CHAPTER 259: ALWAYS LATE

Jacob~

The world around me blurred as I tore through time and space, the howl of the wind crying in my ears as my soul pulled me like a bloodhound to her. To Natalie.

I landed hard, boots scraping across stone, stumbling slightly from the force of the arrival. I was panting, heart jackhammering in my chest like it might burst free. My coat billowed around me like a cape cut from shadow, my hair a tangled mess of wind and worry. My fists were clenched, my blood rushing so loud I could barely hear.

But then I saw her. My Natalie.

Alive.

Whole.

Her blue eyes widened when she saw me. "Jacob?"

I didn’t answer. I crossed the room in seconds and pulled her into my arms. My chest crushed against hers as I buried my face in her hair. The familiar scent of home.

"Are you okay?" I asked, my voice hoarse, like it had clawed its way out of me. "Are you hurt?"

She blinked up at me, startled. "Jacob, what—? Yes, I’m fine. What’s going on with you?"

I stepped back only slightly, still keeping my hands on her arms as if she might vanish. "I felt it. Something in me knew—Natalie, I felt your soul flicker. Like it was being pulled apart. I thought you were dying."

Her brows pinched together in concern. "Oh Jacob, you came back because of me?"

"I had to." My throat felt like sandpaper. "I couldn’t ignore it. I thought something happened to you—"

A loud snort cut through my panic.

It was Fox.

Leaning against the wall like he owned the universe, arms crossed and mouth tilted in a lazy smirk.

"You shouldn’t have bothered, bro," he drawled. "She and Zane are fine. In fact, Zane did something pretty impressive."

I blinked, finally noticing the others—Zane, Sebastian, and Bubble quietly standing by.

Fox jerked a thumb toward Zane. "Your sisters awesome mate helped Mom and the god of light cage that bastard Shadow permanently. Sealed. Gone."

I looked at Zane properly now.

He didn’t look much different—same stupid haircut, same overconfident smirk—but his energy? That was different.

Power rippled off him like heatwaves off sun-scorched stone. Controlled, divine, and ancient. A quiet storm. And then it clicked—Fox’s words.

Zane. Zane had become a Night Alpha.

Gods.

"Wait," I said slowly, "you’re... you’re what now?"

Zane looked sheepish, then proud. "Night Alpha. Apparently. Fox says it means I’m now a hybrid of light and dark. Go figure."

Natalie slipped beside him, resting her hand on his chest as if to ground him. "Shadow and Kalmia tried to take over our bodies. Possession. But we fought them off. I fought Kalmia. He fought Shadow. Shadow’s gone now. Unfortunately Kalmia managed to escape but not for long."

I nodded, but inside, I felt off-kilter. Everyone had battled monsters, discovered truths, found power... and I wasn’t there. Again. Like always. I’d been too wrapped up in something.

This time it was Easter.

The weight of it pressed against me like a collapsing ceiling. I forced myself to stay upright.

Natalie saw it.

Her eyes softened, and she reached for my hand. "I’m sorry for scaring you. I didn’t mean to... I should’ve kept trying to reach out."

I shook my head slowly, jaw tight. "This isn’t on you. It’s..." I exhaled sharply, trying to push the weight off my chest. "It’s like... everyone around me keeps fighting battles I’m supposed to be part of—ones I should’ve prevented or stood in front of—and I’m always too late. Or too distracted. Or just... not there at all."

The guilt was a gnawing thing inside me, sharp and constant. "I wasn’t there for you. Or Zane. Or Easter, when she needed me most. And now? Everyone’s picking up the pieces, you solved everything without me. Like I was never part of it."

Natalie’s fingers tightened around mine. She didn’t let go. "Jacob," she said, gently but firmly. "Look at me."

I did.

Her eyes were steady. "You’ve always looked out for me—for all of us. But you don’t have to carry the world on your back every single second. It’s okay to breathe, Jacob. It’s okay to just... be. I’m okay now. Zane’s okay. We’re safe. You don’t have to keep bleeding for us."

She paused. "Focus on Easter. She and Rose need you now."

I heard her. I really did. But the words didn’t comfort me the way she meant them to. They sounded more like a farewell. Like a gentle push out the door. Like... I was being released.

And I didn’t want that.

I didn’t want to be the guy people moved on from. I didn’t want to be the protector who missed the fight. The brother who vanished in the middle of everything. And deep down—God, I hated how easy it seemed for them to keep going without me.

But I swallowed all of that.

I gave her a smile, small and tired. "I’m sorry I cut you all off. I didn’t mean to disappear like that. I was in a bad place. Easter... she was going through so much. I had to be there for her."

Natalie pulled me into a hug so tight it felt like home. "I get it," she whispered into my shoulder. "I really do. And Jacob, you’re not alone. You never were. Don’t forget that."

We just stayed there for a bit, not saying anything, just breathing the same air. A quiet moment in the middle of all the chaos.

Then she leaned back and gave me a soft smile. "How is Easter doing now? And little Rose?"

I froze for half a beat.

Of course she asked. Natalie always noticed the people I tried not to talk about.

"They’re..." I hesitated, then forced calm into my voice. "They’re okay. Settling in."

But I didn’t go deeper.

I didn’t say Easter doesn’t remember me. Didn’t say I wiped everything we had from her mind. Didn’t mention how today, she looked at me like I was a stranger trying too hard to be nice.

She thought I was just the guy across the street now.

Not the man she once gave her heart to.

Not the man who held her when the world felt like it was falling apart.

Natalie could figure it out if she wanted. She could follow the threads of time and memory like a map to Easter. But she wouldn’t. She’d never violate Easter’s peace like that. Not unless Easter asked her to. Also, not now. Natalie had her own burdens.

So instead, she just nodded and accepted my answer. "Good."

And I was grateful. So damn grateful.

Not for the lie. But for the mercy.

That was until—

Fox’s voice slithered into my head.

Not out loud.

Through the mind-link.

"How long are you planning to keep up this lie, Jacob?"

I froze.

My eyes darted to him—still as a statue. Not a twitch. Not a glance.

But his voice rang clear in my head like a knife scraping bone.

"You wiped her memory. She doesn’t know who you are. Doesn’t know who we are. She’s living in that house you bought her, thinking it’s always been hers, like she just woke up into a perfect little life. Are you really going to keep pretending you’re just some stranger passing by?"

My jaw clenched.

"What exactly are you implying?" I shot back, mentally.

His tone didn’t rise. It didn’t falter. That calmness? It was worse than anger.

"I’m saying if you open that door again—if you let her truly remember—she’s back in this world. With us. With gods. Monsters. War. Blood. And you remember how that ended, don’t you?"

His words landed like blows I’d forgotten how to block. Still, he kept going.

"You going to let her remember the supernatural? Let her remember who she was to you? The incident that made you erase her memories... that pushed you to beg a sly Dream Weaver for help—and give her a century of servitude in return? Or are you going to keep Easter safe by keeping her blind... and keep lying to her forever?"

I didn’t answer.

Because I didn’t have an answer.

She was happy now. She laughed more. She didn’t flinch at shadows anymore. Her nightmares were gone.

She had tea with her classmates in the afternoons and played dolls with Rose before bed.

There were no scars in her eyes. No ghosts trailing her steps.

Would dragging her back into this life tear all that away?

Would it shatter her?

Or worse... would she never forgive me?

And yet—

Every time she looked at me with those soft green eyes, unsure why her heart beat a little faster around me...

Every time she smiled too long, blushed for no reason, or thanked me like the words carried more weight than she understood...

It felt like treason.

Like I was betraying her.

Because she didn’t remember us.

Because she didn’t remember how much we meant to each other.

And it was killing me.

Because I remembered everything.

Fox’s voice, quieter now, nudged gently. "What do you want, Jacob? What are you going to do?"

I stood still for a moment.

The wind outside howled faintly.

Natalie and Zane were whispering again. Bubble and Sebastian were already arguing about muffins. But I didn’t move.

I thought of Easter.

Her wild curls. Her freckles. The tiny frown she made when reading bedtime stories to Rose. The way she always looked like she was searching for something she couldn’t name.

And I realized—

I couldn’t run from this much longer.

Something had to give.

Either I told her the truth.

Or I let her go forever and go back to being Natalie’s shadow. I was way better at that.

But either choice would hurt.

And maybe... that’s what love is.

Willing to suffer, just to see them smile one more day.

I didn’t answer Fox.

I just looked out the window at the dying sun.

And whispered to myself,

"I don’t know yet... but I’ll figure it out."

Because one way or another—

This time, I wouldn’t be too late.