Third Person POV
The air shifted.
As Caitlyn turned from Raymond’s side, the ground beneath her feet trembled once, then again, harder. A deep, thrumming vibration built from beneath the ruins of Eldoria, echoing through the stone and soil like the slow, monstrous heartbeat of something ancient. Cracks formed in the earth, splitting open like veins of darkness. Dust spiraled into the air, choking the battlefield with the scent of scorched earth and death.
Then, without warning, the land ruptured.
A jagged tear split the ruins apart, sending debris flying as a force unlike any they had ever known burst forth. The very air seemed to scream. A guttural, unearthly shriek cut through the battlefield—deeper than the Abyss Wolf’s roar, lower, more primal, vibrating through every bone and muscle. The sky overhead twisted into a blood-stained spiral, the fading glow of the Blood Moon pulsing like a wounded eye, casting eerie shadows upon the carn
Raymond’s body burned with the aftermath of the failed tether. His skin was seared, his muscles weak, and the remnants of the ritual had drained him to the point where his wolf—the wild, untamed part of him—was nothing but a whisper of its former self. But through it all, his hand remained locked around Caitlyn’s rose, refusing to let go.For two days, he lay unconscious, his body in a state of near-death, fighting to keep hold of the fragile thread that connected him to her. His mind, however, refused to rest.He dreamed—visions not of the past, but of the future.In these dreams, Caitlyn was alive—alive but haunted. He saw her, standing alone in the shadows of a war-torn world. Her eyes were older, colder, the warmth that once lived within them now gone, replaced by something far darker. Something that chilled him to his core. The dream was fragmented, a series of images that didn’t make sense, yet meant something. A w
The air between the worlds crackled with tension, unstable and vibrating with the energy of the crack between realms. Caitlyn stood in the center, her form flickering like a half-formed dream, her body and spirit finally aligning. She could feel the connection—the pull toward the world she once knew, toward Raymond—but it was fragile. The gateway, barely holding together, flickered around her like a dying light. She reached toward it, but the crack seemed to widen and collapse, never solid, always shifting.I’m so close, she thought, her heart aching with longing. But she knew that the moment she crossed, everything would change. She could feel it—Raymond’s presence on the other side, the tension of him waiting. She could almost hear his voice, but it was distant, like a memory she couldn’t fully grasp.She closed her eyes, reaching for the light, but the uncertainty of the rift dragged at her, the bond she shared with Raymond pullin
Raymond's POVRaymond stood at the center of the ancient ruins, the full moon overhead casting its eerie glow across the stones. The ritual he was about to complete was forbidden—lost to time, buried in the ancient texts of his people—but it was his only chance to bring Caitlyn back. There was no turning back now.His hands trembled as he placed the bloodstone in front of him, its dark surface gleaming under the moonlight. His heart pounded in his chest, the weight of what he was about to do pressing down on him. The air was thick with the scent of earth and burning herbs, and the flames of the fire he had kindled danced wildly in the wind.“You’re ready,” Selene’s voice echoed from behind him. She had warned him against this. She had warned him that the ritual was too dangerous, too unstable. But it didn’t matter. The pull to Caitlyn was stronger than anything else.Raymond nodded, his voice low. “I have to do this, Selene. I can’t live with myself if I
Caitlyn's POVThe dream still lingered as she awoke, a warmth that flooded her chest and spread through her veins. For a moment, she couldn’t separate the dream from reality. The kiss—Raymond’s kiss—was so vivid, so real, that it pulsed within her. It wasn’t a mere dream, it was something more, something she couldn’t quite grasp. But the sensation was undeniable, and now, it was burning through her body like wildfire.At first, it was subtle—a low hum, a sensation of warmth building from within. But then, it grew stronger. It wasn’t pain, not the kind of agony she’d felt before when her bond had been torn apart. This was different. It was a calling, a beckoning from somewhere deep inside her soul, like a part of her was coming back to life. Something long dormant, something that had once marked her as a part of him.Her fingers instinctively traced the bare skin of her shoulder, and for the first time in what felt like an eternity, she felt it—the faintest glow
The hidden realm was vast and endless. The starlight stretched infinitely, casting a cold glow over everything, yet it never felt like warmth. Caitlyn wandered the field, each step heavy as if the very ground resisted her movement. There was a quiet loneliness here, an aching emptiness that she couldn’t quite place.But something had begun to change within her. She could feel it, deep within the depths of her soul. Fragments of her wolf spirit—pieces she thought were lost forever—started to stir, whispering to her from far away. It was not the power she had once known, not the wildness that ran through her veins. This was different. This was drawn by emotion, by something far more intricate than strength. It was her bond with Raymond.She could feel it, an invisible thread connecting her to the world she had left behind. It was strange, this connection, like a current pulling her back toward something. But when she tried to call upon her wolf—when she reached deep with
Caitlyn’s POVI felt the weight of a thousand moments press against me as I slowly opened my eyes. The starlight surrounding me had no end. It was as though the night had swallowed me whole, yet here I was, floating in the glow of something impossible. A place so quiet, so still, I wondered if it had ever known time. It was beautiful in a way that felt both foreign and strangely familiar—like a memory that danced just out of reach.The air, thick with the scent of flowers that were not flowers, shifted with every breath I took. My body felt lighter, as if I had shed the weight of the world, but there was something missing—a gnawing emptiness deep within. My wolf, once fierce and wild, was quiet, like a shadow that had vanished into the dark corners of my soul. I couldn’t feel her. The connection had frayed, as if a part of me had been ripped away and left behind.I tried to move, my limbs slow and unsteady, as though I had forgotten the art of walking. The starl