CHAPTER 104: CHAPTER 104

Chapter 104

Astrid’s POV

Three days.

For three days, the whispers had been my unwanted companions. They were a constant, insidious presence, a faint static at the edge of my hearing. They were clever. They only came when I was alone, when the house was quiet and my mind was at rest. They were always the same, a chorus of faint, airy voices sighing my name and begging me to come with them.

But the annoying thing was, I didn’t know who they were and I didn’t want to know either.

My name from their lips was like the sound of wind rustling through dead leaves. At first, I thought I was imagining it. But it grew more persistent. It was there when I was sketching in the living room, when I was reading in my office, when I was trying to fall asleep. It was a maddening, invisible torment.

The only time they stopped, the only time I had any peace, was when Kaeleen was near. The moment he walked into a room, the whispers would vanish as if they had never been there. His presence was a shield, a warm, solid wall of power and safety that the strange voices could not seem to pass.

This created a new kind of anxiety. I found myself becoming clingy, desperate for his touch, not just out of love, but out of a need for silence in my own head. The nights were the worst. I would lie awake for hours, staring at the ceiling, listening to the faint, ghostly calls, and willing them to stop until Kaeleen would stir in his sleep and pull me closer. The moment his arm wrapped around me, the whispers would cease, and I could finally fall into a restless sleep.

He noticed, of course. He was too observant not to. Especially given the fact that I had bags under my eyes.

"Baby, is there something going on?" he said this morning, his thumb gently stroking the dark circles under my eyes. We were in the kitchen, the morning sun streaming in. "You are not sleeping well."

I forced a smile. "There’s just a lot on my mind."

It was a weak lie, and I think he knew it. But he didn’t push. He just kissed my forehead, his touch a soothing balm that quieted the faint hiss that was already starting at the edge of my hearing. "Don’t push yourself too hard. I’m here if you need anything."

I knew he was. But how could I explain this to him? How could I tell the strongest man I knew that I was being haunted by whispers that only I could hear? It sounded like I was losing my mind.

Even Sheena was no help and she couldn’t hear the whispers. I couldn’t understand why either.

’I don’t hear anything, Astrid,’ she would say, her voice full of confused worry. ’The only thing I hear is our mate’s heart beating when he’s near. Are you sure you’re not just stressed?’

Her inability to hear them made me feel even more isolated. It was my problem. A flaw in my own mind. The nightmare from three nights ago felt less like a dream and more like a warning. Something was wrong with me, and it was getting worse. I could even close my eyes without feeling like I was sinking into a dark hole and that Sheena was being ripped away from me.

That’s when I made my decision. I couldn’t go on like this. I remembered the pack’s Priestess, the wise old woman I had met briefly when I first arrived. Kaeleen had mentioned her immense knowledge of pack bonds and ancient magic. Maybe, I prayed, it was just some strange, lingering side effect of the mating bond, something the Priestess could explain and fix.

After Kaeleen left for work, and the whispers began their soft, maddening chorus, I knew I couldn’t wait any longer. I left the pack house and made my way towards the sacred grove.

The path to the shrine was quiet, winding through the oldest part of the forest. Giant redwood trees formed a canopy high above, filtering the sunlight into soft, dancing beams. The air grew cooler here, thick with the smell of damp earth, moss, and something else... something clean and sharp, like ozone after a storm. It was a place that felt outside of time.

I found the grove in a small clearing. It wasn’t a building, but a circle of ancient, moss-covered stones that stood like silent guardians around a massive, gnarled oak tree. Wind chimes made of bone and crystal hung from its branches, letting out soft, melodic notes in the gentle breeze. The air hummed with a quiet power. In the center of the circle, an old woman was tending to a small fire, the smoke rising in a thin, straight line towards the sky.

It was the Priestess. Elder Elara.

Her back was to me. She was tall and slender, her long, silver hair braided down her back. She moved with a slow, deliberate grace. I hesitated at the edge of the clearing, feeling like an intruder.

"You can approach, child," she said, her voice calm and clear, without turning around. "I have been expecting you."

My heart skipped a beat. Taking a deep breath, I walked into the circle. As I got closer, she finally turned to face me. Her face was a road map of wrinkles, but her eyes were a startlingly bright blue, sharp and full of wisdom that felt ageless.

"Elder Elara," I began, my voice a little shaky. "I apologize for disturbing you. I... I have a problem. I think it might have to do with my mating bond, and I was hoping you could..."

I trailed off. Her calm expression had vanished. The moment her bright blue eyes truly focused on me, they widened in shock, and she let out a sharp, audible gasp. The color drained from her face. It was a look of pure, unadulterated horror.

My own blood ran cold. This was not the reaction of someone about to discuss a simple problem. This was the reaction of someone who had just seen a ghost.

"By the Goddess..." she whispered, her voice trembling. She rushed forward, her old hands, surprisingly strong, grabbing my shoulders. She stared at me, her eyes searching my face, my aura, seeing something that was invisible to me. "No... How did I not see? How did I fail to notice it would get this bad?"

She was shaking her head, muttering to herself, her grip on my shoulders tight. "I saw the shadow on you when you first arrived, but it was faint. I thought... I truly believed that finding your true mate, that completing the bond with your fated Alpha, would be enough. I thought his light would burn it away."

My mind was reeling. I couldn’t understand a word she was saying, but the terror in her voice was contagious. "Burn what away?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper. "What are you talking about? What is wrong with me?"

Elara’s eyes met mine, and they were filled with a terrible, ancient sadness. "It’s not what’s wrong with you, child. It’s what was done to you. Your soul... it is not entirely your own."

The forest floor seemed to tilt beneath my feet. "What?"

"A tether," she explained, her voice low and urgent. "A dark, unnatural bond was forced upon your soul long ago. It was designed to chain you to another. Now that your soul has found its rightful place with its true mate, that old bond is fighting back. It is trying to reclaim you. The whispers you hear, the darkness you feel... it is the chain, pulling you back into its grasp."

My head was spinning. A forced bond? A chain on my soul? None of it made sense. My mind latched onto the only thing that felt real. "You mean... the bond with Kaeleen? Is that what’s causing this?"

"No!" Elara said, her tone sharp. "The bond with your Alpha is pure. It is a bond of light and fate, a gift from the Goddess herself. It is your anchor. It is what is keeping you here. But it is at war, child. It is fighting against a darker, possessive claim that refuses to let you go."

I stared at her, my heart hammering against my ribs. The pieces were starting to click into place, forming a picture so monstrous I couldn’t bear to look at it. The fake bond. The control. The obsession.

"A darker claim?" I pleaded, my voice breaking. "But I don’t understand. I’ve only ever completed the mating bond with Kaeleen so how can my soul be tied to someone else? Who would do such a thing?"

Elder Elara looked at me with an expression of profound pity and dread. Her grip on my shoulders tightened, as if to steady me for a fatal blow. She spoke the words, and they landed with the force of an executioner’s axe, shattering the last fragments of my denial.

"Your previous mate."