CHAPTER <b>35 </b>


    I stood frozen, staring at the ghostly shadow figure lingering across the kitchen. My mind raced, trying to make sense of what exactly I was seeing.


    “What… what are you?” I asked cautiously.


    “I’ve been sent by the ck Witch,” it answered, its voice cold and otherworldly. “She says you can’t hide.”


    “Then why isn’t she here to say it to my face?” I demanded.


    “Because you’re surrounded by werewolves,” it replied simply.


    “Bullshit,” I snapped. “That didn’t stop herst time. She doesn’t even know where I am.”


    “She will. She always finds you. As long as you carry that power, she’ll seek it out,” it said, voice low and


    steady.


    “That’s how she sent you here,” I muttered, more to myself than to the creature. “She’s sensing my power-


    using it like a beacon. But that means she still doesn’t know where I actually am.”


    “Enough. She will always find you,” it hissed.


    “Is that you speaking now, ck Witch? Are you using this thing to talk to me?” I asked.


    “Of course I am,” it replied.


    “Well, good luck next time. You didn’t manage to catch me before–you barely even scratched me,” I said.


    “That was before I understood what you truly are. Next time, I’ll be ready,” the shadow answered, its voice


    chilling.


    “Get out of my house,” I said coldly, lifting my hand toward it.


    The ghost immediately began shrieking, its wail high–pitched and piercing, as if it were in unbearable pain.


    I knew right then–ghosts don’t feel pain. This was the witch reacting through her puppet.


    My front door burst open as the warriors stormed in, weapons raised, but they froze when they saw the


    shadow.


    In an instant, the ghost dissolved into a ck, swirling mist and shot out the window, vanishing into the


    night.


    “Are you okay?” Chris asked, hurrying toward me.


    “Yeah, I’m fine. It didn’t touch me–it was just here to scare me,” I said, brushing off the chill that still clung


    to my skin.


    “Who sent it?” he asked.


    “The ck Witch,” I said simply.


    < CHAPTER 35


    “She knows where you are?” he asked, concern in his voice.


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    “No. That’s exactly why she sent that thing. She’s grasping. She doesn’t actually know where I am–she’s just trying to find me,” I exined.


    “Well, that’s… a bit of a relief,” he said with a sigh.


    “It’s alright. You guys can head back. That thing wasn’t enough to scare me,” I assured him.


    Chris gave the order for the warriors to clear out, but insisted on checking the house from top to bottom


    before he left. He double–checked that I really was okay–only then did he finally go.


    Once I was alone again, I headed upstairs and took a long, hot shower.


    After I finished, I came back downstairs to find all of my things still spread across the table–<i>books</i>,


    notebooks, papers. I poured myself a fresh cup of coffee and sat down again.


    But I decided not to keep reading the royal family history for now. Instead, I needed to shift my focus to something else–something more relevant to who I was. I needed to learn more about werewolves, about


    the mate bond, and everything that came with it.


    Yes, I was a werewolf–but I had never been taught anything about mates.


    I’d learned bits and pieces over time–that we all eventually get one–but that was the extent of my


    knowledge.


    I knew there had to be much more to it. And for Elias’s sake, if nothing else, I needed to understand.


    I flipped through the pages until I found the chapter on mates–mating, marking, and what it all truly meant. It was the first time I was reading any of this in detail.


    I wasn’t clueless–I understood what s*x was–but I had no idea how much deeper the bond ran between


    true mates. How intense it could really be.


    Suddenly, Elias’s words from before made so much more sense. Why he kept telling me he wouldn’t rush me, why he always said he’d wait for me to be ready. It was never about hesitation–it was about respect


    for what this bond truly was.


    I’d noticed marks on people’s necks around here, but I’d never asked what they were. Now I understood- they were the physical sign of being marked by their mate.


    It was all a bit overwhelming, even a little frightening. And it forced me to recognize how na?ve I still was


    about a lot of things.


    I started making myself something to eat when my phone began ringing on the counter. I reached over


    and answered it.


    “Hello?”


    “Hey, Lyra. It’s me,” Elias’s familiar voice said through the speaker.


    214


    “Hey. How’s everything going?” I asked.


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    “Pretty well. We’re almost at the pack now. We’ll set up camp tonight and move in at dawn,” he said.


    “Yeah. nning a surprise attack, then?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.


    “Exactly. That’s the hope, at least–we’re counting on the element of surprise,” he replied.


    “You guys better be careful out there,” I said, concern edging my voice.


    “We will. I just wanted to call and check in with you. Everything going alright on your end?” he asked.


    “Yeah, things have been fine. I’ve seen the warriors stationed outside the house, and Chris dropped by <fne31e> Read full story at find?novel</fne31e>


    earlier,” I said.


    “Did you get a chance to meet anyone today?” he asked.


    “I did. I met a few new faces, actually. I ended up having lunch at Hailey’s ce and stayed most of the


    afternoon. Chris took me around to introduce me to some of the pack members–that’s how I met Hailey


    and a few others,” I said.


    “That’s good to hear. I’m d you’re getting out there and starting to connect with them. Are they treating you any differently?”


    “Not at all, which was a huge relief. They all called me Lyra. No one called me Luna or princess or anything


    like that. That meant a lot,” I said.


    “Yeah. That’s really great to hear,” he said warmly.


    We stayed on the phone, talking for a while. It wasforting hearing his voice until he eventually had to go. After hanging up, I had a quick dinner and headed upstairs.


    I went into my room,id down on the bed, and stared out the window, but something didn’t feel right. A


    strange uneasiness crawled under my skin, and no matter how I turned or repositioned myself, I just


    couldn’t fall asleep.


    Eventually, I got up and quietly walked down the hallway to Elias’s room. The moment I stepped inside, I


    caught his scent lingering in the air and instantly felt calmer.


    I curled up in his bed, but he hadn’t slept in it yet, so itcked his usual scent. I reached over and picked up


    the shirt he had worn earlier, brought it into the bed with me, and buried my face in it. That helped a lot–<b>l </b>


    rxed almost immediately and finally drifted off to sleep.


    Somewhere in the middle of the night, I was jolted awake by a loud banging noise echoing through the


    house.


    I sat up, heart pounding, and scanned the room, but there was nothing out of ce. No movement. No shadows. Nothing.


    I slipped out of bed cautiously and made my way to the door. Peeking into the hallway, I saw nothing but darkness. I started making my way downstairs, step by slow step, trying to stayposed.


    < CHAPTER 35


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    I turned the corner into the kitchen–and froze. All of the cab doors and drawers were flying open and mming shut over and over, with no one around to touch them. No visible force, no physical presence- just chaos unfolding on its own.


    I stood there, transfixed, watching it all. The ghost that had appeared in the kitchen earlier shed through my mind–was he back to haunt me again? Or was this the ck Witch’s doing, trying <i>to </i>rattle me?


    I wasn’t sure. But if the witch had been using that ghost to tap into my energy, then she’d only seen what he saw–this kitchen. And now, it was the only room being affected. That couldn’t be a coincidence.


    Then, just like that, the ghostly figure reappeared right in front of me. I jumped as he materialized from


    nowhere.


    “Well, hello again, Princess. Lovely to see you,” he said with a cruel smirk.


    “Get the hell out of my house,” I snapped.


    “But your dear father is so desperate to see you,” he said, mockingly.


    “My father can rot in hell,” I spat.


    “That’s exactly what I was hoping you’d say,” he replied, and suddenly he thrust his arm forward, pressing his hand directly against my chest.


    A sharp, agonizing pain tore through me and I screamed.


    But then, something happened. A brilliant, white–hot light burst from my chest, shining so brightly that I


    had to look down.


    The pain stopped abruptly–he wasn’t burning me anymore. Instead, he was the one screaming now, trying to yank his hand away. But he couldn’t. His hand was stuck, fused to the light pouring out of me.


    My guards burst into the house and came rushing in, only to stop in shock at the scene before them.


    “Lyra! What do we do?” one of them called out, panic in his voice.


    I tried to answer, but the ghost looked up at me with a twisted grin. That evil look in his eyes returned and


    he shoved even harder into my chest.


    The pain reignited, searing through me worse than before. I dropped to my knees with another scream, overwhelmed by the burning that wouldn’t stop.


    I kept shaking my head, desperate, trying to find a way to end it–but I had no idea how. His hand felt like it


    was branding itself into me.


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