GONE BUT GONE

MAYA

"You have to sleep here," Mr. Orlando said, his voice ringing with a absolute, unshakable authority that made my heart hammer against my ribs. "Till the next five days that Maria will return here, you have to guard your own tomb. You will also acquire more powers for yourself by doing that—powers that will make you deal with your enemies once and for all."

I stared at him in utter disbelief, my jaw tightening as his words echoed through the silent, fog-drenched graveyard. Guarding my own grave for five whole days sounded crazy, almost unbelievable. But the promise of acquiring absolute magic—the kind of untamed force that could shatter Maria’s tyranny into dust—sent a jolt of fire through my veins.

"And my Alpha's sight?" I asked quickly, my voice trembling with desperate hope. "What about Edward?"

Mr. Orlando looked at me with those clouded, ancient eyes and waved his withered hand dismissively. "Oh, yeah. He is already healed."

I stood rooted to the spot, completely frozen. "What? What do you mean he is already healed?"

"His soul was touched the moment you embraced your true identity," the old man answered simply. "The curse holding his eyes in darkness has already been lifted."

His words made no sense to me at all. How could Edward be healed? He was still stone-blind even this morning while I was preparing him and sneaking out of the pack house! I had wiped his face, held his cold hands, and kissed his unseeing eyes just a few hours ago. He hadn't seen me then, so how could he possibly be healed right now? It felt like a cruel joke, a strange riddle I couldn't comprehend.

I stood there on the cold dirt path, torn violently down the middle. I agreed in my heart to spend the next five days here at the cemetery to complete the ritual, but I was also deeply, terribly worried about Edward. If I stayed away for five whole days, he was going to be completely alone in that hostile palace. He would be at the mercy of the servants and Maria, entirely needing my assistance to eat, wash, and stay safe from poison.

What if Maria notices I am gone and takes her anger out on him? I thought, panic rising in my throat. What if she realizes I ran away?

My mind was spinning in chaotic circles. I had never been this confused in my entire life. On one hand, my soul was screaming at me to run back to the pack house, to throw my arms around Edward, and to check if his eyes could truly see again. On the other hand, if I left right now, I would forfeit the chance to absorb the full remnant of my past life’s magic. Without that power, I would remain a weak, helpless girl forced to endure Maria’s vile touch every single night.

I closed my eyes, letting the cold morning wind blow past my face as I weighed my choices. But if I was to choose what was more important, I believed that I had to go for what was truly most important.

Which was the power.

Without real, unstoppable power, I could never protect Edward permanently. Even if he could see today, Maria would just find another way to poison him tomorrow. I needed the strength to destroy her completely. Getting these powers was the only way to guarantee our freedom and bring total victory.

"I will stay," I whispered, opening my eyes and looking straight into Mr. Orlando's face. "I will guard the grave."

A slow, approving smile spread across the old man's wrinkled face. "A wise decision, Princess. True power demands sacrifice."

Orlando immediately moved into action, helping me with all the sacred items he felt I needed for the upcoming ritual. He brought out small clay bowls filled with ancient herbs, crushed silver leaves, and dark, scented oils that smelled of wild earth and old rain. He showed me how to circle the marble tombstone with the crushed herbs to create a protective barrier against evil spirits. He instructed me on how to sit over my buried bones in my wolf form so that the spiritual line connecting my past body to my current soul would open up completely.

"When the sun goes down tonight, you will feel the earth pull at your spirit," Orlando explained as he rubbed the dark oil across the corners of my tombstone. "Do not fight it. Let your wolf absorb the lingering soul energy left behind when Philomena died."

I listened carefully to every single detail, engraving his instructions deep into my memory.

When afternoon turned into dusk and the graveyard grew dark and shadowy, I walked behind the thick stone wall near my grave. I stripped off my dark cloak and shifted. Bones cracked and realigned smoothly as my massive white wolf form emerged. I stepped out onto the mossy ground on four large paws, my thick fur catching the pale rays of the rising moon.

I walked slowly toward my own tomb, lowering my heavy body down onto the cold, damp soil right beside the marble slab bearing my past name.

As soon as my bare paws pressed firmly into the earth above my ancient body, a strange, intense warmth surged upward through the ground. It was a deep, rhythmic vibration, beating like a second heart right beneath the soil. My wolf let out a low, contented sigh.

A heavy, overwhelming waves of exhaustion washed over my mind. The strain of the past few weeks, the humiliation I had endured under Maria, and the sudden rush of spiritual energy pulling at my blood all combined to crush my consciousness.

I curled my long tail around my nose, laying my heavy head on the soft earth over my bones. My eyes grew impossibly heavy, and within minutes, I completely slept off, disappearing entirely into a deep, dreamless trance while my wolf guarded my buried past.