Chapter 3

Seraphine's Point of View

"Stay here for the meantime. I will just have to talk to someone. It wouldn't take long, okay?" Maximus softly said, then he kissed my forehead before leaving our room.

Our room. Calling it ours still felt weird. I could even taste the bitterness in my mind. But there's no more use denying it, or even trying to rebel against him. He knows my weakness.

Of course, he does. He's been my best friend before he turned into this obsessive psycho that he is. We've known each other since we were twelve. We stuck to each other for the longest time. It was once us against the world.

But now...

I felt myself trembling as a long, racking sob came out when everything hit me at once.

It was once Maximus and I against the world, before I met Cassius. It was us who did everything together before I met my mate. But now, I'm just alone. My mate is not here, my best friend is no longer the same. It's Maximus who is causing me so much pain and distress right now.

Cassius... what should I do? In times like this that I feel so hopeless, you are my saving grace. But now that you're not here anymore, how can I do this alone? How can I do this by myself?

["The Moon Goddess, Sera. She is the Light. She is the Answer. She is the Hope. She is the Life.]

Cassius' words rang in my ears that I almost got fooled by my own delusion that he was here to utter those words. But no, he wasn't here. It's him, but it's just a memory of him in my mind.

Remembering Cassius just made the pain in my heart intensified. It's in so much pain right now that it's clouding my mind. His words kept on repeating inside my head that it feels like it's bewitching me. I didn't know when I stood, or when I went towards the balcony. I ignored the cold breeze that enveloped my whole body that would normally make me shudder. I was so out of it that it was too late when I realized I was climbing the railings.

I already let go of my hold on the railing when I heard Maximus terrified screams, desperately yelling for me to stop. But I was already falling.

And all I thought at that short moment of my fall was if there is only a way to save my pack, to save my mate, to save myself, I will gladly take it. I will do it instantly. Then Cassius' words played again inside my head.

But there's nothing that I could do anymore as I'm so close already, and all I felt the next moment was pure agony before everything went dark.

###

"My beautiful, brave daughter..."

I woke up at the soft, melodic sound that whispered in my ears, the same time I felt a hand gently caressing my hair.

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was the most beautiful, enchanting woman I've ever seen in my life. She was literally glowing in every sense, and her aura just screamed... comfort.

"W... who are you?" I croaked out. "And where am I?"

The woman smiled. "You are in my Home, sweet Seraphine."

"Your Home...?" I slowly sat up, and only then did I notice I was lying down in a bed made of flowers. "Who are you, exactly?" I politely asked, despite my growing confusion.

"They call me so many things, my sweet child," she answered. Her voice sounds so melodic I think it could soothe every pain in the world. "They call me the Light. Some called me the Answer. Few called me Life. And there are also those who called me Hope."

My eyes went wide in realization.

"T-the Moon Goddess?" I shrieked in surprise. "L-lady Selene?"

Her eyes sparkled in amusement. "It has been a while since someone called me by that name, since I have been so used to being called by a lot of names. But you are right, Seraphine. I am Lady Selene, and what most of you call the Moon Goddess."

I openly gaped at her confirmation of her identity. Then I hastily knelt down, bowing at her.

"L-lady Selene! What am I doing in your... your Home? Am I getting punished?"

"Stand up, Seraphine. You did nothing wrong," the Moon Goddess softly stated, then I felt her equally soft hands helping me stand up, guiding me back to the makeshift flower bed.

"If I did nothing wrong, then why am I here? Why can I see you?" I hesitantly asked.

"Do you remember what happened in your world?" She asked.

I frowned. I was about to answer 'no' and ask what she meant when thousands of memories materialized at once in my mind.

[My mother and father beaming at me, going to classes with kids my age, befriending a lonely and shy Maximus, sticking together like our life depends on each other, meeting Cassius at the age of sixteen, bickering and fighting with him all the time, venting to Maximus how annoyingly arrogant Cassius was, learning we're mates once I turned eighteen, him befriending me, Cassius and I slowly getting to know each other, my parents death when I turned twenty, Cassius and I getting married when I reached twenty-two, failing to get pregnant, rogue wolves attacking our village left and right, strengthening our defenses and alliance with other packs.

Maximus slowly changing but I ignored it, thinking it was just him maturing, Cassius and I spending every hour we could amidst all the problems in our pack and the outside forces, Maximus traveling a lot, Maximus leading an attack to our pack, a lot of members dying and injured, Maximus challenging Cassius to a death match, Cassius turning his back against his opponent and got mercilessly killed for his mistake, Maximus declaring himself as the new Alpha and me as his Luna, Maximus and I getting married a week later, Maximus leaving me alone in our room after the wedding.

Then I was left alone with my grief and thoughts, hopelessness eating me alive, Cassius words about the Moon Goddess replaying in my mind repeatedly, climbing up on the railing, Maximus yelling desperately for me to stop, falling to my demise with only the thought that I wanted to save my pack, my mate, and myself, and then everything dimmed.]

I gasped for air, as if I was drowning in the ocean for an hour. Gentle hands grasp my flailing arms to steady me.

"You are safe, my daughter. You are safe here with me."

My eyes are blurry from the tears that had gathered on it as I glanced at the Moon Goddess. "I... I'm dead?"

"You can say so."

"T-then where's Cassius? Why can't I see him here?"

"Because he did not Call for me when he died in that match," the Goddess simply answered.

It just made me more confused. "Does it mean I... Call for you before I die?"

"You did. Or else you will not be here in my Home."

"How did that happen? I can't remember calling for you."

She smiled. "You would not. The means to Call for me is unknown and unconscious to the human mind, so naturally, you would not know. If you do, then you would not be here."

I swallowed down all the questions I had because I'm pretty sure she would respond with vague answers. It seemed like she doesn't give direct answers, and she doesn't initiate as well.

"If I Call for you before I die... what does that mean?" I asked.

"It means that you wanted my help," she answered.

"How can you help me if I'm dead?"

"I did not say you are, my daughter," the Goddess smiled serenely.

"But you-" I immediately stopped what I'm about to say when I remembered the exact words she said earlier.

'You can say so.'

She seemed to notice my realization as she looked at me in amusement.

"I'm not dead, but I'm not alive either..." I mumbled, unsure. "Does that mean I'm, like, in between?"

"No. You are in my Home, at your Call," the Goddess answered in a way I couldn't understand, making me even more frustrated.

"Alright. I'm in your Home, at my Call. Does it mean you will help me? Because I Call for you?"

"That is right," she said.

"Why now that I'm dead? No. Now that I'm sort of in between? Why not when I was alive?"

"Because I could not help my children in the living realm. If I could, then I would disrupt the natural order of life,” she explained solemnly. "Beings above are not allowed to meddle with human affairs in the living realm. It is to preserve the authenticity of human lives and the principles of Fate. However, you can Call for me when in need of help. But there is a reason it is not known and cannot be consciously done."

"Because people in the living realm will abuse it," I muttered.

"Precisely, my daughter," she affirmed. "That is why only a few people managed to Call for me. It is when things are in dire need of help that I can provide help. I could not meddle in the living realm, but they did not say I could not give help in my Home."

The sly smile she flashed made my heart soar with hope.

"H-how?" I asked. "How can you help me? Please, how?"

She stared at my eyes. Her gold eyes shine for a moment, and then she averted her gaze.

"The realm you left behind will face its destruction at your death. The kind of affection the man has for you is destructive. It is a dangerous one that manifested because of his dependence on you," she said. She started walking around, making me scramble to follow her, ignoring my shaky legs.

"What can you tell me about your best friend?"

My forehead creased. "Maximus?" I muttered. "His parents died when he was six, and has been orphaned since then. I met him when we were twelve. He was so small and shy and lonely back then so I approached him and befriended him. Since then, we have been inseparable."

The Moon Goddess hummed.

"Is he the reason for the destruction that you were saying a while ago?" I asked.

The Goddess nodded. "He is trying his best to revive you. He punished all the people on the ground who had witnessed you jump but did not do anything to stop or help you. He killed all the healers who declared you are in coma and that only time will tell whether you will wake up or not. To pass the time during day time, he trained the Generals until their legs gave up. The Elders had been experiencing explosive anger from him during their meetings, especially the ones where the Researchers could not bring a solution to revive you. The other people are not safe in his grief and anger. Everyone that annoyed him was punished. A torture or a quick death are the only option they had."

Tears streamed down my face continuously. My heart is twisting painfully against my chest as the Goddess words sink in my mind.

Maximus... he's been in a destructive mode since I died. Or since I fall into an indefinite coma. My actions made my pack members suffer.

"How... how can I stop him?"

The Goddess shakes her head. "You cannot."

"I thought you would help me-"

"You cannot stop him anymore, but you can prevent any of that from happening."

"W...what?" My eyes went wide. "You don't mean..."

"I will bring you back to the time where the root of the destruction started. I will bring you back to the time where you can start to prevent the destruction from happening," she explained.

“You said you cannot meddle with human affairs, but you will bring me to the past. Isn't that meddling in the living realm?” I asked, uncertain.

“I told you, no one told me I cannot give help here in my Home, which is why you are here and why I will provide help,” the Goddess calmly responded. “I am not to meddle in the living realm, but I can help to give you an opportunity to change your future. I will only guide you to the past, I will not impose in your decisions. You will act and decide on your own accord. I am not disrupting the natural course of events. Rather, I was just a bridge that will lead you to possible changes. It is you who will alter the events.”

I slowly processed all of it as I let out a shaky breath. Then I nodded with determination. "Alright. Alright. I understand. I get it. What are the rules?"

"There is only one rule, my daughter," the Moon Goddess said. She turned to face me with a small smile.

"Which is...?"

"You can never tell anyone that you are from a different time," she responded. "Or everything else will fail the moment you do."

My heart started pounding nervously against my chest, pressure started to build up inside me as the gravity of the consequence once I failed to follow the only rule dawned on me.

"How can I do it by myself?" I asked, my voice cracking and bordering on a pleading tone. "How am I going to save my people without asking for help?"

"I will not provide you with this solution if I am not confident that you can do it, my daughter. There are a lot of solutions I could have given, but this is the one I choose for you because I believe in you."

"But..."

"And I did not say you cannot ask for help. You can, in ways you did not have to disclose the truth about your return. It is all up to you on how you come up with ways to ask. Do you understand what I am saying, my daughter?"

I slowly nodded. She flashed me another beautiful smile.

"Then off you go, my daughter. I believe in you. Just do it as well and everything will be alright."

She lifted her hand and gently touched my forehead. Before I could ask what that was supposed to be, I slowly felt myself drifting. It felt like I was floating in an endless abyss of swirling light and sparks.

And then my eyes snapped open when I felt someone shaking my shoulders.

"Seraphine, wake up. It's already break time. Your peers are already on the playground."

I blinked several times before my eyes fully adjusted to the light. When everything became clear, I roamed my eyes to the familiar surroundings.

Green walls, tables and chairs that are nearly arranged, white ceiling, various satchels piled on the back, bookshelves that are filled with educational and story books.

And the smiling face of my middle school teacher.

I was back in my twelve year old self.