CHAPTER 215: WAKE UP

"Autumn move...just keep moving.It was your decision to leave him. You can not give up now...keep moving, damn it...these legs...argh!!!" Autumn rasped to herself, every word torn out of her throat as if it weighed heavier than her own body.

Her legs wobbled under her, scraping against sharper thorns and thicker roots, but she forced them forward. The sharp sting of branches whipped at her arms as she clawed past the undergrowth, skin breaking, sticky with more blood and sweat. Each step felt like it might be the one to shatter her completely.

Her breaths came in ragged bursts, short and shallow, chest heaving.

"In... out... in..." She coughed, choking on the air, hands trembling as she pushed branches out of her way.

A fiery, unnatural burn was crawling up the back of her skull, swelling like molten lava pressing from within. Her vision swam...sometimes it was all green shadows and dark trunks, other times it was just black.

The pain in her belly ripped through her again, so sharp she almost crumpled to the ground.

"Not now... not yet,hold on a little more, please," she whimpered, pressing her hand hard against her stomach. "Please... hold on for me, just a little longer..."

Her baby thrashed wildly inside her, his movements jerking her insides in ways that made her body convulse. She cried out, falling to her knees, her nails sinking into the earth. Tears streaked down her face, and when she wiped them, her fingers came away stained with red.

"Blood? Am I literally crying blood? "

Her lips trembled as she tried to pull herself back up. She dug her fingers into the bark of a tree, steadying her weight. "Come on, Autumn... you can’t stop here now... he’s too close...even if you die, you need to die somewhere further.You don’t want his hands to touch your dead body! "

Her mind was thick with haze, everything blurring together...her heartbeat, the baby’s kicks, the roar of pain in her head. And yet, through all of it, something faint caught her eyes ahead...like silver light breaking through a storm.

A shimmer. A mirage?!

Her heart stuttered. "Water?" she whispered, her voice uncertain.

She blinked hard, trying to clear her foggy vision, and there it was again...the glint, beckoning, through the heavy wall of trees.

She staggered forward, her body screaming at her to stop, every contraction tearing deeper into her core. Her legs dragged, catching on vines, nearly throwing her to the ground.

"Don’t think... just move...ahh...this heat...," she mumbled, clutching her stomach. "If it’s water... maybe I can just..." Her words faded into shallow panting.

The shimmer flashed again.

And Autumn, too desperate to care if it was real or a trick of her failing body, lurched towards it.

She shoved through the thick veil of branches, thorns snagging her sleeves and clawing at her skin. Each step was a collapse barely caught by her hands before she dragged herself forward again.

"Yup! Looks like real water to me...thank the moon..." she choked, tears burning trails down her blood streaked cheeks. Her legs trembled so violently it was a miracle they still obeyed her.

The burning in her core was unbearable at this point.She clutched her stomach, teeth sinking into her lip until she tasted blood. " Baby, we are here...the water will give us some relief," she whispered, voice breaking.

The shimmer grew clearer with every tortured step. A pool, glowing faintly, as though the moon itself had poured silver into its depths. It was impossibly still, nestled in the heart of nowhere, as though it had been waiting for her.

Her whole body screamed in agony. Heat consumed her,literally boiling her blood, blistering her bones from within. She didn’t think anymore...With a desperate sob, Autumn plunged into the pool.

The moment her body hit the water, it was as if the fire was smothered. Relief crashed into her, instantly. Coolness spread through every vein, gentling the violence inside her body. She gasped, sinking into the embrace of the luminous liquid.

Ethereal blue mist rose around her, curling like soft hands. It cradled her, eased the tremors, smoothed the agony into silence. Autumn floated there, stunned, blinking up at the strange light dancing over her skin. For the first time in what felt like eternity, there was no pain.

Her lips trembled. "Wh...what is this place?"

And then, soft as a lullaby, a voice drifted through the mist.

"Autumn, my baby... you are finally here. I have been waiting for you for so long."

Autumn froze.

Her eyes widened, her breath hitched in her throat. That voice...she would know it anywhere.

"...Mom?"

The mist swirled gently, almost in answer.

Autumn blinked against the shimmering haze, the world around her bending into a turquoise blue fog that curled and breathed like it was alive. Her mother’s hand...just like she remembered, impossibly warm and soft...slipped into hers. It made no sense, but Autumn didn’t care. She hadn’t felt that touch in years, not since death had stolen it from her.

"Come, my love," her mother whispered, voice soft as velvet, but threaded with something ancient. "There is someone you need to meet."

Autumn’s legs moved without thought, guided by the gentle tug of her mother’s hand. The mist parted as though bowing, opening a path before them. Each step felt heavier and lighter all at once...her body weightless in this strange realm, but her heart sinking under the gravity of what she didn’t understand.

Soon, the path spilled into an open space. At the center loomed a colossal shape, pulsing softly with its own light...a giant cocoon woven of pure blue radiance, humming with power. It wasn’t just glowing...it breathed.

Autumn froze, wide eyed, her lips parting. Before she could speak, a voice resonated from within the cocoon. It was low, melodic, ancient...yet startlingly clear.

"Welcome home, Autumn,"said a female voice. "I think the time has come... Are you ready?"

Her heart stumbled in her chest. She spun towards her mother, confusion twisting her features. "What... What is happening? Who is that? What do they mean ready?" Her words broke, trembling.

Her mother’s gaze softened, but her smile carried a solemn weight. She reached up, tucking a strand of damp hair from Autumn’s face, as though she were still the little girl who used to crawl into her bed at night.

"My darling," she began quietly, "you come from a bloodline unlike any other. Our gift is why your body can endure so much, why you close wounds for others even when they should not."

Autumn’s chest rose and fell sharply. "What do you mean? Are you talking about that healing power Kieran..." She trailed off, shaking her head at the mention of his name. Then continued. " That I can heal others... allegedly bring even the dead back to life?... Well, duh! I am a living corpse right now... can’t you see?! "

Her mother nodded. "You need to learn the whole story. Come sit down. We never got a chance to talk, sweetheart. It’s high time you really got to know who you are! "

Her mother continued...

"We are the source of all healers...We are the reason werewolves regenerate super fast and witches can cast healing spells and make potions. Long ago, our ancestors used this gift for the good of all. They gave their blood freely, to heal, to mend, to revitalise their core, give them strength, to protect both werewolves and witches. But..."

" But?" Autumn urged.

" But goodness rarely goes unspoiled..." Autumn’s mother continued." Greed grew in the hearts of those we helped. And when they discovered what a single drop of our blood could do, they wanted more...they wanted all. They tried to take it all... to drain Isolde, the first of us, until nothing was left." Her mother pointed at the glowing cocoon. " That’s her now. Trying desperately to save what was meant to be a gift for the world!"

Autumn’s lips parted, her gaze snapping to the glowing cocoon. A whisper of reverence and fear prickled down her spine.

" There was a witch hunt. The werewolves and witches didn’t just come for Isolde, they went at each other’s throat... it was a bloodbath... it was mayhem... utter choas..."

Autumn gulped trying to picture what her mother said.

"The Goddess intervened," her mother continued, her voice breaking into quiet reverence. "She pitied Isolde, who could not die, and granted her three wishes. One of them... was to hide eternally, so no one could ever use her again. For she was cursed to live forever, but never be alive in the true sense."

Autumn’s throat tightened. Her eyes burned as she stared at the cocoon again...this time as though she could see through its glow...see the woman trapped inside...her ancestor who had borne so much... yet when she was assuming her own struggle was too much.

Her mother’s hand cupped her cheek, drawing her gaze back.

"This is the truth of who you are, Autumn," she whispered. "Of what runs in your veins."

Autumn stood frozen, struck, her world shattering and rebuilding in the same heartbeat.

She could say nothing...only stare at her mother’s beloved face.

"But things are changing once again... They have disturbed Isolde’s resting place... " Her mother grabbed her shoulders, staring straight into her eyes. " But it was inevitable...it was always coming , my dear child... it was all part of the prophecy that none of us could deny..."