Eighty seven
*Rafe*
I silently watched Freya, my heart heavy with sorrow and fear. She lay on the bed, her skin as pale as the moonlight that filtered through the window. Her breaths were shallow, her pulse weak. I felt utterly helpless, watching the life drain out of the love of my life with each passing minute.
There had to be something more I could do, some way to save her. But my mind was empty, my thoughts jumbled and confused. And then it hit me. Like a bolt of lightning, a name came to me.
A name I had hoped never to utter again. A name that tasted like ashes on my tongue. A name even Connor wouldn’t approve of.
But did I have a choice? With Freya’s life hanging in the balance, I knew I had to make a decision. And so I spoke it, the name that would probably change both our lives.
“Sersia,” I whispered. My voice trembling.
Connor’s head snapped up, his eyes flashing with disbelief and undisguised horror.
“You can’t be serious,” he hissed. “That witch is dangerous! Rafe. She was banished for a reason. Don’t even think about it.”
I closed my eyes, my heart twisting in my chest. Connor was right. Sersia was the devil’s mother herself. Calling on her was like willing your life away. I knew the risks. I knew the price we might pay for seeking out the shadow witch’s aid.
But what choice did I have? Freya was dying before my very eyes. I would walk through the fires of hell itself if it meant saving her.
“I know the dangers,” I growled, my voice low and determined. “But Sersia may be Freya’s only hope. We have to try, Connor.”
My beta opened his mouth to argue, but I cut him off with a sharp gesture.
“This is not a debate,” I snarled, my eyes flashing with barely contained rage born of desperation. “I am your Alpha, and I am giving you a direct order. Find Sersia. Bring her here. Now.”
Connor’s expression hardened, but he nodded in consent. “I will do as you command, Alpha,” he said with a bow before turning and swiftly leaving the room.
I sat down heavily beside Freya’s bed, my mind racing a thousand miles an hour. Sersia was a dangerous ally to have, but I had no other choice. The enemy we were facing was far more dangerous than any witch.
As I waited for Connor to return with Sersia, I couldn’t help but think of how I had brought so many problems into Freya’s life by pulling her into my world. All I wanted was for her to be mine. Somehow, I have ended up putting her in more troubles than she should experience. I wondered what it would be like if Freya and I did not exist in this supernatural world.
I imagined how it would be if we were just two ordinary humans, living in a small town on the outskirts of Pack territory. Freya would probably be my childhood friend, my confidant, and eventually my wife. We would have grown up together and shared everything with each other without being scared of any evil eye chasing after us. If only that could be our reality. Since the moment Freya crashed into my life, I had begun to see things way beyond being the Alpha king of a powerful kingdom. Life was not worth living if you didn’t do it for someone.
Gently, I smoothed a strand of hair back from Freya’s pale, clammy brow. She lay so still, her breaths coming in shallow, labored gasps. Every fiber of my being screamed at me to do something, anything, to ease her suffering. “I love you so much Freya Hadid. You are my life now. If you leave me, do you think I would want to live without you?” I whispered in a shaky voice. I was raging with anger and I couldn’t do anything to help Freya. I couldn’t do anything that to run to the enemy for help. I used to think I had all the power in the world. I was capable of doing what ever I wanted.
But right now, as I watched Freya’s form, I was powerless. Utterly, hopelessly powerless.
All I could do was wait and pray to the moon goddess that Connor would return with the shadow witch before it was too late.
“Stay with me, my love,” I whispered, my voice cracking with emotion as I pressed a tender kiss to Freya’s forehead. “You have to fight. Our story cannot end like this.”
But even as the words left my lips, I couldn’t shake the sinking feeling that we were running out of time. That with every passing second, Freya was slipping further and further away from me.
I closed my eyes, reaching out through our mate bond, searching desperately for any sign of Freya’s consciousness. But there was nothing. Only a terrifying, echoing silence where her vibrant presence should have been.
A choked sob tore from my throat as I gathered Freya’s limp form into my arms, cradling her against my chest as if I could somehow anchor her to this world through sheer force of will. She couldn’t be dead. I refused to believe that would happen.
“Please,” I begged, my voice a ragged whisper. “Please, my heart. Don’t leave me. I cannot do this without you.”
But Freya remained unresponsive, her body growing colder with each passing moment. And as I held her close, rocking back and forth in helpless desperation, I felt a creeping sense of dread settling over me like a shroud.
What if Connor couldn’t find the shadow witch in time? What if Sersia refused to help us? What if… what if she tries to help but it doesn’t work? What if i can’t help Freya out of this?
I shook my head fiercely, banishing the dark thoughts before they could take root. I had to believe that there was still hope. That somehow, someway, we would find a way to save Freya.
Because the alternative was too terrible to contemplate. A world without Freya’s light, her laughter, her love… it was a world I couldn’t bear to imagine.
So I held her tighter, whispering fervent prayers and heartfelt promises into her hair as I waited for Connor’s return. And with every beat of my heart, I willed Freya to keep fighting, to hold on just a little longer.
Because I knew that without her, my life would be nothing but an empty, meaningless void. Freya was my everything. And I would move heaven and earth to bring her back to me.
“Don’t you dare leave me, baby. Don’t you dare leave your friend Addy and Daniel. Please stay strong, Freya. Fight. Fight.”
I hugged her shaking form tightly against me, welcoming the chill that came from her body. I refused to lose the love of my life.
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