The Alpha's forbidden omega mate - Chapter 272: Chapter 272

Catrina POV:
“You’re wrong, Damien.”
My voice, though soft, echoed with a strength that surprised even me.
I stood before him, the moonlit garden shimmering around us, a deceptive haven of beauty and peace, a stark contrast to the storm raging within me, the memories of his cruelty, his manipulations, the pain he had inflicted on me, on Rowan, on all of us.
Kael stood beside me, his hand protectively gripping mine, his presence a warm anchor, his love a shield against the darkness that Damien represented.
“Love isn’t weakness, Damien,” I continued, my gaze meeting his, my amber eyes blazing with a fire that had been forged in the crucible of loss and grief, a fire that even his dark magic couldn’t extinguish.
“It’s strength. It’s hope. It’s everything.”
He stared at me, his crimson eyes narrowed, his expression a mask of disbelief and a flicker of something else. Was it hurt? Regret? A vulnerability I hadn’t seen before?
“Do you think you understand love, Lyra?” he scoffed, his voice laced with a bitterness that made my heart ache. It was a bitterness that mirrored my own, a reflection of the pain we'd both endured, the love we'd both lost.
“You, who abandoned me? Who chose him over me? Over our destiny?”
“I didn’t abandon you, Damien,” I said softly, my voice echoing Lyra’s pain, the memory of their forbidden love, their stolen moments, their broken destiny, a bittersweet ache in my heart.
I could feel her sadness, her longing, her regret, as if it were my own, a connection that transcended lifetimes.
“I chose a different path. A different destiny. A different kind of love.”
I looked at Kael, his hand tightening in mine, his dark eyes filled with a love that made my wolf purr, a gentle melody of joy and gratitude.
“Do you think this pathetic omega can offer you what I can?” Damien snarled, his voice rising with a jealous rage that made the air crackle, the shadows deepen.
“He's weak, Lyra. Insignificant. He'll only disappoint you. Break your heart. Just like he did before.”
His words, a twisted version of the truth, a reminder of the pain Rowan had inflicted, the bond he had broken, sparked a flicker of anger within me.
But I pushed it down, remembering the sacrifice he’d made, the love he’d been willing to give up, the destiny he’d tried to rewrite.
“He’s not weak, Damien,” I said firmly, my gaze never leaving his.
“And he’s not pathetic. He’s he’s kind. He’s compassionate. He’s everything you’re not.”
I paused, my gaze softening, my voice a gentle plea, a reminder of the love that had been, the love that could be, the hope that still flickered in the darkness.
“You’re not alone, Damien,” I said, the words echoing Elias’s wisdom, a truth I’d learned in the second trial, a compassion that had bloomed in the face of suffering.
“You don’t have to be this. You don’t have to be consumed by darkness. By obsession. By a love that that was never meant to be.”
“Don’t you see, Damien?” I asked, my voice a soft whisper, a plea for understanding, a longing for a peace we could both find, a healing we could both embrace.
“You’re… you’re hurting yourself. You’re hurting everyone around you. You’re… you’re trapped in a a cycle of pain of loss of a love that… that can’t be.”
I took a step closer, my hand outstretched, my scent, lavender and vanilla, a gentle offering, a promise of forgiveness, of healing, of a new beginning.
“Let it go, Damien,” I pleaded, my heart aching for him, for the lost soul, the tormented spirit, trapped in a cage of his own making, a prisoner of his own obsession.
“Let go of Lyra. Let go of the past. Let go of the darkness. Let love heal you.”
He stared at me, his crimson eyes wide, his expression a mix of disbelief and a flicker of something else. Was it hope? Vulnerability? A crack in the icy facade he’d worn for so long, a glimpse of the man he could be, the love he could find?
And as a single tear, a tear of regret, of longing, of a love that had been twisted, corrupted, but not completely extinguished, traced a path down his cheek.
"Lyra?"
His voice, no longer a sneer, but a hesitant whisper, filled with uncertainty, with a longing that mirrored my own, echoed through the moonlit garden.
He took a step towards me, his hand reaching out, his touch a phantom warmth, a promise of a love that might be reborn. A destiny that might be rewritten.
But as I reached for him, as our fingers brushed, the spirit realm shimmered, the garden dissolving, the moonlight fading, replaced by a swirling mist, a darkness that was different now, not cold and menacing, but empty.
Silent.
The trial was over.
But as I opened my eyes, as the familiar warmth of Elias’s workshop returned, as Emma’s hand squeezed mine, a comforting presence, a reminder of the world I was fighting for, that Damien’s darkness hadn't been fully extinguished.
It still lingered, a shadow in the spirit realm, a threat to the love I’d found, a destiny I was still trying to reclaim.
“You did well, Catrina.” Elias’s voice, a low rumble, was filled with a quiet pride, a respect that warmed my heart.
He stood before me, his dark eyes filled with an ancient wisdom, a knowledge that transcended the boundaries of our worlds.
“You faced your fears. You embraced your compassion. You showed him a different path. A different kind of love.”
He paused, his gaze meeting mine, his words a warning, a prophecy.
“But the journey isn’t over, Catrina. The darkness it’s still out there. And it’s coming for you.”
He’s right, Catrina. My wolf growled, her voice a low rumble in my chest. We can feel it. A darkness, a presence watching us. Waiting.
I looked around the workshop, the familiar scent of incense and herbs now tinged with a metallic tang, a coldness that made my wolf bristle, her claws wanting to extend.
“Where is he, Elias?” I asked, my voice a low growl, my amber eyes scanning the shadows, searching for the source of the unease, the threat that lingered.
“Where’s Damien?”
Elias shook his head, his dark eyes clouded with a sadness that mirrored my own. “He's gone, Catrina. For now. But his magic, his essence , it’s still connected to this realm. To this world.”
He paused, his gaze meeting mine, his words a chilling reminder of the danger we still faced, the battle that wasn’t over, the love we had to fight for.
“He’ll be back, Catrina. And when he returns he’ll be stronger. More dangerous. More desperate.”
“We’ll be ready for him, Elias,” I said firmly, my wolf standing tall beside me, her silver fur gleaming, her amber eyes blazing with a defiance that echoed Lyra’s strength, a love that defied everything.
“We’ve faced him before. And we’ll face him again. And this time we’ll defeat him. For good.”
But even as the words left my lips, a sudden wave of dizziness washed over me, and the world around me tilted, the colors blurring, the sounds fading.
I stumbled, my hand instinctively reaching out for support, for
“Catrina? What’s wrong?” Emma’s voice, filled with concern, reached me, but it sounded distant, distorted, as if coming from another world.
“Are you okay?”
I tried to answer, to reassure her, but my voice wouldn’t come. I could feel my body weakening, my strength fading, the darkness closing in.
“Catrina!” Rowan’s voice, a desperate cry, a love that transcended the boundaries of life and death, echoed in my mind.
It was a beacon, a lifeline, but I couldn't reach it, couldn’t grasp it.
The darkness was too strong.
And as I collapsed, my world fading to black, his scent, a mix of pine and leather and a heartbreaking emptiness, a reminder of the love I’d lost, the mate I was fighting to reclaim, was the last thing I remembered.
“Rowan.”
My wolf’s voice, a mournful howl, was a lament for a love that had been stolen, a destiny that had been denied, a future that was slipping away.
“He’s… he’s…”