Chapter 98 Chapter 98
_Leah’s POV_
The words struck me like a blade.
I froze.
Dead.
For a second, I could not even think. The mist under my feet felt thinner. The pale light around us flickered like a candle about to die.
“No,” I whispered. “No, I’m not dead.”
My mother’s eyes were wide with fear. Her hands still gripped my shoulders as if she could hold me in place and keep me from sinking deeper into this realm.
“This place is for souls,” she said. Her voice shook. “It is for the ones who have already crossed.”
“I know,” I said quickly. “But I didn’t cross fully. I came here with help.”
Her brows pulled together. “Help?”
I forced myself to breathe the way Athena told me. Not with lungs but with spirit. I tried to steady my thoughts. If I panicked, I would lose focus. If I lost focus, I did not know what would happen.
“A seer helped me. She used her magic. She sent my soul here. My body is still… there.”
My mother stared at me like she did not want to believe it but wanted to cling to it anyway.
“You’re saying you are alive?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said firmly. “I am alive. I have to be. I have people waiting for me. Kayden is waiting for me.”
At his name, a faint warmth pulsed inside my chest, even though I did not have a real chest. It was a thin thread; a reminder of the bond that still existed between us.
“I can still feel him,” I told my mother. “That means the mate bond is not broken. I’m not dead.”
My mother’s lips parted. Her eyes filled with tears that glowed and vanished as soon as they fell. “But why would you come here?” she whispered. “Why risk this?”
“Because I have to find someone,” I said. “I have to find Sarah.”
The moment I said the name, my mother’s face changed. Confusion became sharp fear.
“And Tariq,” I added quietly. “Sarah is Tariq’s true mate.”
My mother went still....so still. It was like the realm froze around her. Her hands slipped off my shoulders. She took a step back.
“Tariq…” she whispered.
Her voice sounded like it hurt. Then she pressed her hand against her chest, as if she remembered the pain of dying.
“No,” she said. “No… not that name.”
I stepped toward her. “Mom....”
But she flinched away. “He… he is a monster,” she whispered. “He is not a man. He is not even a wolf. He is something rotten. Something cursed.”
My throat tightened. A dark anger stirred in me. “Yes, I know.....I know what he is.”
“I know the whole truth about Tariq. He made my life a living hell. He hurt me. He trapped me. He tried to break me.”
My mother’s eyes widened again. “He touched you?” she asked. Her voice was shaking. “He harmed you?”
I wanted to say no. I wanted to protect her. But I could not lie.
“Yes,” I whispered. “He did.”
Her face crumpled. She covered her mouth, a sound leaving her like a broken sob.
I grabbed her hands. “Mom, listen to me. I am still here. I am fighting. I am not broken.”
She shook her head slowly like she could not accept that her baby suffered because she was gone. “I failed you,” she whispered. “I left you alone.”
“You did not,” I said quickly. “You did not choose to leave. He murdered you. He murdered Dad. He stole you from me.”
Her eyes flashed with pain. Then, they hardened. For a second, I saw something fierce in her, something I had never gotten to see in life.
“Tariq…” she whispered again. “He killed us because we ruined his plans.”
“I know,” I said. “And now he wants to kill me too.”
My mother stared at me. “Why?”
I took a slow breath. “Because I have the same blood as you. Because my death is supposed to end his curse.”
"And I have come here to find Sarah. She is his true mate and the only one who can destroy him. Even if I use my powers, I cannot kill him."
My mother’s eyes narrowed. “Sarah… she is his true mate,” she murmured.
“Yes. And she is the only one who can end his immortality.”
My mother’s lips trembled. “Only she can kill him?”
“That’s what the seer said,” I answered. “Sarah’s soul is tied to his fate. She is the key. She is the one who can end him.”
I squeezed my mother’s hands. “That’s why I’m here,” I said. “I need to find her and release her soul. So she can take her revenge. So she can destroy Tariq. It is the only way I can finally be free.”
My mother stared at me. Then she looked around quickly again, like she feared the mist itself could hear us. “You can’t say his name loudly here,” she whispered. “It draws attention.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered back.
I pulled my mother closer and lowered my voice. “I don’t know where Sarah is. That’s the problem. I’ve been searching but I can’t find her.”
My mother’s face tightened. Then she whispered, “Since I came here… I have been hearing a voice.”
My breath caught. “A voice?”
“Yes,” she said. “A woman. She cries all the time. Her voice is not like the others....not lost in their own grief. Her voice is sharp. She begs to be released.”
My heart jumped so hard my spirit felt like it shook. “Where?” I asked quickly.
My mother lifted her arm and pointed. Her finger aimed toward a darker part of the realm. The mist there was thicker and almost grey. The pale light faded as if it refused to enter.
“In that direction,” she whispered. “Always that direction. The crying always comes from there. I thought it was just another soul… but maybe… maybe it is Sarah.”
Hope flared in me so fast it almost hurt.
Athena’s voice rose. This could be her. Follow it.
“Please,” I begged my mother. “Show me. Please take me there.”
My mother hesitated. Fear flickered across her face. “This is dangerous."
“I know,” I said. “But I have to try.”
Her gaze held mine for a long moment. Then she nodded once. “Come. Stay close to me.”
We started walking. The mist rippled under our feet. The farther we went, the fewer souls we saw. The crowd thinned like smoke blown apart by wind. The sadness in the air grew heavier but the whispers became quieter. It felt like even grief did not want to follow us here.
As we walked, my mother glanced at me again and again, like she was scared I would vanish.
“How is your life… over there?” she asked softly.
The question hit me in a strange way. I had not thought about “over there” while standing in this unreal place. But hearing her ask, hearing her sound like a mother again, made my throat burn.
“It’s… complicated,” I admitted.
“Tell me,” she said. “Please. I need to know. I have needed to know for so long.”
I swallowed and this time it felt like it did something. It felt like I pushed emotion down so I could speak.
“I grew up as an omega,” I said. "I had no parents and no protection. People treated me like I was nothing.”
My mother’s face twisted with pain. “I’m sorry."
“It wasn’t your fault,” I said quickly. “But it was hard. And then… I found my mate.”
Her eyes widened. “You did?”
“Yes,” I said. “Kayden.”
At his name, the faint thread inside me warmed again.
My mother’s face softened. “Kayden…” she repeated. “Your mate.”
“Yes,” I said. “At first… he rejected me.”
Her eyes flashed. “He rejected you?”
I nodded. “He was manipulated. Tariq played with his mind. He made him believe lies. He pushed him to reject me.”
My mother’s hands clenched. “That monster,” she whispered.
“Yes,” I said quietly. “But later… I found out the truth. I uncovered what Tariq was planning. I learned about his curse. I learned that he has been using people like pieces on a board.”
“I fought back,” I said. “I didn’t stay small. I didn’t stay silent. And Kayden… Kayden learned the truth too.”
My mother watched me closely. “And he came back to you?”
“Yes, he did. He chose me. He fought for me. He called me his mate even when everything was falling apart.”
My mother’s eyes filled again. “Oh, Leah…”
“And now,” I continued, my voice shaking, “Tariq wants me dead. He thinks if he kills me, his curse will end. He is hunting me. He is hunting Kayden too.”
My mother’s face hardened. “Tariq is cunning and cruel. He will not give up.”
“I know. That’s why I have to free Sarah. It’s the only way.”
We walked deeper. The light faded more. The air felt thicker. The mist became darker and colder, like deep water turning to ice.
There were almost no souls now....only a few shapes in the distance, standing still like statues.
I noticed markings in the air. There were faint lines of shadow that looked like cracks. The realm felt wounded here.
Athena whispered, Dark magic stains places like this. Be careful.
My mother slowed. Then she stopped.
“This is… as far as I can go,” she whispered.
I blinked. “What?”
She pointed ahead. The darkness grew heavier there. It was almost solid. It looked like a wall made of fog.
“I cannot cross this point,” she said. Her voice broke with frustration. “I never could. Since the day I arrived here, this has been the limit.”
I stared. “But why?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. It has always been like this. I try to go further and something… stops me.”
She reached out her hand toward the darker mist. The moment her fingers touched it, the air shimmered and pushed back like invisible glass.
She flinched and pulled her hand away.
My stomach tightened.
Athena murmured, Try, Leah.
I stepped forward. My toes touched the darker mist. Nothing stopped me. I took another step....still nothing.
I looked back at my mother. “I… I can go,” I whispered.
My mother’s eyes widened. “You can…”
Her face twisted in fear again. “Then that means you are not meant to linger near the dead, Leah. You are… between. You are still tied to life.”
My mother grabbed my hands. “Please....Be careful.”
I squeezed her hands back. “I will,” I promised. “Wait for me here. Don’t move. Please.”
She nodded quickly. “I will wait. I won’t leave. Just… come back.”
“I will,” I said again, though my voice trembled.
Athena spoke softly inside me. You must focus. You must not lose yourself.
I turned and stepped into the darker part of the realm.