Chapter 51 

Lisa’s POV 

Althea. 

That name… it wouldn’t leave my mind. 

I stared at the statue with wide eyes. My heart was pounding like thunder in my chest. The sadness on her 

stone face… the damage, the cracks, the fire-scorched side of her features-it was all familiar in a way that 

made my skin crawl. 

“I know her,” I whispered. “I’ve seen her before.” 

Rylan turned sharply toward me. “What do you mean?” 

I shook my head, my mouth suddenly dry. “I… I think I dreamed of her.” 

He walked to my side. His brows were drawn in concern. “Lisa… what are you saying?” 

“There was a dream,” I said slowly while struggling to remember every detail. “It happened weeks ago. I didn’t think much of it then. I thought it was just a nightmare.” 

“What did you see?” he asked, his voice low. 

“There was a woman,” I said. “She was running through the woods. Her dress was torn, and she had a baby 

in her arms. She looked terrified. She kept looking over her shoulder like someone was chasing her. And 

her name… I remember hearing it now. Someone whispered it in the wind.” 

I pointed to the statue. 

“That woman,” I said. “Her name was Althea. She’s the same one from my dream.” 

Rylan’s eyes narrowed. “Are you sure?” 

“Yes,” I said firmly, “I can’t remember her face clearly in the dream… but the sadness, the way she held the baby, the fear… it’s all here.” I gestured again to the statue. “This is her. She’s real. Not just a dream.” 

Rylan stared at the statue. He was frowning deeply. “That’s not just coincidence.” 

“I know,” I said. “But what does it mean?” 

He looked at me. “Maybe you’re connected to her.” 

I blinked. “How could I be? I’ve never seen her before.” 

“You dreamt of her before you ever came here,” he said. “Before you even knew that the Nightcrest pack existed. That has to mean something.” 

My breath caught. My heart felt like it was being squeezed. 

I stepped closer to the statue again. My wolf, Sierra, stirred in the back of my mind. 

“Touch it she whispered “Please, Lisa. Touch it again.” 

I flinched. “Why?” I asked her in my mind. “It’s just a statue. It’s old. Maybe even sacred. What if we damage it?” 

“It’s not just stone,” Sierra insisted. “I feel something. Something powerful. She’s calling to us.” 

“Lisa?” Rylan’s voice snapped me out of the moment. “Is everything okay?” 

“My wolf wants me to touch it,” I said hesitantly. 

He frowned. “Are you sure that’s safe?” 

“I don’t know,” I said truthfully. “But she’s never begged like this before.” 

I turned back to the statue. It loomed over me. It was sad and silent. A heavy weight sat on my chest, but I slowly reached out. 

My fingers brushed the surface of the stone. 

It was rough and cold. 

But something buzzed beneath it. A strange warmth, like the statue was alive. 

I slowly trailed my hand across the side of her arm, then up toward the face. My fingers trembled. 

Then…prick. 

“Ow,” I gasped and pulled my hand back. 

A small crack in the stone had cut the pad of my finger. Bright red blood welled up and slid down. 

“Lisa?” Rylan stepped forward, alarmed. “Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine,” I said, trying to wipe the blood away on my sleeve. But as I did, more drops fell onto the statue. The red stained the pale stone, sinking into the cracks like ink in parchment. 

I tried to brush it away, but the more I wiped, the more I seemed to smear it. The blood was sinking into the statue like it was being absorbed. 

Then the air shifted. 

The wind stopped. 

Everything fell silent. 

“Rylan,” I whispered. “Something’s happening.” 

The statue began to glow. 

It started as a faint shimmer along the base, like moonlight on water. Then the light spread, crawling up her legs, her torso, her arms. It reached her face, and for a moment, it felt like her eyes would open. 

“Get back!” Rylan shouted while grabbing my arm. 

Ciam 

But it was too late. 

The glow burst out of the statue like a shockwave. 

I dropped to my knees and shielded my face. The light was blinding, white-hot, burning behind my eyelids. 

I couldn’t breathe. 

The ground trembled beneath me. The sky spun. 

The world was turning upside down. 

I screamed. 

And then…..silence. 

The light vanished. 

The air stilled. 

The ground stopped shaking. 

I opened my eyes slowly, gasping for breath. 

But I wasn’t in Nightcrest anymore. 

The ruins were gone. 

The statue was gone. 

So was Rylan. 

I was in the middle of a forest. But not the same one. 

The trees here were taller and thicker. Their trunks were twisted, black and silver like marble. The air was warm and heavy with the scent of roses and smoke. Strange glowing insects drifted lazily through the air. 

I stumbled to my feet. “What just happened?” I whispered. 

I turned in a slow circle. 

There was no one. No sound of footsteps. No sign of Rylan. No statue. No ruins. 

Only the forest. 

And then….I heard it. 

A feminine voice; soft and haunting. 

“Lisa… my child…” 

I froze. 

My blood ran cold. 

The voice echoed around me, carried on the wind. 

 

“Come to me… Come here…” 

“Who’s there?” I called out while spinning around again. “Where are you?” 

No answer. 

Just that same soft voice, whispering my name again. 

“Lisa…” 

It felt like the trees were leaning in and watching. 

I swallowed hard. 

Was I dreaming again? 

No. 

This was real…..too real. 

I pressed my hand to my chest, trying to calm my breathing. My heart felt like it might break through my 

ribs. 

“Rylan?” I called, my voice shaking. “Rylan, are you there?” 

Nothing. 

Just the wind… and that voice. 

My legs felt like they might give out. 

“I don’t understand,” I whispered. “What is this place? What’s happening?” 

“Lisa…” 

My name echoed again. It was softer now. 

It was like she was calling me from somewhere nearby. 

I took a step forward. 

Then another. 

Every leaf that crunched under my boots sounded louder than normal. The silence was unnatural. 

“Who are you?” I asked the air. “Why are you calling me?” 

I didn’t get an answer. 

But something inside me pulled me forward. 

I felt it in my chest, in my bones, in my soul. 

The same feeling I had when I saw the statue. 

The same feeling Sierra had. 

Chapte AL 

That voice… 

That was Althea. 

I didn’t know how I knew that. 

I just did. 

It was her voice. 

The same woman from my dream. The same one who held the baby while running through the woods. 

And now she was calling to me. 

Why? 

Why me? 

I was just Lisa Hart. 

The girl who had been rejected, forgotten and lost. 

But the longer I stood in that strange forest, the more I realized something. 

I wasn’t alone anymore. 

I was being watched. Not just by the trees. 

But by her. 

Althea. 

She was real. 

She was here. 

Somewhere close. 

And she was calling to me like I was part of her story. 

Part of the past. 

Part of the truth I had come here to find. 

I closed my eyes and let the wind blow across my face. 

The scent of roses grew stronger. 

The voice came again. 

“Lisa… my child… come to me…” 

I took a shaky breath. 

Then I stepped forward toward the voice. 

 

Not knowing what I would find… 

But I knew that there was no turning back. 

Not anymore.