Echoes Taking Over

Soren's Pov

“Stop looking at me like I am already gone.”

My voice cracked as another wave of pain ripped through my skull. Rhydian had not left my side all night. He sat on the floor with me, back against the wall, his strong arms keeping me steady every time the memories tried to drown me. The room felt too small, too warm with his scent mixed in the air.

“I am not going anywhere,” he said quietly. His hand rubbed slow circles on my back. “Breathe through it, Soren. Tell me what you see this time.”

I squeezed my eyes shut against the pounding. “A private moment. You and him under the old oak behind the training grounds. Late at night. You were arguing about pack duties keeping you apart. Then you pulled him close and said you would always choose him first, no matter what the elders thought. It felt so real. Like I lived it. I could even smell the pine needles and feel the cold bark against my back.”

Rhydian went completely still. His breath hitched. “That night happened exactly like that. No one else knew those words. How are you pulling them out of me? I have kept that memory locked tight for a year.”

I opened my eyes and met his gray ones. They looked raw, like fresh wounds. “I do not know. It just comes. Like someone else is whispering in my ear and I cannot shut him up. I hate it. I am trying to fight but it gets stronger every hour. Every time I close my eyes, more pieces push in.”

He shifted closer, our shoulders touching. The heat from his body made the warmth in my chest flare up again. “Maybe fighting is not the way. Talk to me. What else do you feel right now? Be honest.”

The warmth spread through my chest again. His nearness made it worse and better at the same time. “Safe. Scared. Like I know exactly how your hands feel on my skin even though I should not. This is messing with my head, Rhydian. I am Soren. Not him. But right now it feels like we are sharing the same space inside me.”

“You are,” he whispered. His fingers brushed my jaw, almost gentle. “But that scent and those words keep pulling me in. I stayed here all night because I could not leave you shaking like that. Every time you twitched in pain, I kept thinking if I let go, you might slip away completely.”

We stayed like that for a long minute. My heart pounded so hard I wondered if he could hear it. His face was so close I could see the faint scar above his eyebrow and the way his dark hair fell messy across his forehead. I leaned in without thinking. Our lips almost touched. Heat rushed through me like wildfire.

Then panic hit hard. I jerked back, scrambling away until my back hit the opposite wall. My chest heaved. “No. Do not do that. I am not your dead mate. You cannot kiss a ghost through me. It would not be fair to any of us.”

Rhydian looked stunned. He ran a hand through his messy hair and let out a long breath. “I know you are not him. But damn it, Soren, part of me does not care right now. The other part is terrified this will break us both. I have spent a year learning to live without him and now you show up and everything feels upside down.”

The door opened before I could reply. Garrick stepped in, face serious. He had a couple papers in his hand and looked like he had been running. “Alpha, more on the investigation. Soren had big gaps in his movements three months ago. Days where no one saw him at all. And he met with a shady healer known for messing with old taboos. The kind the pack banned years back. This is not normal stuff.”

Rhydian stood up fast. “Show me those papers. Every detail.”

I pushed myself up too, legs still shaky from the night. “You keep digging into my life like I am the enemy here. I went for help because I was dying. That is all. I did not ask for any of this ritual nonsense or whatever is happening. I just wanted more time.”

Garrick glanced between us, clearly uncomfortable. “There is more, Alpha. We caught a rival scout near the border at first light. He is talking plenty now that we have him.”

“Bring him in right now,” Rhydian ordered, his voice sharp.

Two guards dragged a beaten looking wolf into the room. The scout sneered at me first, then turned to Rhydian with a nasty grin. “Heard you got yourself a ghost mate, Blackmoor. Whole rival packs are laughing about it. Said you are bonding with the dead one. Makes you look weak. We are coming for your territory soon and we will not hold back.”

Rhydian growled low in his throat. “Who is spreading that rumor? Give me names.”

The scout laughed, even with blood on his lip. “Everyone by now. Your quiet beta smells like the dead one. Word travels fast when an alpha starts acting crazy. They think you are losing it.”

Rhydian dismissed them with a sharp nod. The guards hauled the scout out fast. He turned back to me, eyes intense and worried. “This is getting bigger than us. External threats are circling because of this scent and whatever is happening to you. I cannot ignore it anymore.”

I rubbed my aching head, trying to steady myself. “Then let me help. I feel stronger suddenly. Like something is giving me energy instead of taking it. Maybe these fragments are good for something.”

Rhydian hesitated but pulled an old leather book from a high shelf. Dust floated off it. “These are forbidden records. Pages about soul stuff that most wolves never see. See if anything makes sense to you. But be careful.”

I took the book. My fingers moved on their own, flipping straight to a certain section like I had read it before. Words jumped out at me clear as day. “This part here. It talks about binding fragments of the dead into a living host. Look at the symbols. They match the dreams I had. The ones with the moonlight and the whispers.”

Rhydian leaned over my shoulder, reading along closely. His breath brushed my ear. “How do you know how to read this? No one in the pack touches these books. They are locked away for a reason.”

“I just do,” I said. My voice sounded different for a second. Clearer and steadier. “It is called Echo Binding. That is what is happening. Someone imprinted pieces of him into me. It is not random. It needs a compatible host, someone already weak or dying.”

Rhydian grabbed my arm, grip firm but not painful. “Echo Binding? Keep reading. What else does it say? Tell me everything.”

I scanned the page fast, heart racing. The warmth surged stronger through my body. Then my mouth opened and words came out in a voice that was not fully mine. Deeper, warmer, like Elio speaking through me. “If you complete the bond, Rhydian, it will erase me forever. Soren will be gone. You cannot have both of us. The ritual was never meant to share. It takes everything.”

The room spun hard. Pain exploded behind my eyes like fire. I dropped the book with a thud and collapsed forward. Rhydian caught me before I hit the floor, his arms wrapping tight around my waist.

“Soren! Stay with me,” he shouted. His voice sounded far away through the haze. “Fight it. Do not let him take you. I need you here, the real you.”

I tried to speak but another seizure hit fast. My body jerked uncontrollably. The last thing I felt was his hand on my face, desperate and warm, holding on like I might vanish any second. Everything went black again, but this time the whispers followed me down, promising more memories, more of him, until nothing of Soren remained.