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Chapter 313
~Zara’s POV~
Once we hit the road, I finally decided on our destination.
The park was peaceful, the air crisp with the scent of grass and autumn leaves.
Children’s laughter echoed around as parents sat on benches, watching over them with warm smiles.
This was sothing I always wished Storm had with his biological dad, but since he was a douchebag, thankfully he’s experienced a bit of that close relationship with Snow.
Storm was on the swings, giggling as he kicked his little legs, trying to go higher.
A few minutes ago, he had been running around, playing tag with so other kids.
Now, his eyes lit up as he spotted sothing new—a rope bridge near the playground that he was determined to climb.
"Aunt Zara, I’m going there."
I did not get a chance to speak before he dashed off. Left with no choice, I watched him closely, ensuring he was safe. But then sothing... shifted.
A strange sensation crawled over my skin, like an eerie chill slithering up my spine.
Astrid growled within , her senses on high alert as we scanned the area. My eyes flickered toward the wooded area not far from the park.
Sothing was there.
At first, I thought it was a trick of the light, maybe a shadow cast by the trees swaying in the breeze. But the more I looked, the more I realized that wasn’t it.
A faint glow pulsed between the trees, flickering like fire but far too controlled, too deliberate. It was rhythmic, like a heartbeat.
I stepped forward, my breath hitching as my body reacted on instinct.
"Zara!" Storm called from the swings, but his voice sounded distant, almost muffled.
I turned slightly. "Stay where you are, Storm. I’ll be right back."
It was my voice, but I wasn’t the one speaking anymore. What I wanted to say was... Call Daddy Snow.
He nodded, happily returning to his ga, and then my feet moved again, making face the light.
As I moved toward the glow, the world around seed to be quiet. The park’s sound faded, replaced by an odd ringing in my ears. My vision blurred, the white glow becoming more intense until—everything turned black.
And then... Sowhere Else...
When I opened my eyes, I wasn’t in the park anymore.
I was standing in the center of a dimly lit space, surrounded by tall, flickering red candles. Their flas danced unnaturally, as though they were alive.
My chest tightened as my gaze darted around. Hooded figures encircled , their cloaks blending into the darkness beyond the candlelight.
What the hell was this?
I took a step forward, but the mont I did, a force slamd into my body, stopping mid-stride.
A barrier.
A shimring, invisible forcefield locked in place, confining within the circle of smaller candles close to my feet.
I swallowed hard. "Hello?" My voice ca out steadier than I felt. "Can soone tell what the hell is going on here?"
The hooded figures began to whisper in a language I didn’t recognize, their voices overlapping in an eerie, rhythmic chant.
Sothing about it sent a chill down my spine. I looked closely, and then I could read their lips, and briefly the aning ca to .
"She’s awake."
"She can see us."
"Good, our plan worked."
Then, one by one, they lifted their heads.
I didn’t recognize most of them. But then—
My breath caught.
One face stood out. I had seen him.
I knew him very well.
When the hood fell back, revealing sharp features and cold, calculating eyes, I felt my entire world tilt.
"You’re Styles. I an, Noel Slaton—Ella’s lover," I breathed.
The man smirked, shaking his head. "I go by many nas." His voice was smooth and confident. "But my real na is..."
Before he could finish, another voice—deeper, laced with authority—cut through the air.
"Kent Wayne, my son and Alpha heir to the Thorned Crescent Pack."
I whipped my head toward the new speaker, my stomach dropping at the sight of an older man standing at the edge of the circle. He bore a striking resemblance to Styles—Kent—but his presence was heavier, commanding.
But that was the least of my worries. Sothing more beca evident.
Kent Wayne.
Kent fucking Wayne. Ella... the man who Ella loved that made her commit suicide.
Ever since my rebirth, most of the incidents, if not all that occurred in my previous lives, never repeated themselves until now.
I thought that by supporting her choice to be with Styles, I was preventing her from eting the man who had caused her death in my past life, but what did I know?
I had unknowingly pushed her to the monster.
But then again, in my past, I never once heard of him being related to the Thorned Crescent. How the fuck did we let soone like that into our lives?
What the fuck was going on?
I had no ti to process it.
"But you... What the hell is happening and how am I here?"
"Astrid?"
There was no answer. I could not feel my wolf’s presence anymore. "Astrid. Talk to , please. Baby, talk to . Where are you?"
I beca frantic, my body shaking as one of the ladies raised her hands and a weird energy of purple light twirled in her hand, directed at .
I felt my heart sting, and then a white light ca from .
"No, stop it. Stop it. Stop it!"
A rush of dizziness hit , and before I knew it, the world around spun—
And then everything went black again.
~Back at the Park~
I gasped awake, my lungs burning as if I had been drowning.
My hands dug into the dirt beneath , my heart shuddering against my ribs. The sun was still up, and the park was still filled with the laughter of children.
Had it all been a vision?
No. It was too real.
I pushed myself up, my head spinning. And then I turned around to head back to the pack. I needed to go ho. It was a mistake coming here.
My eyes lifted to the place where I left Storm and then—
Storm. He was gone.
My eyes widened in panic as I scrambled to my feet, turning toward the playground.
He wasn’t there.
My blood turned to ice.
"Storm!" I called sharply, fear lounging in my heart.
No answer.
I ran toward the swings—empty. The rope bridge—empty. My heart thudded as I scanned the area.
Then I saw it.
Near the tree line, fresh footprints in the dirt.
A man’s boot prints.
And smaller ones beside them.
My breath hitched as realization sank in.
Storm’s been kidnapped.
Kane.
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