The Alpha's forbidden omega mate - Chapter 286: Chapter 286

Catrina POV:
His words, a vow, a promise, a reminder of the love we’d shared, the bond that had been tested, twisted, but not broken, brought a warmth to my heart.
But even as I clung to his words, his love, the image of his spectral form, a ghostly echo of the Alpha he once was, a constant reminder of the sacrifice he’d made, the life he’d given up for me, a fear, a premonition of the battle that awaited us, whispered in my mind.
This time, Rowan I’m not sure if our love… will be enough.
“We need to… to find a way to… to stop him, Rowan,” I said, my voice a quiet determination, my gaze searching his, a plea for guidance, a shared burden, a destiny intertwined.
“We… we need to find his… weakness. His… vulnerability. Something… something that can… that can… destroy him… for good.”
“I… I don’t know, Catrina,” Rowan said, his voice a soft rumble, his amber eyes clouded with a mix of confusion and a fierce determination. “I… I thought… I thought I’d destroyed him. In the spirit realm. But… he’s… he’s still here. Stronger… more dangerous… than ever.”
“He’s… he’s found a new… anchor, Catrina. A new way to… to ground himself in this world. To draw power… from the… the darkness.”
He paused, his gaze meeting mine, his words a revelation, a truth I wasn’t ready to face.
“He’s… he’s using Derek, Catrina.”
“Derek?” I gasped, my voice a mix of disbelief and a growing horror, the realization of what Rowan was saying, the implications, a premonition of the darkness that was about to be unleashed.
“But… how? Why? Derek… he’s… he’s…”
“He’s vulnerable, Catrina,” Rowan said, his voice a low growl, his gaze distant, lost in his own memories, the shadows of a past he couldn’t escape, a brother he’d failed to protect.
“He’s… he’s grieving. For our father. For… for me. And Damien… he’s… he’s preying on his… his weakness. He’s… he’s using his grief… his anger… his… his love for Isabelle… to… to twist him. To… to corrupt him. To… to turn him into… a weapon.”
His words, a prophecy, a reminder of the darkness that had touched Derek, the changes I’d sensed in him, the coldness in his eyes, the metallic tang in his scent, made my blood run cold, my wolf whimper, her claws digging into the unseen ground, desperate to protect him, to save him, to bring him back.
“We have to stop him, Rowan,” I whispered, my voice a fierce determination, a love that defied everything.
“We have to… save Derek. Before… before it’s… too late.”
“I know, Catrina,” Rowan said, his voice a soft rumble, his gaze meeting mine, his amber eyes burning with a love that mirrored my own, a shared purpose, a destiny intertwined.
“But… how? How do we fight… a darkness that’s… already taken root? How do we… save someone… who… who might not want… to be saved?”
And as the spirit realm’s whispers grew louder, the shadows deepened, the air crackled with a mix of ancient magic and Damien’s encroaching darkness, a new battle, a battle for the soul of a brother, a mate, a pack, a world, began to unfold.
We had to find a way.
Or we would lose… everything.
“We need help, Rowan.”
My voice, though soft, held a conviction, a certainty, that came from the depths of my soul, from the love that burned within me.
We stood in the moonlit garden, the ethereal glow illuminating the familiar landscape, the marble fountain, the fragrant jasmine, the whispering roses, a bittersweet reminder of a love that had spanned lifetimes, a destiny we were fighting to reclaim.
But the spirit realm’s beauty, its deceptive peace, couldn’t mask the darkness that lurked at the edges of our awareness, the presence of Damien, his magic, a venomous whisper, a constant threat to the love we’d found, the future we were trying to create.
“I know, Catrina,” Rowan said, his voice a soft rumble, his gaze meeting mine, his amber eyes reflecting the moonlight, a mix of love and a haunting sadness, a reminder of the spectral form he now inhabited, the life he no longer possessed.
“But… who can we trust? Who… who would be willing to… to help us? To… to face… Damien? To… to risk… everything?”
His words, a valid concern, a reflection of the betrayals we’d endured, the losses we’d suffered, the darkness that had touched our lives, made my heart ache, my wolf whimper, a mournful sound that echoed the spirit realm’s whispers, the secrets of the ancient ones.
We’d faced Damien’s darkness before, we’d fought him, we’d defeated him, but… he’d always found a way to come back, stronger, more dangerous, his magic twisting, corrupting, consuming everything in its path.
And now… now he was using Derek, his golden wolf, his Alpha power, a vessel for his darkness, a weapon against us, against the very world we were fighting to protect.
“We need someone who… who understands the spirit realm, Rowan,” I said, my voice gaining strength, a new resolve replacing the fear, a flicker of Lyra’s magic, the Silver Wolf’s essence, burning brighter than ever.
“Someone who… who knows the ancient ways. Someone who… who can help us… navigate this… this darkness. Someone… who can… who can…”
My words trailed off, my gaze searching his, a plea for guidance, a shared burden, a destiny intertwined.
“Someone… who can help us… bring you back.”
He looked at me then, his amber eyes filled with a love that transcended the boundaries of life and death, a bond that defied everything, a destiny we were both fighting to reclaim.
And as his spectral hand, a phantom warmth, reached out.
“Vivian,” I whispered, her name a prayer, a hope, a love that had endured, even in the face of death.
“We need… your mother, Rowan.”
And as the spirit realm’s whispers grew louder, the shadows deepened, a new path, a dangerous path, a path that led into the heart of Damien’s darkness.
We would find her.
“Mother?”