Chapter 196 – True Luna Book Free: The Darkness Within

“Logan insists that we go back,” Jake sighed, making Hunter growl.

“Why?” Hunter asked. “He needs to tell us what the f**k happened if he wants us to go back.”

I turned around and started pulling on the roots with my teeth. I was frustrated and scared. I needed to continue, not go back.

The information is too sensitive to be said through the mind-link. Jack said, making me stop.

Mason growled and shifted back into his human form. He pulled the sweats on and looked at me.

“We are not going back,” Mason said angrily.

No. I answered through the mind-link.

I wasn’t going to shift back. I needed to stay in my wolf form in case a rogue attacked us.

Tell my uncle that we aren’t going back. Mason said through the mind-link. Not unless they know where she is.

“Maybe they found out who took her,” Jake said.

“We already know that,” Mason mumbled, glancing at Hunter.

Hunter growled and clenched his fists.

“Don’t look at me like that, Mason,” Hunter said angrily. “I will be the first one to dig my claws into his flesh. He took my mate.”

Mason sighed and ran his fi**gers through his hair.

“I know,” Mason mumbled. “I am sorry. I am just scared and angry.”

Hunter tightened his jaw and gave him a small nod.

“I understand,” he mumbled. “I am scared as well. I am…”

Hunter continued talking, but I ignored him because Jack mind-linked me.

Alpha, your father says that Sophia lost the battle with darkness. Jack said and I could hear the worry in his voice.

My heart f**king stopped beating.

What?

That meant that she was dead, didn’t it? The darkness was always trying to kill her. Did it succeed?

Axel whined loudly, making Jake, Mason, and Hunter look at me.

I shifted back into my human form and fell to my knees. The feel I felt made my legs feel like jello. I couldn’t stand on my own two feet. I couldn’t feel anything except pain.

No. She couldn’t be dead. She wasn’t dead.

“Alex!” Mason screamed as he threw himself next to me.

He made me lean on him a little. He looked up and down my body, searching for any injuries. Jake shifted into his wolf form and stood in front of us protectively.

They thought that I had been hurt.

Is she alive? I screamed through the mind-link with Jack.

“What happened?!” Hunted shouted as he kneeled in front of me.

He looked terrified.

She is alive, Alpha. Jack mind-linked me. But your parents don’t know what to expect now that she is consumed by darkness. They don’t want you to go unprepared.

Consumed by darkness.

Jack’s words made my stomach turn.

No. Please, Goddess no.

“Alex!” Hunter screamed, grabbing my face and making me look at him. “What the f**k happened?!”

I tightened my jaw and tried to take a deep breath.

“The darkness took over her,” I mumbled, making Mason gasp loudly.

Hunter’s eyes widened and he removed his hands from my face. Jake shifted back and stared at me wide-eyed and terrified.

“What?” Hunter mumbled, his voice breaking.

“The darkness took over her,” I repeated, feeling my heart break into a million tiny pieces.

Was she hurt? Was she scared? How the hell did she survive it? What would happen to her? Would she remember me? Would she be able to control it? Would it hurt her?

I had so many questions and not a single f**king answer. I felt a surge of anger so strong that I could rip apart the forest around me with one single stroke.

Sophia’s POV

I tried to fight it. I really did. I tried to hold on to every shred of light inside me.

I tried to remind myself of my brother and my family. I tried to think of my mate. I tried to think of his l*ps against mine and his arms around me. I tried to think of his scent and his voice.

I tried to hold onto my wolf. I tried to stay connected with Stella. She kept screaming and reminding me of everything I had to lose, everything I had to fight for. But the darkness was relentless. It was a force that seemed to come from deep within me, spreading through every part of my body.

I tried everything that I could to fuel the light inside of me. I tried so hard to push the darkness away. I didn’t want it. I was afraid of it. I didn’t want it to consume me.

I desperately wanted to go back to my brother and my family. I wanted to go back to my mate. I wanted to feel his body against mine. I wanted to k**s him again. I wanted to tell him that I loved him. I wanted to start a family with him.

So I fought. I fought as hard as I possibly could.

But I failed.

I failed and the darkness was eating my heart and my soul. I could feel its cold fi**gers wr*pping around my insides. I could feel my heart slowing down. I could feel my soul disappearing. I could feel the darkness entering my bloodstream and spreading through my body. I could feel it at the end of my toes and at the top of my head.

I fought until I had nothing left to give. But it wasn’t enough.

There was nothing but darkness now.

As the darkness enveloped me, I felt the last bits of love and hope being ripped away from me. Everything good within me was being consumed, leaving only darkness behind. It was as if a switch had been fl*pped inside me, plunging me into a world of darkness.

Suddenly I didn’t care about my family. I didn’t care about my brother. I didn’t care about my mate.

I didn’t love them.

I didn’t love anyone.

I heard Stella’s heartbreaking scream that would tear my soul apart if I still had one. I could feel her pain pulsating inside me. I could feel her desperation and fear.

It did nothing but fuel the darkness inside me. I felt stronger because she was weaker. Her pain made me stronger. Her pain made me smile.

‘They will come for you, Sophia,’ Stella said through her loud whines. ‘Your family will save you. I will save you. I promise.’

I chuckled darkly. I didn’t care. I didn’t need to be saved. I didn’t have a family.

‘You have a family!’ Stella screamed at me. ‘You love them and they love you!’

Her cries got quieter. I was losing my connection with her.

Good.

‘We will save you, Sophia,’ she told me. ‘I will find a way, I promise.’

Her last words were like a whisper. One more second passed and I couldn’t hear her or feel her anymore.

I smirked. I was finally free.

“I think the transition is complete, Sir,” I heard a voice that I hated.

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