Chapter 64: Chapter 64 Elizabeth
Victoria
"Something’s happening," I managed to whisper before consciousness slipped away completely.
I floated in darkness for what felt like both seconds and eternity. Then, light—soft, green, filtered through leaves. I stood in a forest clearing I’d never seen before yet recognized bone-deep. The trees here were ancient, their trunks wider than cars, their canopies creating a cathedral of leaves hundreds of feet above.
"My beautiful daughter."
I turned toward the voice, and my heart stopped.
A woman stood at the edge of the clearing, her features so like my own it was like looking into a mirror aged by wisdom rather than years. Her hair fell in waves past her shoulders, and her eyes—my eyes—watched me with love so intense it hurt.
"Mother?" My voice broke on the word.
She smiled, and it was like sunlight breaking through storm clouds. "Victoria. My brave, strong Victoria."
I tried to run to her, but my feet wouldn’t move. "Is this real? Or am I dreaming?"
"Both," she answered, her voice like music. "The nexus allows our spirits to connect when the veil between worlds thins. I’ve waited so long for you to find your way here."
"I thought you were dead," I whispered, tears streaming down my face.
"My body is gone," she confirmed gently. "But my spirit remains with the forest, and with you. Always with you."
"I don’t understand. The accident—"
She shook her head sadly. "There was no accident, my love. I was returning to my people when I was attacked. Marcus Grimwood feared what your father and I represented—the possibility of peace between wolves and fairies."
The revelation hit me like a physical blow. "Marcus killed you?"
"He tried," she said, her expression hardening momentarily before softening again. "But fairiesdon’t die as wolves do. We return to the earth, to the trees that gave us life."
She moved closer, though still not touching me. "Victoria, you must listen carefully. We have little time. You are more special than you know—half wolf, half Forest fairy. The first in generations. A bridge between two worlds that have been separated too long."
"Is that why Ava is different? Why I can sense things others can’t?"
My mother nodded. "Your wolf spirit and Forest heritage exist in perfect balance. You can speak to both worlds, command both energies. It makes you powerful beyond measure—and dangerous to those who profit from division."
"Like Marcus," I whispered.
"He fears what you represent. What you could become." Her eyes shimmered with fierce pride. "The Alpha female who reunites our peoples."
"I don’t know how to do that," I admitted, fear clutching at my heart. "I don’t even know who I truly am."
"You are my daughter," she said firmly. "And Dominic’s. You carry both our strengths. When you claim your place as Alpha of the Howlthorne Pack—and you will—I ask only that you remember your other heritage. Visit our homeland. Help my people as you help your father’s."
I wanted to ask her more—about the fairies, about my powers, about how to defeat Marcus—but the green light was already fading, her image becoming transparent.
"Mother, don’t go!" I cried out.
"I’m always with you," her voice echoed as the vision dissolved. "In the rustle of leaves, in the strength of your wolf. Look for the signs, Victoria. Trust Ava. Trust yourself."
"And trust your mate," were her final words, barely audible as darkness claimed me once more.
I gasped awake to find myself cradled in Leo’s arms, his face tight with concern as he brushed hair from my face.
"Victoria," he breathed, relief evident in his voice. "You collapsed. Your pulse was steady but I couldn’t wake you."
I struggled to sit up, my body feeling simultaneously drained and electrified. The chamber’s symbols pulsed around us, brighter than before.
"I saw my mother," I whispered, clinging to the front of his tactical vest. "She spoke to me. Told me things about who I am, what I’m meant to do."
Leo’s expression was serious as he helped me to my feet. "What things?"
"Marcus killed her," I said, the words tasting like ash. "And she wasn’t just any human. She was fairy—the ancient tribe that lived in these mountains before wolves claimed territory. That’s why my wolf is different. I’m a bridge between two worlds."
Understanding dawned in Leo’s eyes. "That’s why Marcus fears you. A united front of wolves and fairieswould be unstoppable."
I nodded, still processing the magnitude of what I’d learned. "My mother said when—not if—I become Alpha of Howlthorne Pack, I need to remember my other heritage. Help both my peoples."
Leo’s hand cupped my face, his thumb tracing my cheekbone. "Then that’s what we’ll do."
The simple promise, the absolute certainty in his voice, nearly undid me. This powerful Alpha, accepting without question my mixed heritage, my destiny that now seemed far larger than just reclaiming my father’s pack.
"There’s more," I said, meeting his intense gaze. "The tunnel system—it’s an ancient network connecting wolf territories to fairy lands. If we can find where it leads—"
"We might find where Marcus took Enzo and your stepmother," Leo finished, already pulling out his phone. "Tiny, get down here. And bring Carson. We need to map these tunnels immediately."
As Tiny’s heavy footsteps echoed from the passage above, I placed my palm flat against the altar stone again. This time, instead of fatigue, I felt energy surging through me—Ava’s strength combining with something new, something that felt like the rustling of leaves and the patient power of growing things.
"Leo," I said quietly, a new determination settling into my bones. "My mother’s last words were to trust my mate."
His eyes darkened, his wolf visibly rising to the surface. "And do you? Trust me?"
I took his hand and placed it over my heart, feeling the steady beat that seemed to pulse in time with the glowing symbols around us.
"With everything I am," I answered, knowing it was true. "Both wolf and Forest fairy.