The Salvation Trials ✔️

Chapter Forty-Seven

Winnie Melbourne

I'm thrown so violently across the veil that I land in my body and shoot up, eyes wide and chest burning as I gasp for air. My muscles and head throb in protest and I groan in pain.

"Winnie?!", Bronze exclaims. "Oh my Goddess! Are you okay?!"

Nodding, I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and place my head in my hands. Bronze wraps me in a hug, breathing in my scent to calm himself and relax me. "When were you going to tell me?", I mutter.

My handsome Alpha mate stiffens before slowly pulling away from me. I lift my head and show him my teary eyes as he searches my face for something. "Tell you what?", he asks.

"Hyperion.", I whisper.

Bronze's eye flashes and he sighs. "I was going to tell you, Winnie, I swear on both Mother Goddesses, I was going to tell you."

"When? When were you going to tell me? Before or after Genevieve killed everybody I love and then me?", I growl at him.

"Genevieve? It's not possible. She's dead."

I laugh and stand, putting distance between Bronze and I. "Genevieve, that little bitch, is back. She was the Queen Witch, Bronze, and she mastered the dark arts. You should've expected her to come back."

"She killed me, Winnie. I didn't know she would come back. I thought her killing me would satisfy her.", Bronze protests.

"Who's the female, Bronze? Who's the female your heart beats for? Who's the female that you died for before she was even born?"

Bronze stares at me for a few seconds before collapsing onto a small couch in the corner of the room. A fire burns bright in the fireplace. He stares into it. "Centuries ago, when the universe first became, I blinked into existence. I was the God of Light and Genevieve was my soulmate. But I didn't want her. I couldn't want her, no matter how hard I tried. She was my mate, yes, but she wasn't the other half of my soul.

Mother Selene had shown me my true mate, the one I was destined to be with. I told Genevieve but she was already head over heels in love with me. In an attempt to claim me, she seduced me and I spent one night in her bed. When I awoke the next morning, I told Genevieve that I could not be with her because my heart belonged to a female not born yet. Genevieve said she understood and we parted ways, but I guess she lied.

Shortly after us parting ways, witches in her kingdom started mysteriously disappearing only to show up a few days after, their bodies husks. The light witches were under my care so I was tasked with finding who was killing them. Queen Genevieve left plenty of clues and when we found where was making her sacrifices, we found out she was dabbling in the dark arts.

She was sentenced to death, hanging at first light. I wanted to visit her before her execution, and that is when she struck. She had gathered enough power to rival my own and in my dying moments, had looked into my memories. That is when she found the female my heart belonged to. Winnie, that is when she found you."

The air rushes out of my lungs and I stumble back, feeling as if somebody punched me in the stomach. "Me?", I whisper.

"You.", Bronze confirms. He stands and grabs my hands tightly. "You are the other half to my soul, Winnie. I have waited so long for you, but my foolishness long ago has put you in danger. I am sorry."

"You knew I was your soulmate."

"Not really. I wouldn't remember being Hyperion, God of Light, or Genevieve until my wolf recognized you as our mate. When the bond finally snapped into place, my old life came to me in snippets. I would look around and see memories from being Hyperion and then I would blink and they would disappear."

"What are we going to do?", I ask him, finally looking up. The sadness in his eye causes my chest to constrict painfully and I send comfort down our bond.

"I need to find Genevieve and end her for good.", Bronze says.

"We need to.", I say, correcting him. "We'll find her, and we'll end her once and for all."

"Atta girl.", Bronze praises with a cheeky grin.

"Shut it, Hyperion. You're not out of the woods yet."

Bronze scoffs and rolls his eyes. "Please, never call me Hyperion again. I am no longer the arrogant fool I once was. I'm Bronze, the sexy, strong, handsome_"

"And cocky.", I interrupt with a smirk.

"I'm gonna act like I didn't hear that. Handsome Alpha male.", he finishes with a glare.

"Alright. Now come on. We have a Dark Witch to catch and damn to the Underworld."