Still His 157_Shattered Bonds: A Second Chance Mate

hapter 157 

 The warmth of Francesco’s embrace still lingered on my skin, a fragile shield against the memory of theke.

 For a while, I let myself drown in him, in the safety of his presence. But day hade, and the muffled sounds of life stirring in the city outside reminded me we could not stay here forever. Morning light stripped me bare of excuses.

 I had to tell him.

 My fingers tightened on the edge of the nket as I sat up, watching him near the window.

 He was fastening thest buttons of his shirt, his body framed in gold and shadow. His profile was sharp, unreadable–carved as if by gods. The King of Lycans. My mate. My undoing.

 “Francesco…” My voice trembled more than I wanted it to.

 He turned instantly, eyes narrowing, concern shing like a de drawn from its sheath. “What is it, amore? Are you hurting?”

 “No.” I shook my head quickly, though my heart hammered so hard it almost hurt. “It’s… about theke.”

 His jaw tightened. In two strides he was at the bed, lowering himself to sit beside me. His hand found mine, firm, grounding “Lknow you,” he murmured. his gaze searching mine. “You had a reason for throwing yourself into the water. Tell me.”

 A weak smile tugged at my lips. I swallowed, the memory crashing back like ice in my veins. “Before I went under… I didn’t just feel the cold, Francesco. saw something. Something alive. Vast. Ancient. And…” My throat closed, but I forced the words out. “And there were souls. The missing people–they’re

 there.”

 His eyes sharpened. “Souls?”

 I nodded, my pulse skittering. “It was like… it knew me. Like it was waiting for me.”

 Francesco’s brows furrowed, his expression darkening into something I had never seen before–confusion. Disbelief. The Alpha King, a creature who never doubted his senses, suddenly unsettled.

 “But I was there.” His voice was low, careful. “I saw nothing. I felt nothing. Just dark water and mud.”

 The chill in my bones deepened. If he–whose strength and senses surpassed every wolf alive–had seen nothing, then what was it that chose to reveal itself only to me?

 Why me?

 Francesco’s hand rose, cupping my face as his frown deepened. “Eine… don’t go alone anymore. Always take Audrey with you. There’s something suspicious here, and I’ll uncover it. But your safetyes first. Promise me.”

 My lips parted, but the words stuck in my throat. To say it aloud felt like calling the darkness back.

 I lowered my eyes, whispering, “I don’t have Anastasia’s power anymore… but still, I know it’s there. So why does no one else feel it? Why does no one. remember?”

 A sh of memory cut through me–Audrey’s face by theke. She had seen it too.

 I gasped, realization striking like lightning. The missing people… they’re all women. That’s why only Audrey and I can sense it. That’s why it’s tied to us.

 “What is it?” Francesco’s voice sharpened at once, catching the shift in my expression.

 I turned back to him, urgency flooding my chest. “Audrey. I need to speak with her, fast.”

 He nodded, though his body remained still. His gaze flickered over me, unreadable.

 1/4 

 1175 Th?, Z8 Augm

 “What?” I pressed.

 He sighed, the sound heavy. “You need to stay in this room for a couple of days, amore mio.”

 My brow furrowed. “What? Why?”

 He tilted his head slightly, gesturing with his chin toward me. “Your bruises.” 

 My eyes widened in realization. Heat flushed my cheeks. Of course. Afterst night… my body must have been covered in them.

 God. Why does something that felt so good have to look like I was in pain?

 I swallowed hard, giving a small nod. “Then call Audrey and Marlow here. We can speak inside.”

 Francesco agreed, already mind–linking his warriors after I dressed andy back on my bed.

 A short whileter, the door opened, and Audrey strode in with Marlow close behind her.

 The moment Audrey’s eyesnded on me, she froze.

 “Luna..?” Her jaw dropped, horror shing across her features. Marlow blinked once, his expression tightening as his gaze slid to his Alpha.

 Audrey turned her re on Francesco, her voice sharp as a whip. “You’re a beast, my king Alpha!”

 The room went so silent that even the distant noise of the city seemed to fade. Francesco’s jaw tightened, his eyes narrowing like a storm about to break.

 But I couldn’t help itughter bubbled up in my chest, escaping in a soft chuckle.

 “Don’t look at me like that,” I teased, my lips curving. “I’m not hurt. Not in the way you think.”

 Audrey’s face flushed red, but her concern didn’t fade. Marlow’s mouth twitched, as though he fought the urge to smirk.

 And Francesco… oh, he looked like he was one second away from throwing them both out of the room.

 Audrey’s eyes still burned with fury when she turned back to me.

 But the moment our gazes locked, her expression shifted. The sharpness softened into something unsettled, uncertain. Almost… haunted.

 I sat up straighter, ignoring the nket slipping from my shoulders. “Audrey,” I whispered, urgency tightening my voice. “You remember what you saw in theke, don’t you? You saw it too–right?”

 Her lips parted, then pressed into a thin line, as though even the memory weighed on her. She flicked a nce toward Francesco, uncertainty clouding her features. She wasn’t sure if she should speak freely.

 Francesco caught it instantly, his presence filling the room like a storm on the verge of breaking. “Eine already told me,” he said, voice sharp andmanding. “We just need to know if you saw the same thing. Why only you two? Why not me? Why not Marlow?”

 Marlow shifted ufortably, confusion etched across his face. “What happened?” he asked. “Did something happen at theke?”

 As I expected–he hadn’t seen anything either. 

 Audrey swallowed hard. When she finally spoke, her voice was low, almost disbelieving. “I thought it was my imagination. But… there were souls. So many of them.”

 The words dropped like stones into the room, and my breath caught. Relief and dread tangled in my chest.

 Francesco’s brows furrowed, disbelief shing across his face. “That’s impossible,” he muttered. “My senses would have picked up something that strong. I saw nothing. Felt nothing.”

 11:15 Thu, 28 Aug A

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 “That’s why I thought I was losing my mind, Alpha,” Audrey shot back, her tone sharper than before, but her hands trembled in herp. Her gaze darted back to me. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

 The air thickened. My pulse hammered. So I wasn’t going mad.

 “What exactly did you see?” Francesco asked, his voice dropping low, dangerous.

 Audrey hesitated, herposure faltering. For the first time since I’d known her, she looked young. Fragile. “It was like…” She faltered, pressing a hand against her chest. “Something beneath the surface. Vast. Shifting. Alive. Not wolf. Not spirit. Older. Its presence wrapped around me like chains, it wanted to pull me under.”

 My throat tightened. That was it. Exactly it. “Yes,” I whispered. I leaned forward, unable to stop myself. “And the souls, Audrey. The missing women. I felt them too–their cries, their fear. They’re trapped there.”

 Audrey’s eyes widened, her fear reflecting mine. “I thought I was imagining it. But if you felt it too…” 

 Francesco surged to his feet, pacing like a caged predator. His jaw was locked so tight I could see the muscle twitch. “This makes no sense. If such an entity exists, I should have sensed it. No power in this world hides from a Lycan King. Unless…” He stopped cold, eyes narrowing,

 “Unless it chose not to reveal itself to you,” I finished softly.

 His head snapped up, golden eyes zing. I swallowed but didn’t look away. “It revealed itself to us because we’re women,” I continued. “All the missing were women. That cannot be a coincidence.”

 Audrey nodded grimly. “It’s feeding on them. Or holding them. When I looked into that water, I felt it brush against my mind. Like it wanted me too.

 The silence that followed was suffocating. Even Marlow looked pale, his usual calm cracking.

 Francesco exhaled, the sound edged with fury. He raked a hand through his hair, the picture of a man who hated the unknown more than anything else. “If this is true, then we are dealing with something not of wolf or Lycan origin. Something that dares prey on women in my territory.” His voice dropped into a snarl. “Uneptable.”

 I reached for him, brushing his hand with my fingers. “Francesco… something like this doesn’t just appear. Someone must have summoned it.”

 He froze. His gaze locked on mine, sharp and burning. “You mean… someone in the pack knew?” 

 I didn’t answer. My silence was enough.

 Audrey shifted uneasily, her voice low but certain. “It felt familiar, somehow. Like an echo I’d forgotten. And it reached for Eine harder than it reached for me. Maybe because…” She trailed off, but the truth was clear

 Becauset wasn’t just any woman.

 Because Anastasia’s shadow still clung to me.

 Because it needed a strong soul to awaken.

 Francesco cursed under his breath, then strode back to me. He gripped my chin, forcing me to meet his fierce, zing eyes. “Listen to me, Eine. Whatever this thing is–you will not go near thatke, again. Do you understand? I don’t care if it whispers your name, if it promises you answers, if you feelpelled–” His voice broke, raw with fear. “I will not lose you to the dark.”

 His intensity seared into me, and I had to look away before it consumed me whole. My chest ached with both fear and defiance. “But Francesco… maybe I’m the only one who can face it. If it’s after women–if it’s after me–then-”

 “Enough, Eine!” His roar shook the air, primal and final. “I said no.”

 The room fell into silence, heavy with fear, duty, and something greater none of us could yet name.

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Still His 157