Chapter 358 The warning

Chapter 358: Chapter 358 The warning

Talia’s POV

I sat in Kaelen’s arms, and I felt my heart slowly returning to normal.

The vision was still fresh in my mind, and I could still see Malachai’s face, his black eyes, and his cruel smile. I could still hear his voice, cold and sharp, echoing in my ears. But Kaelen was holding me, and his warmth was driving away the cold.

Kaelen held me tighter, and he pressed his lips to the top of my head. "Talia," he said, and his voice was soft. "Tell me everything. I need to know what you saw."

I took a breath, and I forced myself to speak. "I saw him, Kaelen. I saw Malachai’s face. He is old. Ancient. His eyes are black, and his smile is worse than anything I have ever seen."

My hands were still shaking as I spoke, and I could feel the cold seeping back into my bones. "I have seen evil before, Kaelen. I have seen Vivienne’s cruelty and I have seen Viktor’s violence. But Malachai is different. He is not just cruel or violent. He is empty. There is nothing behind his eyes, Kaelen. No soul, no humanity, nothing. It is like looking into a void that wants to swallow everything."

Kaelen’s jaw tightened, and I could feel the tension in his body. "What else did you see, Talia?"

I looked at him, and I felt the fear rising in my chest. "He is coming, Kaelen. Malachai is coming for us. I could feel it in the vision. He knows who I am. He knows we are gathering. And he is not afraid."

Kaelen was quiet for a moment, and I could see him processing what I had said. I could see the fear flickering in his gray eyes. But he did not look away. He held my gaze.

"How long do we have?" Kaelen asked.

I felt the weight of his question pressing down on me. I had seen Malachai’s face, but I had not seen the timeline. I had not seen when he would come.

I closed my eyes, and I tried to remember the vision. I tried to feel the sense of time, the urgency that had been in the air. It was like a clock ticking in the distance, counting down to something terrible.

"Months," I said, and my voice was barely a whisper. "Not years. We have months, Kaelen. Maybe less."

Kaelen looked at me, and I saw the determination in his gray eyes. He did not flinch. He did not waver. He just nodded slowly.

"Then we use every day," Kaelen said.

I stared at him, and I felt the tears burning in my eyes. "Kaelen..."

Kaelen reached for my hand, and he squeezed it. "We have months, Talia. That is not a lot of time. But it is enough. We will use every single day to prepare."

I shook my head, and I felt the tears streaming down my face. "Kaelen, what if it is not enough? What if we train and we plan and we still fall? I cannot lose anyone else, Kaelen. I cannot lose you."

Kaelen pulled me closer, and I felt his hand cupping my cheek. "You will not lose me, Talia. I promise you."

"We will train," Kaelen continued. "We will plan. We will gather every wolf who is willing to stand with us. We will be ready."

I looked at him, and I felt the love in my chest. "You really believe we can do this, Kaelen?"

Kaelen pulled me close, and I felt his arms around me. "I know we can, Talia. We have faced worse. We have survived worse. And we will survive this."

I pressed my face into his chest, and I felt the warmth of his body against mine. "I am scared, Kaelen," I admitted. "I am so scared."

Kaelen held me tighter, and I felt his hand on the back of my head. "I am scared too, Talia. But we are scared together. That is what matters."

I looked up at him, and I saw the love in his gray eyes. "What if we are not ready in time? What if he comes before we are prepared?"

Kaelen shook his head. "We will be ready, Talia. We have to be. And we will fight with everything we have."

I nodded, and I felt the determination settling in my chest. "We need to tell the others. We need to start preparing right away."

Kaelen nodded. "Tomorrow, Talia. We will tell them tomorrow. We will gather the pack, the allied packs, everyone. We will tell them the truth about what is coming."

I looked at him, and I felt the fear and the hope mixing together. "What if they are afraid, Kaelen? What if they run?"

Kaelen smiled, and I saw the love in his gray eyes. "They will be afraid, Talia. But they will also be strong. They will stand with us. I know they will."

I pressed my face into his chest, and I felt the warmth of his body against mine. "I am glad I have you, Kaelen. I do not know what I would do without you."

Kaelen pressed his lips to my forehead. "I am glad I have you too, Talia. I would not want to face this with anyone else."

I looked at him, and I felt the tears burning in my eyes. "Kaelen, what if I am not strong enough? What if I fail when it matters most?"

Kaelen looked into my eyes, and I saw the unwavering faith in his gaze. "Talia, you are the strongest person I have ever known. You have faced things that would have broken anyone else. And you are still standing. You will not fail. I believe in you."

We lay in silence, and I felt the exhaustion pulling at me. The vision had drained me, and I needed to rest.

"Kaelen," I whispered.

Kaelen tightened his arms around me. "I am here, Talia. I am not going anywhere."

I closed my eyes, and I let myself relax. "Thank you, Kaelen. For always being here. For never giving up on me."

Kaelen pressed his lips to my hair. "I will always be here, Talia. Always."

I felt myself drifting, and I let myself sleep.

I felt Kaelen’s arms tighten around me one last time, and I heard his voice, soft and low. "I love you, Talia. I will always love you."

I smiled, and I felt the warmth spreading through my chest even as sleep pulled me under. "I love you too, Kaelen. Forever."

The night was quiet, and the world was still. But tomorrow, we would prepare.

And we would be ready.