The Dream That Would Not Let Go

Calista Rivers' POV

I did not go home that night.

I could not. Every time I thought about my apartment, I imagined shadow creatures waiting in the corners. Red eyes watching me from the dark.

So I stayed at Elena's shop. She gave me a cot in the back room and told me to rest. But rest was impossible.

I lay there, staring at the ceiling, trying to make sense of everything.

Werewolves. Curses. Reincarnation.

And Kael.

The man who killed me.

I should have hated him. I wanted to hate him. But every time I closed my eyes, I saw something else.

A memory that was not mine.

I was standing in a forest clearing under a full moon. The air smelled like pine and earth. I was wearing a long white dress that moved in the breeze.

And Kael was there.

But he was different. Younger. Smiling. He looked at me like I was the most important thing in the world.

He took my hand and pressed it to his chest. I could feel his heartbeat, strong and steady.

"I will love you until the stars fall from the sky," he said.

And I believed him.

The memory faded, and I gasped, sitting up on the cot. My heart pounded. My hands shook.

That was not my memory. It could not be. I had never been in that forest. I had never worn that dress.

But it felt real.

More real than anything I had ever experienced.

I stood up and walked to the small window in the back room. Outside, the city was quiet. The sun was beginning to rise, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink.

I pressed my hand to the glass and tried to steady my breathing.

This was insane. All of it.

But deep down, in a place I did not want to acknowledge, I knew it was true.

I was not just Calista Rivers. I was someone else. Someone who had loved Kael. Someone he had killed.

And now I was supposed to forgive him.

I laughed bitterly. Forgiveness. As if it were that simple.

A knock on the door made me jump.

"Come in," I said.

Elena entered, carrying two cups of tea. She handed one to me and sat down on the cot.

"Could not sleep?" she asked.

"No," I admitted.

Elena nodded. "The memories will keep coming. The closer you get to the blood moon, the stronger they will become. Your soul is trying to remember."

"I do not want to remember," I said.

"I know," Elena said gently. "But you do not have a choice. The curse is tied to your past. If you want to survive, you need to face it."

I took a sip of the tea. It was bitter but warm. "What if I cannot forgive him? What if I am not strong enough?"

Elena looked at me with those piercing blue eyes. "Then you will die. And so will every werewolf in the world."

"No pressure," I muttered.

Elena smiled faintly. "You are stronger than you think, Calista. You have survived three lifetimes of this curse. You will survive this one too."

I wished I could believe her.

We sat in silence for a while, drinking our tea. Then Elena spoke again.

"There is something you need to know," she said. "About your powers."

"My what?"

"You were a Luna," Elena said. "The mate of an Alpha. That means you have abilities most humans do not. Healing. Strength. A connection to the moon itself. Those powers are still inside you, dormant. But they will awaken as your memories return."

I stared at her. "You are telling me I have superpowers?"

"In a way, yes."

I laughed. It was the only response I could manage. "This just keeps getting better."

Elena stood up. "Get some rest, Calista. Tomorrow, your training begins."

"Training?"

"If you are going to survive Morgath, you need to learn how to fight. And how to use your powers."

She left the room, closing the door behind her.

I sat there, holding my tea, and tried to process everything.

I was a reincarnated werewolf Luna with superpowers.

My mate was an immortal Alpha who killed me three hundred years ago.

And an evil sorcerer was hunting me to steal my soul.

I should have been terrified.

But instead, I felt something else.

Anger.

I was angry at Kael for what he did. Angry at the Moon Goddess for cursing me. Angry at Morgath for making my life a living nightmare.

And I was angry at myself for not running away when I had the chance.

But I was not going to run anymore.

If they wanted a fight, I would give them one.

I drained the rest of my tea and lay back down on the cot.

And this time, when I closed my eyes, I did not see the forest or the dagger.

I saw myself. Standing tall. Unafraid.

Ready for war.