All Chapters of THE LAST SHIFT: A Werewolf without a Wolf : Chapter 141 - Chapter 144

Darkness swallowed me whole.I fell through it weightless, no sense of up or down, only heat pressing close like hands. The ember in my chest pulsed wildly, the only light in the void, threads of gold unwinding from my skin and spiraling around me. Voices whispered through the dark, old words, saying my name over and over until it sounded like a command.I reached for something; air, ground, my father's hand, but touched nothing. Then the fall slowed. The darkness thickened into soil and roots, pressing against me like a thousand veins. I gasped. The scent of ash and flowers, my mother's scent, grew sharper.When my feet finally struck solid earth, the impact jarred up my legs. I stumbled forward into a cavern lit by a pale, trembling glow. Roots wove across the ceiling like ribs. The ground was soft and warm beneath my hands, as if the forest's heart beat under my palms."Mother?" My voice cracked, swallowed by the space.A faint sob answered. It came from somewhere beyond the roots,

The world tore apart around us.Light and shadow warred in the hollow, ripping at the roots, shredding the air. My mother's hand was locked around mine, warm and impossibly real. Her fingers trembled against my skin, but the strength inside them was undeniable, like holding fire dressed as flesh."Daughter," she whispered, and the sound wrapped around my ember like a chain. Not binding, but claiming.Kieran dragged me against him, storms blazing to keep the shadows at bay. They struck out in coils, hissing like serpents, striking at my mother, at me, at him, but each bolt met his fury. Lightning roared from his hands, splitting the darkness back into shreds of smoke.I clung to her, my other hand clutching Kieran's sleeve. My heart was splitting in two.Her eyes shone, brighter, molten gold streaked with old grief. She stepped free of the ruined pillar, roots falling away like ash. Her gown was woven of nothing but light and shadow, torn at the edges where the chains had eaten her."Y