Shattered Bonds A Second Chance Mate (by Yui) novel Chapter 158

Chapter 158

Chapter 158

I could only pout, a small huff escaping me.

Sometimes I wondered if Francesco forgot who I really was–or perhaps, he simply chose to forget.

I wasn’t fragile or I wasn’t some helpless girl to be tucked away.

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But even as my irritation simmered, I knew the truth behind his stubborn command. He wasn’t underestimating me. He

was worried–terrified even.

As always…

I nodded, though my chest tightened with the weight of unspoken words. “I understand.”

The moment the words left my lips, I saw something shift in him.

His expression flickered–not with relief, not even satisfaction–but shock.

I frowned, tilting my head. “What?”

His lips twitched, and suddenly a quiet, almost disbelieving chuckle slipped past them. “Never thought I’d hear those words coming from you.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks, though not from embarrassment.

Irritation burned instead. Damn it!

I heard muffled coughs behind him, and when I glanced toward the corner, I saw both Audrey and Marlow struggling to

stifle their amusement.

Traitors.

Rolling my eyes, I huffed louder. “You’re all impossible.”

Francesco’s smirk lingered for only a heartbeat longer before his Alpha mask slid back into place.

He turned toward Marlow. “Stay close. We need to prepare.” Then, looking back at me briefly, his dark eyes softened. “Rest, Ellaine. That’s an order.”

And with that, he strode out, Marlow trailing behind him like a shadow.

The weight of his presence lifted from the room, leaving behind only the faint echo of his intensity.

“I’ll tell the Alpha and the others that you need rest after what happened yesterday in the lake,” Audrey said, her voice carefully neutral.

But I couldn’t resist, My lips curled into a mischievous grin. “Why not tell him your King was the one who tired me more?”

Audrey’s eyes went wide before she sputtered, and then a laugh broke free from her chest–sharp and unrestrained.

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She clapped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late.

The door slammed.

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I couldn’t help it–I burst out laughing too, the sound bubbling up until my stomach hurt. For a moment, just a brief one, the tension of the past twenty–four hours cracked enough to let joy slip through.

But when the echoes faded, silence reclaimed the room.

I turned to her, my expression shifting as quickly as a storm.

I fixed my gaze on her. “Audrey… Tell me what you really saw.”

The teasing was gone from my tone.

This time, my words rang with seriousness, a faint undercurrent of command that even I didn’t intend to lace into them.

I didn’t have Francesco’s Alpha authority, but I had something else–an instinctive pull.

Audrey blinked, surprised, and I watched the conflict cross her features.

She knew me better than most–knew when I wasn’t going to let something slide. She also knew, better than anyone, that I would dig until I uncovered the truth, even if it cut me in the process.

She exhaled slowly, the sound heavy. “You know what we saw there, Luna.”

Her use of that word made me stiffen, even though I’d heard it before. Not mockingly, not casually–but with weight. With

recognition.

I nodded. The memory was etched into me like fire against skin. The water. The chains. The presence. And the souls– those countless, weeping cries tangled in the depths.

Audrey’s gaze grew distant, almost haunted. “And when you jumped… It’s like every soul moved.”

The hairs on the back of my neck prickled.

My voice shook. “What do you mean?”

Her jaw tightened, her throat bobbing as if the words themselves were hard to speak. “When you jumped, every soul… followed you”

The world seemed to tilt

My stomach dropped, and I gripped the edge of the bed to steady myself

“What?” The whisper tore out of me, thin and fragile

Audrey nodded grimly ” was like they were exaiting for you. They rae from the depths, countless faces twisted with grief, with longing. And the moment you entered the water their attention turned Not to me. Not to the lake. To you.”

My chest ached “Every soul?”

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“Yes.” She swallowed, her eyes dark with the memory. “It was as if they recognized you. Like moths to flame, Ellaine. They… followed you into the water. Not to harm, not at first. But drawn. Hungry. Desperate.”

My heart pounded painfully.

They wanted me.

My soul?

The question thundered in my skull. Why me?

Why always me?

I pressed a trembling hand to my chest. Mika stirred faintly within me, silent but restless, as if she too felt the weight of Audrey’s words.

“They need my soul,” I whispered.

The thought chilled me more than the icy waters of the lake ever could.

Audrey didn’t answer at first, her silence confirmation enough.

Finally, she said, “It wasn’t just need, Ellaine. It was… recognition. Like you were already part of them. Or–like you something they’ve been waiting for.”

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Mika’s voice brushed faintly against my consciousness, almost like an echo, but not yet strong enough to form words. Only

the sensation of unease.

I swallowed hard. “Is it because of Mika?”

Audrey tilted her head, considering. “Your wolf is powerful, yes. But I think this is something more. Something deeper than just strength. It felt…” She hesitated, searching for words. “Old. Ancient. Like they saw not just you, but every life tied to you. As if your very essence… called them.”

I shook my head, denial clashing against fear. “That makes no sense. I’m no one. I’m-”

“Don’t,” she cut in sharply, her eyes flashing. “Don’t reduce yourself like that. You’re not no one, Ellaine. You’ve always been different. Stronger. Even before Francesco. Even before Mika. I felt it the day we met, though I didn’t want to admit it then.”

Her words clawed at me, because they rang too close to the things I feared most–the things Francesco had implied when he spoke of Anastasia, of destiny, of shadows I didn’t want to inherit.

I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering despite the warmth of the room. “But why me? What do they want from me? My soul? My body? My blood? I didn’t have Anastasia power anymore, so why?”

Audrey’s jaw clenched. “That’s the part I don’t know. All I know is, when you were in that water, they moved with you. Almost protectively, almost possessively. And then…” Her breath hitched, and her eyes darted away.

“Then what?” I demanded.

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She met my gaze again, and this time, her expression was raw, pained. “Then they reached for you. Every single one. Hands from the deep, chains dragging behind them. If Marlow and the Alpha hadn’t pulled you out…” Her voice cracked. “I don’t think they would’ve let you go.”

I froze. The room seemed colder, the air heavier.

So it wasn’t just my imagination.

That pull I felt–the way the water seemed to close around me like a coffin, the hands brushing against my skin–it had

been real.

They wanted me.

Not Francesco. Not Marlow. Not Audrey. Me.

Why?

My throat tightened, my thoughts spiraling.

Was it Mika? My wolf? Was I some key, some vessel? Or was it worse? Something buried in me that even I didn’t

understand?

Audrey leaned forward, gripping my hand firmly, grounding me. “Luna, listen to me. You are not weak. Whatever this is, it

chose to show itself to us, to you. That means something. But it also means you are in danger greater than you realize.”

I stared at her, the weight of her words pressing down on me until it was hard to breathe.

For a long moment, silence stretched between us, broken only by the faint crackle of fire from the hearth.

Finally, I whispered, “What if… what if they don’t just want me? What if they need me to awaken?”

The thought had been gnawing at me since yesterday, since I felt those chains wrapping around me, cold and suffocating.

Like something waiting to be freed, waiting for the right soul to shatter its prison.

Audrey’s face paled, and for the first time, I saw something I rarely saw in her fear that wasn’t masked, wasn’t hidden.

“Looks like they need a strong soul to awaken,” she murmured.

The words tasted like poison in the air.

And all at once, I felt it–that same tug deep inside, faint but undeniable. The lake hadn’t finished with me. The souls hadn’t finished with me,

And no matter what Francesco commanded, no matter how much I wanted to believe I could walk away… I knew this was only the beginning and I can’t stay and do nothing.

“We need to check more than and looks like the pack member also know, so what they’ve been hiding?” I told her.

“But, the King…” Audrey tried to object, but the words died quickly on her tongue. She knew my stubbornness, knew that once my mind was set, there was no use trying to sway me. Instead, she exhaled and lowered her gaze in reluctant

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Chapter 158

acceptance. “Got it.”

Knock. Knock.