Chapter 37
WINDY
The forest blurs around me as I run, each step heavier than the last, my breath coming in ragged gasps. Aiden’s voice echoes in my mind, taunting me, mocking me for my weakness. My magic is gone, ripped away like a part of my soul, leaving me hollow and helpless. But I keep running, fueled by a single thought: I have to find a way to stop him. I can’t let him win.
The burned trees seem to close in around me, their twisted branches like skeletal hands reaching for me as if the very forest knows I’m powerless. I stumble over roots and rocks, my legs trembling with exhaustion. The ground beneath me feels unsteady, and for a moment, I wonder if this is all just a cruel nightmare—a twisted game Aiden is playing with my mind.
But the pain in my chest, the rawness in my throat, tells me it’s real. Too real.
The scent of smoke still lingers in the air, a reminder of the fire that almost consumed us all. It mixes with the scent of earth and decay, the forest’s wounds still fresh.
I don’t know how far I’ve run when I finally collapse against the base of a massive oak, its bark rough against my skin. My chest heaves as I struggle to catch my breath, my mind spinning.
How did it come to this?
How did Aiden get the upper hand so easily?
What am I supposed to do now, without my magic?
Tears sting my eyes, but I force them back, my hands curling into fists. I won’t cry. I won’t give him the satisfaction. But the despair gnaws at me, a dark, insidious thing that threatens to consume me from within. I close my eyes, trying to summon even a flicker of magic, but there’s nothing. Just emptiness.
“No,” I whisper, shaking my head. “I won’t let it end like this.”
I take a deep breath, forcing myself to focus. I have to think. There has to be a way to get my magic back—to fight Aiden on equal ground. My mind races, grasping for anything, any scrap of knowledge or memory that could help me.
“Granddaughter… what are the tears for?”
“Grandmother!”
I look up and see a cluster of ghostly women standing before me.
“Who are all of you? Didn’t you see, I failed you!”
“These are your ancestors. My dear, you didn’t. You just need to believe in the faith that your ancestors have in you. You’ve done what you needed to, your magic is still there, just buried. No silly man can ever take your magic fully away. You have found your fated mates, kissed them each and admitted your feelings to yourself. You found the moon bloom. Now you have one final task… Believe in yourself.”
“That’s it. Believe in myself? Well, then I believe I can fight, and win.”
A jolt of energy shoots through me, lighting up every nerve in my body.
My breath catches in my throat as I feel the magic surge within me, filling the void that Aiden left behind. But it’s not just my magic—it’s something more, something ancient and powerful, something that’s been waiting here for centuries.
I close my eyes, letting the energy wash over me, letting it fill me until I feel like I’m going to burst. When I open my eyes, the world around me is different—sharper, more vibrant. I can see the threads of magic through the air, feel the pulse of the earth beneath me, and hear the whispers of the wind as it dances through the trees. My magic is back, but it’s changed—stronger, wilder, more connected to the world around me.
I rise to my feet, feeling the power thrumming through my veins, and I know what I have to do.
The return journey blurs past me as I hurry as fast as I can, the forest almost bowing out of our way as if it senses I’m not the same person who ventured in. When I finally reach the clearing, finding my mates, it’s not the sight of Aiden standing menacingly that stops me—it’s realizing he’s still delusional enough to think he has the upper hand.
Wallace, Willow, and Warrick are with me, all of us poised for whatever comes next.
“Clearly, you don’t understand how this works, Aiden,” I say, my voice dripping with calm confidence. “You thought stealing my magic would break me, but all you did was give me more. I’m tied to this world in ways you can’t even begin to fathom. You’ve already lost.”
Aiden’s rage distorts his features as he gathers every ounce of power he has left, the air around him crackling with dark energy. He unleashes a final, desperate attack, a wave of destruction meant to wipe us out.
But I’m not just anyone.
With a flick of my hand, the earth trembles, and vines erupt from the ground, snatching the dark energy midair and dragging it down into the soil. Aiden’s eyes widen in terror as he watches his last gambit fail spectacularly.
“This is for everything you’ve done, Aiden,” I say, my voice low and deadly. “For taking my magic, for hurting my friends, and for thinking you could control me.”
With a thought, I send a wave of blinding magic crashing toward him. Aiden’s scream rips through the clearing, but it’s too late. The light devours his dark energy, obliterating it until all that remains is the faint echo of his scream.
As the light dims, I stand tall, my breath steady. Aiden is gone, and I’m not just Windy anymore. I’m something more, something stronger.
“Well, that was anticlimactic,” Willow mutters, brushing off his clothes as he stands. “All that drama, and he folds like a cheap tent.”
“Yeah, kind of disappointing,” I reply, though my voice is weary.
There’s no victory in this, just a lingering exhaustion. But it’s over. And for now, that’s enough.
“Let’s get out of here,” Wallace suggests, his voice thick with fatigue. “There’s nothing left for us here.”