’m crying because… it’s over. He’s really gone. He will never bother me again. He will never haunt my dreams again.”

Kayden’s eyes softened. He pulled me closer and wrapped both arms around me in a tight hug. He pressed my head against his chest.

“I know,” he murmured into my hair. “It’s over. We have finally got rid of the monster.”

I clung to him with weak hands. “Yes,” I whispered. “He will never bother us again.”

The seer stood up slowly and dusted off her hands. “Right now, we need to secure the area. We need to burn the bodies and cleanse this place. The stain of their magic must be erased.”

I glanced at Susan’s corpse lying not far from Tariq’s. Her eyes were empty. There was a black burnt mark where her heart had been.

I shivered.

“Will she come back?” I asked. “Like a ghost? Like a shadow?”

“No,” the seer said. “You and I made sure of that. Her heart was removed and her power burned. She is gone.”

Kayden shifted me gently in his lap. “Can she stand?” he asked the seer. “Is it safe to move her?”

“She will be weak for a while,” the seer answered. “Her soul did a lot tonight. But yes, she can move. She should move. Staying on this altar is not good for any living person.”

I nodded quickly. “Please get me off this floor. I never want to lie on a witch altar again.”

Kayden huffed a small laugh. “Agreed."

He slid one arm under my knees and the other behind my back. I squeaked a little as he lifted me in a bridal carry.

“I can walk,” I protested weakly.

“No,” he said. His tone left no room for argument. “You will let me carry you. My wolf deserves this much after everything you put him through.”

I rolled my eyes a little but my heart felt full. “Fine,” I said. “Just don’t drop me.”

“Never,” Kayden said simply.

As he carried me away from the altar, I glanced back one last time at Tariq’s body.

I was not happy to see him dead. It was not joy.
It was something quieter....something deeper.

Peace.

I whispered in my mind, Goodbye, Sarah.

Athena answered softly, She hears you. Wherever she is, she is free.

I rested my head on Kayden’s shoulder. My body hurt. My mind was tired. But for the first time in a very long time, I did not feel hunted.

The monster was gone.

And I was in my Alpha’s arms.

Maybe, just maybe, everything really would be fine now.