Chapter 256 The Gift of Release

When sleep comes, it doesn’t feel like rest. It feels like falling into light. When I open my eyes, I’m standing

barefoot on a crossroads made of glowing stone. Four paths stretch outward into eternity, one of silver, one of blue

flame, one of shadow, and one of pale gold. The sky above is split between moonlight and fire, the stars whispering

like they remember my name. Two women wait at the centre. One stands in silvery light, her eyes soft and endless.

The other burns like living magic, torch in one hand, a key glinting at her hip, blue fire curling around her bare feet.

“Selene,” I whisper, because I know her moonlight anywhere. My gaze shifts to the other. “And Hecate.”

Hecate’s lips curve, her voice a melody of three tones. “You know us, little flame. As all blessed souls do.”

Before I can speak, Saphra steps forward, my wolf, fur bright as starlight.

You called, and we came, she says to me, her voice humming in my chest.

I blink between them, my throat tight. “Why am I here?”

Hecate turns, her torchlight spreading across the glowing paths. “Do you know why I blessed you early?”

“I thought because I needed to fight.” My voice shakes.

Her head tilts slightly. “No, my child. You were given your wolf not to fight, but because you deserved her, because

you earned her,” Hecate continues. “Because your soul had carried pain long enough. Because your family had

suffered enough. It was time for a gift born not of war, but of mercy. You needed her, and the gods decided you had

waited long enough.”

Saphra presses her muzzle against my hand*. I was always meant to find you,” she murmurs. But she gave me early

because she couldn’t bear to watch you break.

Tears sting my eyes. “Thank you,” I whisper.

Hecate’s smile softens. “Don’t thank me. You called, even when you didn’t know you were calling. Your courage

brought me to you.”

I glance toward Selene, her silver eyes calm and infinite. “And you, Moon Mother? You’ve watched all this time.

haven’t you?”

She nods gently. “I have watched your family since before your first breath. Watched love born in shadow and fire,

watched sacrifice remake the Veil itself. But I also saw what it cost them.”

At her words, Hecate raises her torch, and the air shimmers with visions. I see my mother, Envy, her magic pouring

out of her body, her soul splitting in two as the Veil forms. I see Elliot beside her, his light entwined with hers, his

soul anchoring what she created.

Selene’s voice lowers, mournful. “They gave everything so the realms could live. Their souls are tied to the Veil,

neither living nor free, their fates bound to eternity.”

My hands tremble. “I know Elliot can’t die. He told me. But I didn’t know…” I swallow hard. “I didn’t know my

mother was trapped too.”

Hecate’s flame brightens, and for a moment, I see the golden threads that bind them, one pulsing with Elliot’s fire,

the other with Envy’s light, stretching through the sky, looping through the Veil itself.

“Their bond keeps balance,” Hecate says. “But balance should never come at the cost of freedom.”

Selene reaches for my hand, her touch cool, soothing. “And that is where you come in, my daughter of two lights.”

I look between them, my voice trembling. “Me?”

If both.

“Yes,” Hecate says. “You were blessed to release what was bound. My sacred flame lives in you and

When you and your mate complete your bond, your joined souls will carry enough of my power and of the moon’s

grace to untie the souls tether to the Veil.”

Selene’s silver light folds around me, her smile full of quiet love. “When the time comes, you will free them both.

Your mother will be whole again, and Elliot-”

My voice cracks. “Elliot will be free?”

Selene nods. “Yes, child.”

I can’t help it, tears spill down my cheeks. “That’s all he’s ever wanted.”

Hecate’s gaze softens. The torchlight dims, her flame growing calmer now, steady. “This is my gift, the gift of

release. When the bond between you and your mate is sealed, your souls will act as the final thread. You will draw

back what was given and restore what was lost. The Veil will hold, strong enough to stand on its own, and no one

will ever be tied to it again.”

Selene steps closer, brushing away one of my tears with her thumb. “You will do what your mother could not, not

because she failed, but because she made sure you could succeed.”

I nod shakily. “I’ll do it. I’ll free them.”

Selene’s smile warms. “I know you will. You’ve already proven your heart’s strength.”

That memory of Dean twists through me, and I blurt the question that’s been buried since that moment. “Then why

was I mated to him?”

The goddesses share a look and Selene’s lips twitch into something halfway between amusement and apology. “Ah,”

she sighs, “that.”

Hecate actually smirks. “Go on, sister. Tell her.”

Selene giggles softly, and the sound makes the stars themselves shimmer. “It wasn’t punishment, dear one. It was a

test. A measure of your soul.”

“A test?” I echo.

“Yes,” she says, eyes glinting with mischief. “To see if you would know the difference between destiny and desire.

Between the pull of magic and the truth of your heart.”

I stare at her, stunned. “You… you mated me to Dean to test me?”

Selene laughs quietly. “I admit, I might have overdone it. But your soul passed. You chose compassion over power,

love over greed. You chose right.”

Hecate’s voice deepens, proud and sure. “And in doing so, you proved that you were worthy of both gifts, the wolf

and the release.”

Saphra nudges my shoulder with her nose. Told you the gods had a weird sense of humor.

I laugh wetly, wiping at my cheeks. “You could’ve warned me.”

And ruin the fun?

“The moment your souls entwine, you will feel the tether yield. The Veil will breathe again, and those bound to it

will walk free. That is your destiny, not to destroy, but to release.” Hecate says softly.

Selene steps beside her, “And when that happens,” she says gently, “the Underworld will need guardians once more,

Holy Shit.