Triple Moon Rising: An Omega's Destiny

Chapter 163: Caleb’s Recognition

CALEB POV

I dropped to my knees beside Luna’s still body and pressed my ear to her chest.

Nothing.

"No pulse," I said, my voice breaking. "She’s not breathing."

Lily’s face went white as paper. "No, no, no. This is my fault. I should have saved her. I should have been stronger."

I grabbed her shoulders, causing her to look at me instead of Luna’s lifeless form. "Listen to me. This is not your fault. Do you hear me?"

For the first time since her change began, Lily’s eyes filled with tears. Real tears. Not the strange, distant sadness she’d shown when she thought she was losing her humanity, but raw, honest loss.

"She called me sister," Lily whispered. "She said we’d been reborn together lifetime after lifetime, and I never knew. Now she’s gone, and I’ll never get to know her."

The tears spilled over, running down her face. I’d been waiting weeks to see her cry like this - not because I wanted her to hurt, but because it meant she was still in there. Still human. Still my Lily.

"You’re feeling it," I said softly. "Really feeling it."

"What?" She wiped her eyes, confused.

"Grief. Real, honest sadness. Not the ghost of emotion or the memory of what feeling used to be like. This is real emotion, Lily. You’re coming back."

Elena laughed sharply from across the room. "How sweet. Too bad it’s too late."

I spun around to face her, keeping myself between her and Lily. "What do you mean?"

"The girl is dead," Elena said with a wicked smile. "And without her memories, there’s no way to bring her back. Even if we could restart her heart, she’d be nothing but an empty shell."

"You’re wrong," Viktor said suddenly. He was kneeling on Luna’s other side, his hands glowing with dark energy. "She’s not dead. Not exactly."

"What do you mean not exactly?" Aiden demanded.

"Her body has stopped working, yes. But her soul is still attached. It’s just... stuck."

"Trapped where?" I asked.

Viktor’s face was grim. "In the space between memories. When Elena stole Luna’s past, she didn’t just take information. She took the paths Luna’s soul uses to navigate her own mind. Luna is lost inside herself."

"Can we get her back?" Lily asked, hope slipping into her voice.

"Maybe," Viktor said slowly. "But it would take someone to go in after her. Someone would have to enter her mindscape and guide her back to her body."

"I’ll do it," Lily said instantly.

"No," I said strongly. "You just got your feelings back. We’re not risking losing you too."

"But I’m her sister. I should be the one—"

"You don’t have dimensional powers anymore," Elena interrupted. "You can’t move between mindscapes without them. Face it, omega. You’re useless now."

The words hit Lily like a physical blow. I watched her face crumble, and something fierce and protecting roared to life in my chest. noveldrama

"She’s not useless," I said, standing up to face Elena. "She’s the best person I know. Powers or no powers."

"Pretty words," Elena mocked. "But words won’t save the beta’s daughter."

That’s when it hit me. A crazy, impossible idea that might actually work.

"Viktor," I said quickly. "When you said someone needs to go into Luna’s mindscape, does it have to be someone with dimensional powers?"

"Not necessarily," Viktor answered, catching on to my thoughts. "But they would need some kind of anchor to keep them linked to the real world. Without that, they could get lost in there forever."

I looked at Lily, seeing the exact moment when she understood what I was thinking.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "Caleb, no. It’s too dangerous."

"Our mate bond," I said. "It could work as an anchor, couldn’t it, Viktor?"

The vampire nodded slowly. "Theoretically, yes. The connection between true mates goes deeper than most magic. It could guide you back."

"But if something goes wrong," Lily argued, "if you get lost in there—"

"Then you pull me back," I said simply. "That’s what mates do. We save each other."

I could see her torn between hope and fear. The old Lily would have told me not to risk it. But this new version - the one whose feelings were raw and real - was different.

"You really think we can save her?" she asked.

"I think we can try. Together."

Elena made a disgusted sound. "This is ridiculous. You can’t save someone with the power of love. This isn’t a fairy tale."

"Maybe not," I said. "But it’s worth trying."

I sat back down beside Luna and took her cold hand. "Viktor, what do I need to do?"

"Place your other hand on Luna’s forehead," Viktor directed. "I’ll use my magic to open a path into her thoughts. But Caleb, once you’re in there, you’re on your own until you find her."

I nodded, then looked at Lily. "Keep hold of my hand. No matter what happens, don’t let go."

"I won’t," she promised, holding my fingers tightly.

Viktor began singing in a language I didn’t recognize. Dark energy swirled around us, and I felt a strange tugging feeling in my chest, like something was trying to pull my soul out of my body.

"It’s working," Viktor said. "I can see the way opening. Caleb, you need to—"

He stopped suddenly, his eyes going wide with fear.

"What?" I asked. "What’s wrong?"

"There’s someone else in there," Viktor whispered. "Someone who’s been waiting."

Before I could ask what he meant, the world around me burst into darkness. But just before I lost sight of the basement, I heard Elena’s voice, and it was different now. Older. More dangerous.

"Finally," she said, and her voice echoed weirdly, like it was coming from very far away. "The intellectual comes to play. We’ve been waiting for you, little dog. We have so much to show you about what really happened to your mate."

Then everything went black, and I was falling through Luna’s memories, not knowing if I’d ever find my way back to Lily at all.