The Alpha's forbidden omega mate - Chapter 292: Chapter 292

Rowan POV:
“She chose this path, Rowan – a path of sacrifice, a path of love.” King Korvash’s voice, a low rumble echoing through the ancient halls, was heavy with centuries of knowledge, of destinies forged and broken, loves lost and found.
I stared at him, my mind reeling, the fragmented memories of another life, another time, another me, swirling together in a chaotic jumble. Catrina.
Her name, a whisper on my lips, a phantom ache in my heart, a constant reminder of our shared love, the bond we’d forged, the destiny denied to us.
She’d sacrificed herself to bring me back, to give me a second chance. A chance to fix my mistakes, reclaim my lost love, rewrite our destiny.
“But why, Korvash?” My voice was a broken whisper, grief, guilt, and confusion choking me. “Why would she do that? Give up everything for me?”
“Love is a powerful force, Rowan Magnus.” Korvash’s icy blue eyes pierced mine, reflecting ancient wisdom, power, and control over destiny.
“It can drive us to extraordinary things, unimaginable sacrifices, defying even death itself.” His words hung in the air, a truth I’d learned too late, a lesson etched into my very being.
Catrina’s love, he continued, his voice softening with respect, transcended the boundaries of this world, of the spirit realm, of time itself.
His words soothed my wounded soul, a flicker of hope in the surrounding darkness, bringing warmth to my heart, strength to my wolf, a renewed determination to honor her sacrifice.
“But what about Lucas?” My voice trembled; the memory of my son, his laughter, his amber eyes, his love, ached in my chest. “If I stay here, in the spirit realm, with Catrina, what happens to him?”
Korvash’s gaze intensified, piercing my soul, seeing my love, grief, and fear. “The timeline has shifted, Rowan,” he rumbled, his words a chilling revelation.
“By returning to this moment, you’ve altered the course of events. The future you knew is no longer certain.” His words settled heavily, the weight of their implications, the uncertainty, a burden on my shoulders.
“Lucas exists, Rowan,” Korvash continued, his voice softening with compassion, a glimmer of hope. “But his destiny is uncertain. He needs you, Rowan. He needs his father.”
His words, a reminder of my duty, sparked a conflict within me – my longing to stay with Catrina battling the need to return to my son.
“I don’t know what to do, Korvash,” I whispered, my wolf whimpering, torn between two worlds, two loves. “I can’t lose her again, but I can’t abandon my son.”
Korvash’s icy eyes held mine, filled with ancient wisdom, a power that could reshape destinies.
“The choice is yours, Rowan Magnus,” he rumbled.
“Stay here, a ghostly echo of your shared love. Or return to your son, to an uncertain future, a destiny yet unwritten.” His words hung heavy, the weight of my decision, the consequences, a crushing burden.
“Choose wisely, Rowan Magnus,” he warned, his voice a plea. “Your son’s fate, your pack’s, your world’s, rests on your shoulders.”
As he turned, his silver fur gleaming, I was left alone with the weight of my decision, the echoes of my past, the fear of the future.
I looked towards the swirling mists, towards Catrina’s essence, a ghostly echo of our love. Then, I looked towards the faint glimmer of the portal back to my world, to my son, to an uncertain future.
heart ached, my wolf howled, my soul torn. What was I to do? Where did I belong?
“Catrina,” I whispered, “Show me what to do.” As the whispers grew louder, the shadows deepened, a dangerous path unfolded, leading towards a destiny I wasn't sure I was ready for, a love I wasn't sure I could reclaim. I had to choose. Soon.
The spirit realm shimmered, Catrina’s essence coalescing before me, not the vibrant, fiery she-wolf I remembered, but a translucent echo, her amber eyes filled with a haunting sadness.
“Don’t leave me, Rowan,” she whispered, her voice a mournful melody, a ghostly caress that sent shivers through my spectral form. “Don’t… fade away.”
Her words, mirrored my own desperate longing, tore at my heart, the guilt of my past choices, the weight of my sacrifice, a crushing burden.
“I… I don’t want to leave you, Catrina,” I whispered back, my voice a broken echo of the love we’d shared, the future we’d been denied. “But… Lucas… he needs me. He… he needs his father.”
“He has you, Rowan,” she said, her voice a soft rustle, like the wind through the willow trees in the clearing where Vivian rested, a memory of a different time, a different life, a different… me.
“He has… his grandma… she’ll… she’ll protect him. She’ll… love him. He’ll… he’ll be… okay.”
Her words, though meant to reassure, only intensified the ache in my heart, the guilt that gnawed at me, the knowledge that I’d abandoned them both, that I’d chosen duty over love, that I’d broken the bond that tied us together, a destiny I was now desperately trying to reclaim.
“But he needs his father too, Catrina,” I argued, my voice rising with a desperation I couldn’t control.
“He needs… me.”
“You can’t be in both worlds, Rowan,” she said, her voice a gentle echo, her gaze holding mine, her amber eyes filled with a wisdom that transcended the boundaries of life and death, a knowledge that I was only beginning to understand.
“You… you have to choose. Your son… or… your mate. Your future… or… your past.”
Her words, a chilling truth, a reminder of the choice I had to make, the destiny I had to forge, made my spectral form tremble, my wolf howl in anguish, his claws digging into the unseen ground, torn between two worlds, two loves, two destinies.
“But I… I love you both, Catrina,” I whispered, my voice breaking, my heart shattering, my soul torn.
“I… I can’t… I can’t choose. I… I don’t want to… lose either of you.”
“You’ve already lost me, Rowan,” she said, her voice a soft whisper, her gaze holding mine, her amber eyes filled with a love that defied everything, a sacrifice that had saved me, a destiny that had been rewritten.
“But you haven’t lost… him. Not yet. You still have a chance… to be… the father he needs. The Alpha… he deserves.”
Her words, a reminder of my responsibility, my duty, my love for my son, sparked a conflict within me, a battle between my heart and my soul, between the longing to stay with her, in this spectral realm, and the need to return to my world, to protect my son, to be the father he deserved.
“But… what about… us, Catrina?” I asked, my voice a broken plea, my gaze searching hers, a love that transcended the boundaries of life and death, a bond that I couldn’t bear to break, a destiny I was determined to reclaim.
“What about… our love?”
“Our love… it’s… it’s not gone, Rowan,” she said, her voice a soft caress, her gaze holding mine, her amber eyes filled with a love that defied everything, a sacrifice that had saved me, a destiny that had been rewritten.
“It’s… it’s just… transformed. It’s… it’s a part of you now, Rowan. A part of… your soul. And… and it will… always be… with you.”
She paused, her words hanging heavy in the air, a promise, a hope, a love that transcended the boundaries of life and death, a bond that even Damien’s darkness couldn’t break.
“Go back, Rowan,” she whispered, her voice a gentle echo, her gaze filled with a love that made my heart ache, a sacrifice that had saved me, a destiny that had been rewritten.
“Go back… to your son. To your world. To your… future.”
And as her spectral form began to fade, as her scent, lavender and vanilla, a bittersweet memory, a ghostly fragrance, lingered in the air, I knew, with a certainty that settled deep in my soul, what I had to do.
I would honor her sacrifice.
I would be the father my son needed.
“I love you, Catrina,” I whispered, my voice a broken plea, I knew, that I would see her again.
Someday.