The Lycan King's Second Chance Mate: Rise of the Traitor's Daughter-Chapter 143: Breaking Chains, Breathing Magic

Easter~

The car hummed steadily beneath us as we drove away, but my mind was far from calm. I kept glancing at Jacob—this impossibly powerful, devastatingly handsome man who had just rewritten the course of my life with nothing but his voice and his magic.

Beside me, Jacob stared ahead at the road, his profile backlit by the dying sun. The golden shimmer from earlier still danced faintly at his fingertips, curling lazily before fading into the air like embers. My hand still tingled from where he had held it. I curled my fingers inward, as if to hold on to the warmth a little longer.

"Thank you," I whispered. My voice barely carried over the engine, but I knew he heard. "Thank you for freeing me."

His head tilted slightly, his lips twitching into a smile that could bring angels to their knees. "You freed yourself, Easter," he said gently. "I just made sure the chains didn’t try to crawl back."

I swallowed hard. My heart was full—achingly, blissfully full. "I’ll never forget the day Natalie walked into my life," I said. "She didn’t just offer help. She brought you into it."

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he reached across the console and wrapped his fingers around mine again. His touch was warm, grounding, like the sun itself had decided to hold my hand.

"You’ll never suffer again," Jacob said, his voice a quiet vow. "Not while I’m here. And I’ll be here... always. That’s the benefit of falling for a god, you know."

I blinked. "Falling for—?" My breath caught in my throat, and a dizzying warmth bloomed in my chest. But he didn’t seem to notice the effect his words had. He just smiled ahead, casual and calm, like he hadn’t just set off a firestorm in me.

Did he already know how I felt about him? Or was he just casually throwing around the word falling, totally unaware of what it was doing to me? God—what did that even mean?!

Tears pricked the corners of my eyes, but this time, they weren’t from pain. They were from... relief. Joy. Safety. Giddiness.

I turned my face to the window, pretending to admire the sunset, but really, I just didn’t want him to see me crying like a lovesick fool.

I thought we were heading back to Jacob’s home, then back to Zane’s. But instead, he took an abrupt turn off the main road and into a forest trail so hidden, I wouldn’t have noticed it if I blinked.

"Uh... are you planning to sacrifice me to the forest spirits?" I asked with a raised brow.

Jacob laughed. "No sacrifices today. Just trust me."

"That’s what all the creepy guys say before they feed you to a magical bear."

He shot me a grin, and I swear, the temperature in the car rose. "Good thing I am the magical bear."

I snorted. "Cocky much?"

He just winked.

Minutes later, we pulled into what I can only describe as the most bizarre, magical carnival I had ever seen. It was hidden deep in the woods, surrounded by glowing trees and glittering mist. Wooden stalls and wagons shaped like oversized mushrooms were scattered around, and creatures I couldn’t even name strolled the grounds—some tall and glowing, others with wings or vines for hair.

The sign at the entrance read: "Welcome to Mischief Grove – Where Fun Is Mandatory."

I stared. "You’ve got to be kidding."

"Nope," Jacob said, hopping out and coming around to open my door. "Tonight, Easter Free, you are forbidden from frowning."

"I don’t..." I hesitated, my stomach twisting. "I don’t think I can... I haven’t had fun in... a long time."

"I know." His voice was softer now, and when I looked up at him, the mischief in his eyes had been replaced with a deeper feeling.

He knew. Somehow, he knew.

"You don’t have to tell me what happened with Melody," he said, as if reading my thoughts. "I already know. I know that you blame yourself. That you think having fun is a luxury you don’t deserve."

My mouth went dry.

He stepped closer, brushing a strand of hair from my cheek. "But you do. You’ve paid enough for that night. You lost your home, your joy, your laughter. It’s time you got it back."

I blinked rapidly, trying to hold the tears at bay. "How did you know?"

"I’m a Spirit, Easter. Your soul told me long before your lips ever could."

And just like that, something inside me cracked. Not in a painful way—but like a dam breaking open.

"Okay," I said, my voice trembling. "Okay... let’s have... fun."

What followed was chaos. Glorious, absurd chaos.

First, he dragged me to a game called Lick-a-Toad, which was absolutely not what it sounded like. (Well. Sort of.) You had to catch a glowing toad and kiss it, and then the toad would scream out your deepest secret. Mine yelled, "SHE THINKS JACOB HAS A NICE BUTT!" and I nearly died on the spot.

Jacob just smirked like the smug god he was. "Well, I do work out."

"Don’t comment on that," I grumbled, my cheeks on fire.

Next came the Upside-Down Carousel, which spun so fast and flipped so many times, I nearly threw up. Jacob laughed the entire time, especially when I screamed, "YOU’RE GONNA KILL YOUR BABY, YOU MONSTER!"

"First of all, I would never," he said between laughs as we stumbled off. "Second of all... wait, my baby?"

I blinked. Oops. "I mean the baby. A baby. Some baby. Babies in general—"

Jacob only grinned wider, clearly amused by my flustered panic.

Later, we wandered into the Cuddle Cavern, which was basically a cave of soft, floating clouds that shaped themselves into adorable creatures. I fell asleep there for ten whole minutes before jolting awake with a craving for pickles and cotton candy. Jacob was back in a second—with both.

"Pregnancy drama," I muttered between bites. "Don’t say I didn’t warn you."

"I look forward to the chaos," he replied without missing a beat.

As the night wore on, the laughter came easier. The guilt loosened. I found myself dancing with glowing fairies and beating Jacob in a game of "Catch the Moonbeam." (Okay, he let me win, but I still got a prize.)

And in quiet moments, I watched him—his laugh, his ease, the way he made even the most mundane moment feel like magic.

At one point, I tripped on a mushroom, and he caught me, his arms warm and strong around me. For a breathless second, our eyes locked. I could feel his heartbeat. I could smell the faint woodsy spice of his skin.

But he just steadied me and chuckled. "Careful there, warrior."

And my heart—my stupid, aching heart—sank just a little.

He didn’t notice.

He didn’t see.

But it was okay.

Because for the first time in years, I felt alive.

And I didn’t need a confession or a kiss to make that true.

As we sat by a glowing pond near the end of the night, our feet dangling in silver water, I leaned into his side.

"I feel... free," I murmured.

Jacob tilted his head, brushing his shoulder against mine. "Because you are. And this is just the beginning."

I smiled, resting my hand on my belly. "We’re going to be okay, aren’t we?"

He looked down at me, eyes glowing faintly gold. "You’re going to be extraordinary, Easter. You and the little firecracker in there."

And in that moment—with magic all around me, laughter still echoing in the distance, and Jacob beside me—I believed him.

I believed it all.

Even if my heart was already falling deeper than I knew how to stop.

And maybe... just maybe...

He’d catch me when I did.

*********

Later that night, long after the fireworks had faded into smoke trails and the carnival music had melted into whispers, Jacob gently nudged me toward the car.

"Time to head home, warrior."

"But..." I pouted, glancing longingly at the giant teddy bear someone was winning at a ring toss. "I was just about to beat that rigged game."

Jacob grinned. "You were throwing the rings at the vendor."

"He looked smug."

"Exactly. Let’s not get banned from the fair."

I groaned dramatically, dragging my feet like a child, but the truth was—I was tired. The good kind. The kind that made your bones hum and your soul feel soft.

He opened the car door for me, and I slipped inside, sinking into the plush leather seat with a contented sigh. The engine purred to life, and soon we were speeding down the open road under a blanket of stars, the wind brushing through the cracked windows.

Music filled the space between us—some old-school soul track that made me sway in my seat and throw my head back with laughter.

"Tell me you at least tried to dance when I wasn’t looking," I teased, glancing at him as he tapped the steering wheel in rhythm.

"Please," he said, flashing a cocky smirk. "The wind danced for me."

I snorted. "That is the most Jacob thing you’ve ever said."

He winked. "Thank you."

I was having the time of my life. My cheeks ached from smiling. My chest was light. My heart? Well, my heart was a complicated mess wrapped in glitter, but for the moment... it was happy.

Then it hit me.

Like, literally hit me—in the bladder.

"Jacob," I said, suddenly sitting up straight, "I need to pee."

He raised an eyebrow. "I could just—"

"Nope," I cut in. "Do not magic me a toilet in the car. That’s a line I refuse to cross."

He laughed, shaking his head. "Alright. Gas station it is."

A few minutes later, we pulled into a brightly lit gas station at the edge of a quiet town. I unbuckled quickly, already halfway out the door. "Be right back. Don’t vanish without me."

"Wouldn’t dream of it," he said, propping his elbow on the window frame. "But hurry. The wind’s starting to miss you."

I rolled my eyes, grinning, and dashed toward the restroom sign, the automatic door hissing open behind me.

I barely made it to the dingy hallway of the public restroom before I heard someone gasp.

"Easter?"

I turned, heart stumbling a little in my chest.

Two women stood near the snack aisle, blinking at me like they’d just seen a ghost. One wore a sunflower-printed dress and had a name tag that read "Gloria," while the other clutched a soda and gaped like I’d grown wings.

"Easter?" Gloria said again, her eyes wide.

I blinked. "Uh... yes?"

The second woman let out a tiny squeal. "Oh my word! You’ve grown so much! Do you remember us? We were members of your father’s church back in Bellemarais. You used to sing with the children’s choir—oh, you were so little!"

I stared at them, frozen. My mouth opened, but words refused to come out.

They stepped closer, smiling warmly like old aunties at a family reunion.

"You look so much like your mama now," Gloria said. "She’s here too, you know. Your parents. The church is hosting a three-day conference right down the street, at the Golden Candle Hotel."

I don’t know what else they said after that.

Because the moment I heard the word parents, my entire body locked up.

The blood in my veins pulsed like a warning drum.

My heart spiked—wild, hot, erratic.

Jacob was right outside.

But I was no longer okay.

I was no longer free.

And in that single breathless moment...

Everything changed.