<b>+15 </b><b>BONUS </b>


    <b>Chapter </b><b>231 </b>


    E


    The moment I saw my bodyying there in that casket, lifeless and pale and not quite right–they could never get anyone’s features right in the mortuary, lending everyone to a slightly off appearance in <b>death- </b>I snapped.


    The guards who had once kept me locked away in my room on Alexander’s orders had found me on <b>my </b>knees right there in the middle of the parlor, horrified beyond all belief and on the verge of retching up what little I’d eaten today.


    They didn’t listen when I told them I needed to speak to Alexander. Just grabbed me forcefully by both arms, treating me like a rogue in my own home, and tried to drag me away while the people who were attending my wake had simply watched in shock.


    When Alexander arrived a few minutester, holding our child–our son, beautiful and tiny and oh so precious–in his arms, I had hoped he would recognize me.


    And for a moment, it had almost seemed like he did. His eyes had widened when I turned to reveal my face, and he had gone very, very still.


    I had tried to send a thrum down our mate bond, tried to prove to him that I was still me; still E, his mate and wife and mother of the child he was currently holding. Even if he still thought I was a spy, he had to believe me.


    But the bond felt muted. Dulled. As if the invisible thread that bound our souls to one another had somehow been whittled down, leaving an even thinner thread than before. Somehow, I feared that if I tugged too hard, it might snap entirely. Forever.


    If he felt that tentative tug, he didn’t indicate it. He just coldly looked at me and told his guards to take me away like I was nothing more than a nuisance to be handled.


    “I won’t have anyone causing a scene on the day of my wife’s funeral,” he said.


    The guards grabbed me by the arms again and tried to drag me away. “Wait!” I cried out desperately. “But


    I’m-”


    Before I could finish saying my name, Lilith suddenly stepped into the room. Her face was just as cold as


    Alexander’s as she said, “Let me see her out, Sir.” The guards froze, and Lilith gestured to me. “Follow me.”


    I stopped my thrashing, hope and fear warring inside of me in equal parts when I saw her face. Lilith. My dear, sweet Lilith; she had to recognize me, right? But why was she looking at me like I was a stranger?


    No, more than a stranger. An inconvenience.


    I held onto the hope, though, that she would believe me once I told her the truth–Lilith always believed


    me, even when no one else would–and forced myself to calm down. The guards looked at Alexander, who hesitated, tightening his hold on our son.


    Our son. Oh, how I wanted to hold my baby in my arms. He was alive and well from the looks of it, although he was so tiny from his premature birth. He needed his mother.


    Alexander turned to Lilith and whispered something to her that I couldn’t quite make out. They exchanged a few words, and finally, he nodded and stepped back. The guards released me to Lilith, who grabbed my wrist tightly and yanked me out of the room with more force than I expected.


    I practically had to jog to keep up with her,pletely taken aback by how rough she was being. Lilith- my Lilith–couldn’t possibly believe I was actually dead, could she?


    My heart sank as the realization hit me. If even Lilith wouldn’t believe me when I told her who I really was, then what would I do? My son was still in that house, potentially in the arms of a man who intended for both of us to die. I couldn’t just walk away, but I also couldn’t get close to him. And now, <b>it </b>seemed like


    I had no allies.


    But then, when we stepped outside, Lilith pulled me around the side of the house and into one of the smaller gardens that was blocked in by high hedges. <fn1cd2> Original content can be found at ?ovelFind</fn1cd2>


    The moment we were alone, she turned toward me and threw her arms around me.


    “E,<i>” </i>she whispered thickly into my neck. “Oh, E… My dear E… I was wondering when you might


    I froze for a moment, arms syed out to the sides in surprise. Lilith didn’t let go. Finally, a wave of relief so intense took over me that I nearly crumpled, and I threw my arms around her and tucked my face into her shoulder.


    “You recognize me,” I choked out. “I was worried you wouldn’t. But…” I pulled back just enough to look her in the eye. “How did you know it’s me?”


    Lilith’s eyes were full of tears as she reached up to brush her hand along my cheek. “The resemnce in your new body is uncanny. Although I must say, these new features suit you. You’re so… striking.”


    I swallowed hard around the sudden lump in my throat. New body? Why did it seem like Lilith knew exactly what was going on? “Lilith, what’s happening?” I asked.


    Lilith nced around as if to make sure no one was listening to our conversation, then furtively pulled me deeper into the garden and over to a small stone bench beneath an oak tree. I didn’t want to sit, but I


    did anyway.


    “E, there’s something you must know,” she began. “Your family… It’s affected by a curse.”


    “A… curse?”


    +15 <b>BONUS </b>


    She nodded. “Anyone in your family who dies will be reborn into a different body. <b>Just </b>once. A second


    and final chance at life.”


    I blinked,pletely taken aback. It didn’t make any sense, it was totally absurd, and yet… <b>It </b>did. I <b>could </b>think of no other exnation as to how the hell I had wound up like this, a hundred miles away from home, naked and in a different body.


    “But that doesn’t sound like a curse,” Iughed. “It sounds like a blessing! I get a second chance at life<b>, </b>and I get to raise my son-”


    “There’s a caveat,” Lilith cut me off, eyes darkening. “E, if you tell anyone–or at least<b>, </b>anyone who hasn’t been reborn already–who you really are, they will face severe misfortune. Likely even death.”


    At first, I didn’t want to believe Lilith. It felt like something out of a storybook, not real life. But Lilith’s face was as hard as stone, her gaze so imploring that it made my heart stutter in my chest with a sudden


    realization.


    The farmer. Oh, Goddess, if this was all true, did that mean I had doomed an innocent man without even


    realizing?


    With that realization, though, came another one. One that was less grim, but also so incredibly unbelievable that for a long moment, I couldn’t even speak.


    “Lilith,” I finally said slowly, tentatively, hardly even daring to hear the response she might give, “if I can’t tell anyone who hasn’t already been reborn, then how is it that I’m telling you now?”


    Lilith’s gaze dropped to our joined hands. A single tear rolled down her cheek.


    But when she looked back up at me, she was smiling.


    “Because, my dear,<i>” </i>she whispered, “I am your mother.”