CHAPTER 125: LUNA’S INSIGHT

Luna POV

A shadow thing slammed into me, sending me flying through the void. My back hit something firm, and pain exploded through my ribs. I rolled to the side just as huge claws raked the space where my head had been.

"Luna!" Brock’s words cut through the chaos as more void creatures poured out of the darkness around us.

I scrambled to my feet, shifting into my wolf form mid-jump. My teeth found the shadow beast’s throat, but it felt like biting smoke. The thing laughed and threw me off, its red eyes shining in the endless black.

This wasn’t how I thought I’d die. Trapped between dimensions, facing monsters made of pure darkness, all because I’d been too proud to see what was right in front of me.

"Form a circle!" Aiden yelled, his alpha voice cutting through the void. "Protect the center!"

But as we tried to group together, I noticed something strange. Even though Lily was flickering in and out of existence, barely solid enough to touch, she and Caleb moved like they were still linked by invisible strings.

When a void creature attacked from Lily’s left, Caleb was already moving to block it before she even seemed to notice the danger. When Caleb stumbled, Lily’s hand reached out to steady him, even though her fingers passed right through his arm.

It was impossible. Their mate bond had been broken when Lily became unstable. I’d felt it break myself - the spiritual link that tied mated wolves together had snapped like a cut rope. But watching them now, they still moved like two parts of the same person.

"Fascinating," came Sage’s voice from somewhere behind me. The witch was casting protection spells while studying Lily with focused focus. "The magical bond is gone, but something else remains."

Another wave of shadow things attacked. This time I paid closer attention to how Lily and Caleb fought together. It wasn’t just gut or training. When Caleb ducked, Lily spun in the exact same direction. When she raised her hand to cast a spell, he shifted to give her the right angle. They weren’t thinking about it - they just knew.

"How is this possible?" I asked Sage during a short break between attacks.

"I don’t know," she revealed. "Magic doesn’t work that way. When a supernatural bond breaks, it’s gone totally."

That’s when it hit me. I’d been so focused on magical links that I’d missed the obvious truth. "What if it’s not supernatural at all?"

Sage looked at me sharply. "What do you mean?"

Before I could answer, the Void King’s laughter filled the space around us. The shadow creatures pulled back, forming a circle with us trapped in the middle.

"You’re all so amusing," his voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere. "Still trying to solve puzzles when you’re about to become my dinner."

The darkness pressed closer, and I felt my strength begin to fade. But Lily and Caleb kept moving together, their rhythm getting stronger instead of weaker.

"Look at them," I whispered to Sage, nodding toward the pair. "Really look."

Sage followed my look, her magical sight focusing on Lily and Caleb. After a moment, her eyes went wide. "Their heartbeats," she breathed. "They’re matching perfectly."

"Not just their heartbeats," I said, understanding rushing through me. "Their breaths, their steps, even the way they blink. They’re completely in sync."

"But how?"

I thought back to all the time I’d spent watching them during the mate trials, jealous and angry. I’d seen them share quiet times in the library, working side by side on pack histories. I’d watched them care for injured wolves together, their hands moving in perfect synchronization. I’d noticed how they seemed to know what the other was thinking without speaking.

"It’s not magic," I said, the pieces finally clicking together. "It’s deeper than that. They learned each other."

"Learned each other?" Sage repeated.

"Think about it," I explained, avoiding another shadow creature that got too close. "True mates don’t just share a special bond. They pay attention to each other. They study each other’s habits, remember each other’s patterns, predict each other’s wants. Over time, they become so familiar that they move as one person."

Sage’s face lit up with understanding. "The emotional bond Lily needs for the anchor spell - it’s not about magical love. It’s about this kind of deep understanding."

"Exactly," I nodded. "Caleb knows Lily better than anyone, not because of a mate mark, but because he decided to really see her. Even with the magical bond broken, that knowledge stays."

But then the horrible truth struck me. "Which means my plan won’t work."

"What plan?" Caleb asked, overhearing us.

I felt sick as I realized what I’d been about to suggest. "I thought maybe if I could recreate the mate bond somehow, transfer it to myself temporarily, it might stabilize Lily long enough for Sage’s spell to work."

"You were going to try to become Lily’s mate?" Brock asked in shock.

"Just magically," I said quickly. "Not romantically. I thought it might save her."

"But it wouldn’t work," Sage said sadly. "Because the link they have isn’t magical. It’s built from years of deciding to know each other, trust each other, grow together. You can’t fake that or move it."

The Void King’s laughing grew louder. "How sweet. The beta finally knows what real love looks like, just in time to watch it die forever."

"There has to be another way," I said desperately. The guilt was eating me alive. If I hadn’t been so jealous, so driven to tear them apart, maybe none of this would have happened.

"Actually," Elder Iris spoke up from across the circle, her voice shaky but determined, "there might be."

We all turned to look at the old wolf.

"The old stories speak of a ritual," she added. "When magical ties fail, sometimes the deepest human connections can be strengthened to take their place. But it needs something none of us have considered."

"What?" Caleb asked quickly.

Elder Iris met his eyes with a sad smile. "It takes Lily to choose to come back. Not just agree to be saved, but actively fight to return to the life she’s made. And right now, she’s sure that life is gone forever."

"Then we make her remember," I said furiously.

"How do you make someone remember hope when they’ve lost everything?" Elder Iris asked.

Before anyone could answer, Lily’s shifting form suddenly solidified completely. For the first time since this nightmare began, she looked fully real and present.

But when she spoke, her words chilled us all to the bone.

"I remember everything," she said, her voice strangely calm. "And that’s exactly why I want to stay lost."