Rejected And Reborn As The Alpha King's Luna

Chapter 50: “Two Bodies, One Evil”

POV: Theo

Morgana laughed. "How touching. But it changes nothing. She's mine now."

"She's not." I took Thelma's hand. "She's my sister. My twin. My blood. And I'm not letting you take her."

The house around us shuddered. In the physical world, I knew Kael had begun the exorcism. I felt it through the bond, felt the agony as magic tore at Thelma's body and mind.

She screamed, and the sound shattered the false house into fragments.

We were falling again, tumbling through chaos. Morgana's consciousness wrapped around us like a snake, squeezing, suffocating.

"Fight her!" I shouted at Thelma. "Remember who you are!"

"I can't! She's too strong!"

"No, she's not!" I grabbed her shoulders, made her look at me. "You survived death, Thelma. You survived being reborn with all your memories intact. You survived discovering your parents were murderers. You survived a cursed heart. You're the strongest person I know!"

"I'm not strong!" Tears streamed down her face. "I'm broken. Damaged. Everyone who gets close to me gets hurt. Maybe Morgana's right. Maybe it would be better if I just let go."

"Bullshit." I shook her. "You know what I see when I look at you? I see someone who's been beaten down over and over and keeps getting back up. Someone who loves so fiercely she'd absorb dark magic to save others. Someone who marked her mate knowing she might die. That's not broken, Thel. That's incredible."

"Theo—"

"I'm proud to be your brother," I said, and meant every word. "I'm proud to share blood with you. I'm proud to fight beside you. And I'm not letting this witch take that away from us."

Something shifted in Thelma's eyes. A spark, small but bright.

"You're proud of me?" she whispered.

"So damn proud."

The spark grew brighter. Around us, Morgana's consciousness shrieked with rage.

"No! She's mine!"

"She was never yours," I said. "And she never will be."

Thelma straightened, and I felt her power rising. The true Alpha power, not borrowed or stolen. Hers by right of birth and blood.

"Get out of my head," she said, and her voice carried command. "Get out of my body. Get out of my life."

Golden light exploded from her, pushing back the darkness. Morgana's consciousness thrashed and fought, but Thelma was stronger. She'd always been stronger, she just needed to remember it.

In the physical world, the exorcism was working. Kael's magic combined with Thelma's will, tearing Morgana's consciousness loose.

But it hurt. God, it hurt. I felt it through our twin bond, felt every nerve in Thelma's body screaming. She was being ripped apart from the inside.

"Hang on!" I begged. "Just a little longer!"

Xavier's voice cut through the pain, carried on the mate bond. "Come back to me, Thelma. I love you. Come back."

His love poured through the bond, golden and pure. It wrapped around Thelma, giving her strength, anchoring her to life and sanity.

"I'm coming," she whispered. "Xavier, I'm coming back."

With a final, terrible wrench, Morgana's consciousness was torn free.

I was thrown back into my own body, gasping and shaking. My hand was still pressed to Thelma's, our blood mixed and binding us.

In the ritual circle, Thelma convulsed one last time, then went still.

"Is she—" Xavier couldn't finish the question.

Kael was holding something. A crystal container that glowed with sickly purple light. Inside, I could see it. Morgana's consciousness, trapped and furious.

"The exorcism worked," Kael said, his voice rough with exhaustion. "Morgana's consciousness has been expelled and contained."

Luna was already at Thelma's side, checking her pulse. "She's alive. Weak, but alive. The corruption is fading."

Xavier dropped beside his mate, gathering her into his arms. Through the mate bond, I felt his relief, his joy, his overwhelming love.

Thelma's eyes fluttered open. They were her natural color, no glow, no darkness. Just her.

"Xavier?" she whispered.

"I'm here. You're okay. You're back."

She smiled weakly. "Told you I'd come back."

We'd done it. Against all odds, we'd saved her. Separated Morgana from Thelma without killing either one. The witch was trapped in the crystal, powerless and contained.

I started to laugh, relief making me giddy. "We actually pulled it off. We—"

A sound cut through my celebration. A groan, weak and confused.

We all turned.

Yvonne's body was moving. Her eyes opened, and for a moment, they were normal. Confused and disoriented.

"Where am I?" she asked. "What happened?"

Then her eyes changed. Purple light flooded them, and her expression shifted into something cruel and familiar.

Morgana's laugh echoed from her throat.

"No," Luna breathed. "That's impossible."

The crystal in Kael's hand pulsed with light. Morgana's voice came from it, amused and triumphant.

"You really thought it would be that easy? I'm three hundred and forty-seven years old, children. I've learned a few tricks."

Yvonne, no, Morgana in Yvonne's body, sat up and smiled at us.

"I split my consciousness," the voice from the crystal explained. "Half in Thelma, half in Yvonne. You expelled the half from Thelma and trapped it. But the other half? Still here. Still very much in control."

Kael raised his sword toward Yvonne's body. "Then we destroy them both."

"Go ahead," both Morganas said in unison. "Destroy the container, and you kill half of me. But the other half remains in Yvonne. Or try to kill Yvonne, and risk destroying an innocent girl's soul along with mine. Either way, someone dies."

The Morgana in Yvonne's body stood, stretching. "And here's the best part. I'm weakened now, split in half. But give me time, give me just a little time, and I'll grow strong again. Both halves will. And eventually, I'll find a way to merge back together."

She walked toward the door, and none of us moved to stop her. How could we? If we killed her, we killed Yvonne.

"So what will it be?" both Morganas asked. "Keep half of me trapped in that crystal, knowing I'll eventually escape? Or destroy it and leave the other half free in Yvonne's body? Such a delicious choice."

Morgana in Yvonne's body reached the door. "Take your time deciding. I'll be waiting. And when you finally make your choice, when you finally decide who lives and who dies, remember this: whatever happens next is your fault."

Then she was gone, disappearing into the temple's depths. We stood in terrible silence, staring at the glowing crystal in Kael's hand. Inside, Morgana's consciousness laughed and laughed and laughed.