Page 38 of Echoes From the Void (Shadow Locke Shifters #3)

Chapter 37

Frankie

Falling through void feels like dying.

Not the quick death of violence, but the slow fading of a star—light and energy dispersing into endless night. My wolves’ forms blur at the edges as reality itself becomes nebulous. Even our father’s protective presence feels more concept than substance, wrapped around us like living shadow. Through the mate bonds, I feel echoes of their strength—Matteo’s steel resolve, Leo’s unwavering warmth, Bishop’s ancient protection, Dorian’s timeless patience.

Then...something changes.

The darkness gives way to soft radiance—not Finn’s familiar light, but something older. Ancient. The kind of light that existed before the sun, before shadow itself had meaning. My wolves still against me, their instincts recognizing power older than their own.

Look , our father’s voice resonates through spaces between thought and sound. Remember .

The light resolves into images, into memory itself:

A great hall filled with beings of pure radiance. Light shifters, hundreds of them, their power illuminating reality’s earliest dawn. Among them stands a woman with violet eyes— our mother, younger but unmistakable. Her light pulses with life, with purpose, with desperate hope. I feel Finn’s essence stir through our bond, recognizing her even across the void’s vast distance.

The first collapse , the Eredar’s voice carries weight of witness. When the realms began to fail.

I watch as the light shifters join hands, their combined power reaching between realities to hold existence itself together. But something goes wrong. The void’s corruption spreads too fast, too hungry. Through my shadows, I feel the echoes of their desperation, their certainty that sacrifice was the only way.

They tried to stabilize everything at once , my father’s grief bleeds through the memory. Tried to save all realities. But the cost...

The light shifters’ forms begin to crystallize, their power freezing them between moments as they fight to hold reality together. My mother’s voice rises in shadow-song, trying to warn them, to stop them before-

The memory shifts.

Now I see them—hundreds of light shifters suspended in perfect stasis, their power eternally feeding the barriers between realms. Not dead, but not truly alive. Frozen between moments, between heartbeats, between choices. Their combined light pulses with the very rhythm of existence, each beat a desperate attempt to hold reality together.

Is this... My thought feels small against the weight of history . Is this where they all went? Where she came from?

Yes , our father’s presence wraps closer around me, protective and proud and grieving all at once. Your mother was the last. The only one who listened when I warned them. When I tried to show them another way.

The memory ripples again, showing my mother and father—light and shadow, supposed enemies—finding balance together. Creating something new. Creating us. Through our twin bond, I feel Finn’s essence respond to this truth, his light reaching for mine across impossible distance.

The prophecy , I realize. It was never about sacrifice. It was about...

Choice , he finishes. About finding balance freely given, not forced. About learning from their mistakes.

Around us, the void pulses—not with hunger now, but with something almost like recognition. My wolves press closer, their forms steadying as they adapt to this space between spaces. Through the mate bonds, I feel my pack’s strength sustaining me—four distinct songs of power harmonizing with my own.

Father , I whisper into that endless light. I need to find him. Need to find Finn.

His power shifts around me, ancient and certain. Yes. But first...understand. See what your mother saw. What she tried to prevent.

The memory changes one final time.

The vision crystalizes into perfect clarity: Hundreds of light shifters, suspended like stars in eternal twilight. Their power pulses with the rhythm of reality itself—each frozen form acting as an anchor point, holding the realms together through sheer force of will and sacrifice.

But it’s not peaceful stasis.

They’re aware. Conscious. Trapped between moments with only their thoughts and the weight of existence for company. Their light flickers with desperate messages, trying to communicate across the vast distances between their frozen forms.

Listen , my father’s voice guides me. Hear what they’re trying to say.

I reach out with my shadows, letting them twine through that ancient light. The messages hit like physical blows:

so tired

how long

can’t hold it

someone please

help us

“They’re suffering,” I whisper, the words catching in my throat. “All this time, they’ve been suffering.”

Yes . The Eredar’s grief wraps around me like a physical thing. Your mother saw this coming. Tried to warn them that using their power this way would trap them. That there had to be another way.

One light pulses brighter than the others, drawing my attention. As I move closer, I recognize the violet eyes, the determined set of her jaw—my grandmother. Our grandmother. She hangs suspended between heartbeats, her power feeding directly into one of the major anchor points between realms. Through our bond, I feel Finn’s recognition, his light reaching for hers across the void.

She chose this? I ask, reaching toward her frozen form. They all chose this?

They thought they were saving everything . My father’s presence shifts, becoming more solid as he remembers. Your mother begged them to wait, to look for another solution. But they were so certain. So sure that their sacrifice would be enough.

“But it wasn’t.” The truth settles into my bones like frost. “The realms are still failing. They’re suffering for nothing.”

Not nothing, he corrects gently. They bought time. Time for your mother to find me. Time for us to understand what true balance could be. Time for you and your brother to be born.

A flicker of familiar light pulses in the distance—Finn. Still alive. Still waiting. The mate bonds hum with renewed strength, our pack’s energy reaching through the void like anchors to reality. But there’s something else too, something about this place that calls to my shadows in a way I don’t quite understand.

Father , I start, an impossible idea forming. These anchors they created... they’re made of pure light essence. But what if...

His power surges with sudden understanding. Yes. Now you see what your mother saw. What she tried to tell them.

“Light and shadow in balance,” I breathe. “Not sacrifice. Not forced stasis. But willing partnership.”

Yes , he says, and this time his pride fills the spaces between realities. My daughter. My shadow. My hope.

Around us, the frozen light shifters’ essences pulse faster, as if responding to this new possibility. Their messages shift, hope threading through their eternal light:

please

help us

release us

balance

finally

The Eredar’s form becomes fully solid beside me, no longer just living shadow but something more defined. In this space between realities, I truly see him for the first time—not a beast, but a being of perfect balance. His shadows hold pinpoints of light like captured stars, while darkness swirls through his radiance like cosmic storms.

“You protected us,” I say softly, reaching up to touch his massive form. My wolves press against him, recognizing their ultimate source. “All those years, watching over the shadow realm, you were protecting us. Preparing for this moment.”

Always , his voice carries millennia of patient love. From the moment your mother first showed me what balance could be. What love could create.

Through spaces between moments, I feel Finn’s light pulse stronger. Waiting. Understanding. The mate bonds resonate with shared purpose, their energy a reminder that we’re not alone in this impossible task.

“We can free them,” I whisper, the plan crystallizing. “Not just find Finn, but free all of them. Replace their sacrificed stasis with willing balance.”

It will be dangerous , he warns, but pride radiates from his ancient form. The void still hungers. The corruption still spreads.

“But we’re not alone anymore.” I straighten, feeling my power adapt to this impossible space. “We have each other. Have the pack. Have a better way.”

His massive head lowers until we’re eye to eye. In his gaze, I see galaxies birth and die, see shadow and light dance their eternal dance, see love stronger than time itself.

My daughter , he says, and the words feel like prophecy finally, properly fulfilled. Show them what true balance can be.

My shadows rise, stronger now with understanding. Through our bond, I feel Finn’s light answer—ready, waiting, knowing. Above us, impossibly distant but unbreakably connected, I feel my pack’s determination. Their love. Their strength.

“Together?” I ask my father, my wolves gathering close.

Together , he agrees. As we always should have been.

We turn as one toward where Finn’s light beckons, leaving the frozen light shifters pulsing with renewed hope behind us. Their messages follow us into the void:

save us

free us

balance us

please

Soon, I promise silently. Soon we’ll show everyone what willing sacrifice and chosen balance can do. What love can accomplish where force failed.

But first...

“Hold on, brother,” I whisper into spaces between reality. “We’re coming.”

The void parts before us—father and daughter, shadow and balance, love made manifest.

Together.

As prophecy always meant us to be.

Even in the darkest void.

Especially then.