Chapter 1043:

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“If I cannot have the perfect vessel,” she hissed, raising Xenia’s arms above her head, “then none of you leave here alive!”

She began a new incantation — darker and more terrible than anything before it. The yacht shuddered beneath them as water began rushing in from the lower decks. The ritual altar blazed a deep, bloody red, its symbols rearranging themselves into a pattern of pure destruction.

Alpha Sebastian rose to his full height, his wolf form expanding further still. Raw Alpha power crackled around him like static electricity. His bond with Cecilia pulsed between them like something alive, feeding him strength.

“Enough,” he growled — a single word carrying the full weight of his authority.

Cecilia felt something stir inside her, beyond the baby’s movements. Warmth spread outward from her chest through every part of her body. The Alpha blood her child carried woke within her, answering the threat. Her family’s role as a bridge between the wolf and human worlds let her channel that protective force.

A soft white light began to radiate from her skin, rising against the darkness surrounding Belinda.

Three forces collided at the center of the sinking yacht: Belinda’s ancient darkness, Sebastian’s primal Alpha strength, and the protective power Cecilia was channeling.

The yacht lurched hard. Water poured through ruptures in the hull. Guests screamed and scrambled for safety as the once-magnificent ballroom tilted at a dangerous angle.

“Everyone — move to the upper deck!” Cassian shouted, taking charge of the evacuation while the Alphas held the witch at bay.

Through the chaos, Cecilia could see that the fight had worn Belinda down. The witch’s stolen body trembled with exhaustion. Her dark magic flickered like a flame about to go out.

𝖱𝗲а𝗱 𝘰𝗇 𝖺ո𝘆 𝘥𝗲𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 oո 𝘨𝖺𝗅𝗇𝘰𝘷е𝗅𝘀.𝖼𝘰𝗆

As the yacht began to sink into freezing water, they faced a terrible choice: escape while they still could, or finish the fight with the witch and risk everyone’s lives.

The water kept rising.

Time was running out.

Author’s Point of View

As the yacht continued to sink and water gathered around her ankles, Cecilia felt consciousness begin to slip from her grasp. Her vision blurred, and the screaming around her faded into distant echoes. Alpha Sebastian’s powerful growl was the last thing she heard before darkness took her.

But it was not an ordinary darkness.

Cecilia found herself floating in a strange realm bathed in silver light. The pain in her abdomen had vanished, replaced by a calm that did not belong to this world.

Before her stood a woman of impossible beauty — skin luminous as moonlight, hair flowing like liquid silver, eyes that held the wisdom of centuries.

“Moon Goddess,” Cecilia whispered, knowing instinctively who stood before her.

The Moon Goddess smiled, her presence radiating an ancient power that was at once terrifying and deeply comforting.

“Cecilia Moore,” her voice resonated like crystal bells over still water. “Brave human who carries the future of my children within her.”

Cecilia’s hand moved instinctively to her abdomen. “My baby.”

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