Chapter 250
Ava’s POV
The moment my eyes snapped open, my hands flew to my stomach, instinct propelling me. As if cradling my belly could somehow protect the tiny lives within from whatever damage falling through an endless void might have caused.
“They’re fine,” my own voice—her voice—assured me. “We didn’t actually fall. It just felt like it.”
I released a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “Where are we?” I muttered, rubbing my arms against the unsettling chill.
“The In-Between,” she stated drily, as if it were obvious.
I frowned at her tone. I opened my mouth to retort, to express my displeasure at her nonchalance and the lack of warning, but something sliced through the eerie stillness.
A long, bone-chilling howl—and not from a werewolf.
I stopped, but my other self didn’t. She was beside me instantly, grabbing my arm and pulling me upright. “Okay, time to move,” she said, eyes scanning the shifting landscape.
I swallowed hard, ears straining as another howl joined the first, then another, and another.
“We need to find him and get out of here,” she muttered.
“No argument there,” I shot back, glancing at the never-ending fog and warped, shifting ground. “But how exactly are we supposed to do that?”
She gave me a look. “I don’t know. You’re highly connected to him. I was banking on you instantly sensing him.”
I stared at her, my brain short-circuiting.
“You don’t have a clear plan?” I shouted, panic seeping into my voice as the howling intensified, seeming to emanate from everywhere at once.
She turned, dead serious. “I have one right now.”
A pause.
“Run.”
And just like that, she grabbed my wrist, yanked me forward, and we ran. My lungs burned, my feet struggling to keep pace with the force pulling me. The ground was as unstable as the swirling mist, shifting as if alive—as if it didn’t want us there.
The howls only grew louder, coming from everywhere and nowhere simultaneously.
“What the hell is that thing?!” I shouted, breathless, my heart hammering.
“I have no idea!” my other self yelled back—not reassuring.
I glanced back, searching the fog, my heart pounding, but there was nothing. No shadowy figures. No lurking monster. Just the fog. And that sound.
It wasn't coming from a creature at all. The realization hit me like a punch to the gut. The howling—it was the wind. A chill ran down my spine. Wind wasn’t supposed to sound like that. It was alive, hungry, searching, and getting closer.
My chest tightened, my legs screaming for rest, but stopping wasn’t an option. The ground changed beneath our feet, shifting from liquid to stone. The mist curled around us, thick and suffocating, feeling like it watched us.
Then the ground tilted.
It happened so fast I barely reacted. One second, my feet pounded against the unstable surface; the next, the ground vanished.
I screamed, losing my footing, my stomach lurching. My other self released my wrist, and I was falling—no, sliding. The ground had become a steep, slick slope, and I careened downwards, unable to stop. My hands scrambled for purchase, but the mist was thick, the world shifting too fast to comprehend.
“Ava?!”
Her voice was already distant.
“AVA?!”
“I’M HERE!” I screamed back, twisting to try and slow my descent. It didn’t work; if anything, I accelerated.
The wind shrieked, a wailing cry that sent terror through my bones. It wasn’t just noise—it was pulling me. Then the slope ended.
For a horrifying second, I was weightless, and then I hit the ground hard, pain jolting through me as I tumbled, finally skidding to a stop.
A sharp gasp escaped me as I sucked in a breath, my body aching. My hands immediately flew to my belly, panic flooding me. My heart hammered, rattling in my ribcage.
I pressed my palms against my stomach, focusing, listening. Nothing felt wrong. No pain. No cramps.
A slow, shaky breath of relief. Then I remembered my other self.
“Hello?!” I shouted, sitting up, my voice echoing through the endless fog. “Ava? Other self? Where are you?!”
Silence.
I stood, my pulse erratic. I turned, scanning the mist, but I couldn’t see anything—not even the slope I’d fallen from. I was alone. The howling started again. Louder. It was everywhere, closing in.
I stumbled backward, gripping my arms. The force of it whipped through the air, making my hair whip around my face. The ground shifted again, warping like liquid.
“No, no, no—”
I turned to run, but the wind slammed into me. It wasn’t just air—it was weight, an invisible force wrapping around me like icy fingers, pushing, pulling me.
I dug my heels in, fighting it. Panic clawed at my throat. I pushed back with everything I had, but it was relentless, shoving me forward with an unstoppable force.
“Let go of me, whatever you are!” I shouted.
The wind didn’t care. I planted my feet harder, gritting my teeth. My body trembled, my legs shaking. I didn’t know where it was pulling me, but I didn’t want to go.
I kept fighting, knowing I was losing, then, out of nowhere, fingers latched onto my wrist—tight, unyielding.
I gasped as I was yanked backward with such force I thought my arm would pop out of its socket. The wind screamed in protest, but the grip on me was stronger. And just like that…the wind let go.
I crashed into something solid—someone—arms locking around me, daring the storm to try again. My breath came in ragged gasps, my body trembling from adrenaline, fear, and the sheer force of whatever had just happened. And then, through the haze, the suffocating mist and fading howls—
“Ava.”
That voice. Rough, breathless, laced with something deeper than panic.
I looked up, my pulse stuttering.
Grayson.
His gray, storm-lit eyes burned into mine, his jaw clenched as if he’d just pulled me back from the very edge of death. His grip hadn’t loosened, as if letting go wasn’t an option, as if he had no intention of ever losing me again.
He exhaled sharply, his forehead nearly touching mine. “I have never been happier to fall in love with someone as stubborn as you, Ava Pierce.”
And then—he kissed me. Not gently. Not carefully. But like he needed to. Like he was staking his claim against the wind itself.