His Broken Mate

Chapter Fifteen: A Voice That Wasn’t His

Nyt ran.

The forest blurred. Branches scraped his arms, roots twisted beneath his boots. But the voice followed him. Not chasing—walking. Calm. Measured. As if it knew he would never outrun it.

“Where are you going, Alpha?” it asked.

Nyt’s breath came sharp. His heart was thunder under cracked ribs.

“You’re not real,” he muttered again.

But his body didn’t listen. His legs kept moving, not because he was in control—

but because something else was testing how far it could push before taking over completely.

When he reached the clearing, he collapsed.

On his knees. Dirt in his teeth. Fists trembling.

And across from him stood the figure again. Him.

The same jawline. The same scar along the collarbone. Even the same way the fingers twitched when impatient.

But the eyes—

The eyes were black.

No iris. No white. No soul.

“You’ve worn this body well,” it said.

Nyt tried to shift.

Nothing happened.

“You think teeth will save you?” the shadow-him asked. “You were born to bleed for her.”

“I protect her.”

The smile was slow. Wrong. “That’s what we all said. Until we realized—she’s the c***k. She opens the door.”

Nyt forced himself up, muscles screaming. “Don’t say her name.”

The shadow didn’t listen. It never would.

“You were meant to burn beside her. Not behind her. Don’t you wonder why your bond is fading?”

Nyt froze.

He hadn’t told anyone.

Not even Athena.

The flicker in their link. The dimming. Like something was tugging it at both ends.

“You’re lying,” he whispered.

“I’m watching.”

The creature stepped closer.

“I watched the mark on your skin grow dark. I watched you see things she didn’t. I watched you start to wonder.”

Nyt’s hand shot out like lightning—striking the figure clean in the chest.

But his palm passed straight through.

Only air.

And suddenly—

He wasn’t in the forest anymore.

He was standing at the edge of a wide, black lake. Silent. Still.

And on the far side—

Athena.

Back turned. Alone.

Unaware.

Nyt opened his mouth to scream.

Nothing came out.

Only water.