A Warrior's Second Chance (Faye and Alexander) novel Chapter 425

Chapter 425

FAYE

“Yes,” she said.

I exhaled slowly, my gaze dropping for a second before lifting back to her.

There was a pause.

A hesitation I couldn’t quite push through immediately.

Because I already knew what I was about to ask.

And I already had an idea of what the answer would be.

But knowing something… and hearing it out loud were two completely different things.

Still-

I needed to hear it.

So I straightened slightly, forcing myself to meet her eyes fully.

“If I go…” I started, then paused briefly before finishing it properly.

“What are my chances of surviving it?”

The room went very still.

Her expression changed.

There was something there now.

Something that looked a lot like reluctance.

Or maybe… regret.

“Don’t,” I said quietly.

She looked at me.

“Don’t try to protect me from it,” I added. “I need to know.”

Another pause.

Shorter this time.

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Then she inhaled slowly.

“If this is the blood ritual I’m thinking of…” she began.

And then she stopped.

Just like that.

She didn’t finish it.

Didn’t say the rest.

But she didn’t need to.

Because I understood.

Perfectly.

I nodded once, slow.

Finishing it for her.

“You mean I’m going to die.”

The words didn’t shake.

They didn’t break.

They just… settled.

Into the space between us.

Into me.

Helen didn’t deny it.

That was enough.

I let out a small breath, not quite a laugh, not quite anything else.

Then I nodded again.

Like I was confirming it to myself.

“Okay.”

It didn’t feel okay.

Not even close.

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But I needed something to hold onto, even if it was just the illusion of control in how ! reacted to it.

I looked down for a second, then back up again.

“What if I don’t go?”

That question came easier.

Maybe because I already knew the answer wouldn’t be good.

But I asked anyway.

Because I needed to hear it.

Needed to understand exactly how trapped I was in this.

Helen’s expression hardened slightly.

“That’s not an option.”

She looked at me.

“You saw what you went through earlier,” she continued. “That was nothing.”

I swallowed.

My fingers tightened slightly against my arms.

“It will get worse,” she added.

Each word landed heavier than the last.

“Much worse.”

I didn’t interrupt.

Didn’t look away.

“You will lose control,” she said. “And not just of yourself.”

She sighed.

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“You will become a danger,” she finished quietly. “To yourself… and to everyone around you.”

The silence that followed felt heavier than anything she had said.

Because there was no argument left in it.

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No angle to fight from.

No space to twist it into something less final.

It was just… truth.

Uncomfortable, and unavoidable.

I nodded slowly.

Taking it in.

Letting it settle whether I wanted it to or not.

Then I asked the only thing left.

“How much time do I have?”

This time, she didn’t hesitate.

“Once you can see the mark clearly,” she said, “you’re out of time.”

My heart stuttered.

I kept my face still.

Kept my breathing even.

Because I had seen it.

Since morning.

Clear and defined.

Exactly the way she described.

But I didn’t say that.

I just nodded.

Like I didn’t already know.

Like I wasn’t already standing right at the edge of whatever came next.

“Okay,” I said quietly.

THIRD POV

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Chapter 425

The night had settled into that deep, undisturbed quiet that came long after everyone had gone to sleep.

The kind of silence that felt complete.

Whole.

Nothing moving. Nothing shifting. Just the steady rhythm of rest wrapping itself around the pack house.

Faye lay beside Alexander, her body still, her breathing even–at least on the surface. To anyone watching, she would have looked calm. At peace.

Until she heard the voice in her sleep. It wasn’t a dream this time.

It drifted at the edges of her awareness like something half–remembered, just out of reach.

Not words she could understand, not a language she could recognize.

Calling.

That was the only way to describe it.

Calling her.

Her brows pulled together slightly even in her half–sleep, her breathing shifting just a little as her mind tried to place the sound.

It didn’t stop.

It didn’t fade.

It grew clearer.

Closer.

And then-

Her eyes opened.

Slowly, like something had told her it was time.

For a second, she didn’t move.

She just lay there, staring into the darkness of the room, listening.

The chant was still there.

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Not somewhere in the distance.

It felt… closer than that.

Inside her awareness.

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Wrapped around her thoughts in a way that made it hard to separate where it ended and she began.

Her fingers twitched slightly against the bed.

Confusion flickered across her face.

She should have been afraid.

But she wasn’t.

Because something about the sound felt familiar.

Her body moved.

She sat up.

Beside her, Alexander shifted slightly at the movement, but didn’t fully wake yet.

Faye swung her legs off the bed.

Her feet touched the floor.

Bare.

Cold.

That should have grounded her.

Should have snapped her fully into awareness.

But it didn’t.

Because the chant didn’t stop.

It only grew steadier.

More insistent.

Her head tilted slightly, like she was listening for direction.

And then-

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She stood.

Behind her, Alexander’s eyes opened.

Not fully at first.

Just enough to register movement where there shouldn’t have been any.

He turned his head slightly, his gaze falling on her silhouette as she moved toward the door.

That was enough.

He pushed himself up, the last traces of sleep leaving him quickly as awareness took over.

“Faye?”

His voice cut through the quiet.

She didn’t stop.

Didn’t even slow down.

She reached the door, her hand already lifting toward the handle.

“Faye,” he called again, sharper this time. “Where are you going?”

Still nothing.

No response.

Not even a pause.

Faye could hear him.

Somewhere in the distance of her mind, she registered his voice.

Recognized it.

But it didn’t hold her.

Didn’t anchor her.

Because the other voice-

The chant-

Was louder.

Closer.

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Pulling her forward with a quiet insistence that overrode everything else.

Her fingers wrapped around the handle.

She opened the door of the bedroom.

Stepped out.

Alexander was out of bed now.

Fully awake.

Watching.

Something about the way she moved, set something off immediately.

This wasn’t normal.

“Faye.”

Her name came again, firmer now as Alexander moved after her.

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