All Chapters of THE LAST SHIFT: A Werewolf without a Wolf : Chapter 151 - Chapter 160

“They’re looking at you.”Kieran’s voice was low, but it cut through the night like a blade. He didn't mean the moon or the sky. He meant me.I felt it too. The air pressed against my skin like a physical weight. The pull in my chest tightened, but it wasn't like a rope anymore. It felt like a giant hand closing around my heart.“I know,” I said, my breath shallow.A young wolf nearby swallowed hard, his eyes darting to the shadows. “What do you mean... looking? Like they can see her right now?”“They are measuring her,” the old Alpha answered, her voice grim. “Like a master remembering something he once owned.”“I am not owned,” I said. The words came out softer than I wanted, swallowed by the oppressive silence of the clearing.Kieran’s hand found mine, his fingers lacing through mine with bruising strength. “Say it again. Louder.”“I am not owned!”The ground beneath us hummed—a slow, deep vibration that shook the soles of our feet.“The earth is listening,” a scout whispered.“No,

“Kaia!”Kieran’s shout tore through the air as my body lurched forward. I wasn't being dragged; my own blood was answering the ground, as if a part of me had finally surrendered even while my mind screamed for me to stay.“Don’t let her go!” the old Alpha yelled. “Hold your ground!”“I’ve got her!” Kieran growled. His arms were like iron bands around my waist, his feet digging deep into the dirt. “But it’s like the earth itself is letting her go.”“I can feel it,” I whispered, my voice shaking with panic. “It’s not pulling me by force anymore. It’s… opening a path and just waiting for me to step into the dark.”A young wolf cried out, “The crack is getting wider!”The light in the earth spread. It was no longer a thin line; it was a hungry mouth, like a door unsealed by a cold breath.“Kaia, look at me,” Kieran pleaded, his voice rough and desperate. “Don’t look at the light. Look at me.”I tried. I truly did. But the pressure in my chest wasn't just a weight anymore. It was a command

“Kaia, look at me. Don’t look at the light. Look at me!”His voice shook, not loud, but breaking, like if he raised it any more it would shatter.“I am,” I said, but even I could hear how far away I sounded. “I just… can’t feel where my body ends anymore.”“Then feel where I am,” Kieran said. “My arms. My chest. My heartbeat. Match it.”“I’m trying.”The thin, burning line between us pulsed, bright as a drawn wire in fire.A wolf shouted, “The bond is glowing!”“It’s not glowing,” the old Alpha said. “It’s thinning.”The word cut deeper than any scream.Kieran’s grip tightened until it hurt. “No. It’s holding. I can feel her.”The weight is too much for the soul, the presence said, calm and cold.“Shut up,” I whispered. “Just… shut up.”The light pressed higher, past my shoulders, brushing my neck. It felt like standing in a river that kept rising, slow, patient, sure it would cover my head in time.“Kieran,” I breathed, “it’s lifting me inside myself. Like I’m being unhooked from the

“Kaia, don’t let go of his eyes. If you lose his eyes, you lose him.”The old Alpha’s voice cut through the roar in my head. Not loud. Not panicked. Steady. Like a hand on my back when the ground is gone.I kept my forehead pressed to Kieran’s. His breath was hot against my mouth. The light around us was cold.“I’m still here,” he said, his voice rough. “Talk to me.”“I’m not going anywhere,” I whispered. “You don’t get rid of me that easy.”A faint, broken smile touched his lips. “Good. Because it’s trying to peel me out of my own skin.”The pull tightened. Not like a rope. Like a thought. Like something deciding who I was supposed to be.My knees slid an inch across the stone. Hands tightened around my arms.“She’s slipping!” someone shouted.“I’m not,” I said, even as the world tilted. “The floor is moving.”Kieran’s shoulders jerked again. A low sound tore from his chest, half growl, half pain.“Where does it hurt?” I asked.“Everywhere it thinks I can be broken apart.”The presen

“Kieran!” I screamed. My voice was rough and cracked. It felt like it was being ripped out of my throat. “Hold on! Don’t let it take you!”He growled back. It was a deep, low sound that shook his whole body. “I’m holding! But it’s… everywhere! It’s in my head, Kaia! It’s in my bones!”I could feel it too. The light wasn't just light anymore. It was like a bug, moving through my nerves, my muscles, and my memories. It was patient and very strong. It counted every heartbeat. It weighed every doubt I had. I could feel Kieran’s fear stretching across me like a thin, tight wire. It was his fear, and it was mine, but I refused to let it win.“Then choke it!” I yelled. I bit my lip hard and wrapped my arms tighter around him. “Make it choke on us! Every scar! Every fight! Every night we survived! It won’t own you!”Kieran’s fingers dug into my back as his arms shook. “Kaia… it’s pulling on everything! My memories, my wolf, the night I—”“Don’t let it!” I hissed. I pressed my forehead to his.