Claimed by My Bully Alpha Chapter 441

Aurora’s P.O.V

I stared at the pendant in my hand, my breath coming short as the green glow pulsed, softer this time, but still steady enough to remind me of a heartbeat. My voice trembled when I finally asked, “Mom… was that you? Has it always been you?”

“Yes, sweetheart,” her voice came, soft and warm, like it used to be when she tucked me into bed. “It has always been me. Every time you felt that light, every time you thought it was just a trick of your mind, I was there. I was helping you, guiding you… protecting you.”

I swallowed hard, gripping the chain so tight it bit into my palm. “So when the bullies cornered me… when I thought I wasn’t going to make it home.”

“That was me,” she said quickly, almost like she didn’t want me to doubt it for even a second. “I was the one who made them back away, the one who sent that warning chill through their bones. I couldn’t bear to watch them hurt you.”

My lips quivered. “And when Lucas tried to…when he abducted me months ago… that was you too, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, Aurora,” she whispered, and I could hear the exhaustion in her tone, like every word she spoke cost her something.

“That fight… that was the last time my powers burned as bright as they once did. After that night, I felt them dimming, fading with each passing day. I knew my time to reach you like this was running out.”

I shook my head, looking at her almost accusingly. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Why keep me guessing? Why let me think I was doing this all on my own?”

“Because you needed to,” she said firmly, though there was still gentleness beneath her words.

“You need to believe in your own strength. I was only a shadow, a whisper. You, my daughter, are flesh and blood. You are the one who must stand against the darkness, not me.”

I pressed the pendant to my chest, my heart aching. “So what now, Mom? What happens now if your powers are almost gone?”

“That’s why I came to you,” she said, and her voice faltered, though she kept going. “I want to use whatever remains to heal you. To make you stronger, so you can fight the wraiths and protect the children. They will come for you, Aurora. They will not stop until they have what they want. And I will not let them take you.”

My throat tightened as I whispered, “But how, Mom? How can you even do that if you’re fading? How will you heal me?”

There was a pause, then her voice returned, steadier, filled with that old certainty she always carried. “Because I am a priestess of the Moon Goddess. My powers may not be as strong as a witch’s, but they have always been enough to protect our family. Our line has been devoted to the Moon Goddess for generations. Every prayer, every offering, every whispered hymn under the night sky, it has all been for her. And I believe, with all that I am, that the Goddess will help me now. That she will bless you through me.”

I wiped at my tears, though more followed instantly. “But what if she doesn’t? What if I lose you all over again and I’m left with nothing?”

“You will never lose me,” she said quickly, her voice sharp with conviction. “Even if this pendant stops glowing, even if you never hear me again, I will live in you. My blood is in your veins. My faith is in your soul. The Goddess chose you before you even knew her name. You are not nothing, Aurora…you are everything.”

I shook my head, my voice breaking. “I don’t want you to give up what’s left of you just for me. I can’t let you do that. There has to be another way.”

“There is no other way,” she said softly, but with a finality that cut straight through me. “I’ve walked this path my whole life, and now it ends with you. Let me do this. Let me give you the strength I no longer have. Let me be your shield one last time.”

I bit my lip, sobbing openly now. “I don’t want to say goodbye.”

“You’re not saying goodbye, my love,” she whispered, her tone tender and full of that warmth I’d been aching for all these years. “You’re saying hello to who you are meant to be. To who I always knew you would become. And I will be with you, even when you can’t see me. Do you trust me?”

My chest heaved, my fingers clutching the pendant like it was my lifeline. “Always,” I breathed.

“Then let me do this,” she said, her voice glowing brighter than the light itself. “Let me make you whole.”

I wrapped my arms tightly around her, burying my face against her shoulder as if holding her like this could make time stop.

“Mama, please… I don’t want to say goodbye. If I say it, if I let go, then it feels like you’ll really be gone forever, and I can’t do that. I can’t lose you again.” My voice cracked halfway, and I clung harder, almost afraid that if I loosened even a little, she’d slip away from me.

Her hands cupped my face, gentle but firm enough that I couldn’t look away. “Aurora, listen to me. You can. You’ve always been stronger than you believed. You think I held you steady, but the truth is, you were holding me, too. You gave me joy, you gave me purpose. And now, it’s your turn to live. Go back. Live your life the way you were supposed to. But make sure Harmona and Lucas’s legacy perishes with them.”

I shook my head violently, my sobs slipping out between words. “But I don’t want to go back! I want to stay here with you. Just one more day, one more hour… please, Mom. Please.”

She pressed a trembling kiss against my forehead, her lips warm and tender in that moment, and I could feel the way she lingered there, like she didn’t want to pull away either. “My darling girl,” she murmured, her voice breaking slightly now, “if I could, I would never let you go. But love isn’t about holding on forever, it’s about letting go when it’s time. And it’s time now. You have so much ahead of you. Don’t chain yourself to the past. Carry me with you, not as a burden, but as light.”

“Light?” I echoed, my voice shaking, desperate to understand.

“Yes, light,” she said, her eyes glimmering, her form already beginning to shimmer faintly around the edges. “Every time you smile, every time you choose kindness, every time you dare to be brave, that’s me shining through you. That’s me reminding you that I’m still here, even if you can’t see me. Don’t cry because I’m gone, Aurora. Smile because we shared love so deep it can’t be broken.”

I clutched her wrists as if I could anchor her but her form was already fading, slipping from my grasp.

And then I felt it, the warmth of her touch beginning to slip away, her form glowing brighter until the lines of her face blurred, dissolving into soft particles of light that drifted upward like stars breaking apart in the sky. I reached out, my fingers trembling, but they only passed through the glow as it scattered, surrounding me for one final moment before fading.

My knees buckled, and I shut my eyes tightly, tears streaming hot and relentless down my cheeks. My voice cracked as I choked out. “Goodbye, Mama… I love you. I’ll always love you.”

The silence that followed was unbearable, the space where she had been, feeling too empty, too vast. I pressed my hands over my face, rocking forward as I whispered again, brokenly this time,

“I love you… I love you…” until the last of my strength gave way, and all I could do was let the grief wash through me, knowing that this was the final goodbye…before darkness enveloped me once again.