A Warrior's Second Chance (Faye and Alexander) novel Chapter 168

425 Points

Chapter 168

The room was silent except for the soft, sound of Alexander’s breathing. He lay motionless. on the bed, his face calm, almost peaceful. An hour ago, that same face had been pale and lifeless. Now his chest rose and fell, his skin warm again.

Faye sat beside him, hands clasped tightly on her knees. Her palms still tingled faintly. Every few seconds, she would glance at them, half–expecting to see that strange light again.

The healer, Edna, stood at the foot of the bed, her face a mask of disbelief. She had tended to hundreds of wounds in her lifetime… seen death in every shade… but never had she seen it reversed so completely… so fast.

Finally, she exhaled, shaking her head. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” she murmured.

Faye glanced at Edna but said nothing. Her father’s hand rested heavily on her shoulder. Edna turned toward everyone and said, “He’ll live. But he needs peace. All of you… out. He must

rest.”

They obeyed without argument. But when Faye started to rise, Edna lifted a hand.

“Not you, child. Stay.”

When the door closed behind the others, the room felt smaller, tighter. The weight of what had happened pressed down on both of them.

Edna came closer, her eyes calm. “Faye, tell me the truth… tell me exactly what happened out there,” she said. Her voice was calm, but there was something behind it… something almost

cautious.

Faye swallowed hard. “I… I don’t know,” she whispered. “He was just lying there. I could feel his breath slipping away. I put my hand on his chest to comfort him… I just wanted him to breathe again.”

She hesitated. “Then my hand started to glow. I didn’t even notice until Sage said something from behind us. It was… warm, but not like fire. It was deeper, heavier. Then he started shaking, and…”

She broke off, her voice cracking.

Edna said nothing for a while. She sat slowly on the edge of the bed and took one of Faye’s hands in hers. The woman’s touch was gentle. “Have you experienced it before?”

Faye shook her head. “No.”

1/4

<Chapter 168

“Child,” she said softly, “do

you

understand what you did?”

+25 Points

Faye shook her head again. “I… I healed him, didn’t I?”

Edna’s gaze

remained fixed on her for a moment, then glanced at Alexander. “No,” she said quietly. “You didn’t just heal him. It’s more like you brought him back… there’s a difference.”

Faye blinked, her heart skipping a beat. “What?”

“What you did wasn’t regular healing–it was restoration. You called him back from where no wolf should ever return,” Edna said.

Faye stared at her, her mouth parting in disbelief. “That’s not possible…”

Edna gave a soft, humorless laugh. “I would have said the same thing an hour ago. But I’ve lived long enough to know that the goddess sometimes touches her children in ways we can’t understand… and I just witnessed it. What happened tonight frightened me.”

Faye’s throat tightened. “Frightened you?”

The old woman nodded. “Because power like that never comes freely. There’s always a cost.”

Faye’s breath caught. “A cost? But…”

Edna nodded again. “The world doesn’t allow life to return without taking something in exchange. It could be strength, memory… or something far worse. I can’t tell you what it will take, or if it would take anything at all this time, but, Faye…” She reached forward, her voice trembling just slightly. “Don’t ever use that power carelessly. If the goddess has given you the ability to touch death and bring life back, then she has also given you the burden of consequence.”

Faye looked down at her palms. Her voice was small when she spoke. “I didn’t know how it happened. I didn’t even do anything to trigger it,” she said. “It felt like I was just a vessel.”

Edna’s eyes softened. “That’s because you were. And you don’t have control over it yet…you need must master it.”

They sat in silence for a moment. The air was heavy with the scent of herbs and candle wax. Alexander shifted slightly in his sleep, a quiet sound escaping his lips.

Faye’s eyes shifted to him immediately. “He’s breathing fine now,” she whispered. “That’s all that matters.”

Edna nodded slowly, though her expression was still clouded. “Yes, of course,” she said softly. “But remember my words, Faye. This power–whatever it is–doesn’t come from any known healing. You reached into the void tonight. Be grateful that the void didn’t reach back,

2/4

<Chapter 168

and be careful.”

+25 Points

She rose to her feet, brushed a hand over Faye’s hair, and said quietly, “Go get some rest, child. I’ll watch over him.”

“I want to stay by his side. I want to be here when he wakes up,” Faye said.

Edna smiled and nodded. “That’s fine. I don’t mind watching over you both.”

BLOOD CRESCENT

Cole leaned against the edge of the desk, arms crossed, eyes fixed on nothing in particular when the office door swung open. Irene walked in, worry written all over her face.

“Cole, have you heard from Alexander or Faye since yesterday?” she asked, her tone tight.” I’ve been calling both of them and getting nothing. It’s not like either of them to go silent this long.”

Cole straightened a little, masking the unease that flickered through him. He was worried himself, but he couldn’t afford to feed Irene’s worry. “No,” he said evenly. “I haven’t been able to reach them either.”

Irene frowned, pacing a little. “Maybe they’ve just been busy. You know how those summits can get… long meetings, endless discussions… maybe their phones died and they forgot to charge them or something.”

Cole lifted a brow, giving her a look that said seriously?

Realizing how ridiculous that sounded, Irene huffed. “Fine, do you have a better explanation?”

Cole sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “No. But I’ll reach out to some of our contacts in Silver Hollow,” he said. “Maybe they can help remind Alexander and the Luna to charge their phones.”

Irene’s eyes narrowed. “You’re so annoying,” she muttered, almost throwing her phone at him before rolling her eyes and leaving the room.

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify