Bound By Fire

9:The Fight for Her

Dean's POV.

I've seen death more times than I can count. I've fought everything from demons to angels, stared  down monsters that would've torn anyone else apart. But seeing her in the angra's grip? Watching her gasp for breath as that thing wrapped its icy fingers around her throat? It was like the world was caving in on me, and I couldn't do a damn thing about it.

"Stella!" I shouted, my voice cracking in a way I hated, my body moving before I could even think. I raised the shotgun, firing another round of rock salt into the swirling shadow that had a hold on her. The blast scattered the angra's form, but it didn't stop. It was relentless.

I lunged forward, grabbing Stella by the waist and pulling her back toward me, away from the suffocating cold of the angra's touch. She collapsed into my arms, her body trembling, gasping for air as I held her tight. But the moment wasn't over. The angra wasn't done. I could feel it-its presence coiling around us, trying to pull her back into the dark.

I glanced at Sam, who was already frantically flipping through the pages of the book, searching for something - anything- that could give us an edge. But I knew we were running out of time. The angra wasn't going to wait for us to find an answer. It wanted her now. 

"Dean..." Stella's voice was weak, but there was something in it- something that cut through the panic in my chest. 

"Listen to me" I growled, my voice rough, raw with desperation I could barely keep in check. "I don't give a damn about what fate says. You're here because you belong here. This thing? It's wrong. It doesn't get to decide when your time is up." 

The angra's presence grew stronger, the air around us freezing, sharp as ice. The lights flickered away, casting eerie shadows across the room. I could feel it closing in, tightening its grip, and my mind raced, scrambling for a plan, a solution. But the thing was too strong.

"Dean, we need to break its hold on her." Sam shouted from across the room, his eyes wide with urgency. "If it's after her because she cheated death, we need to find a way to show that her life has meaning. That she's meant to be here.

Then it hit me

Stella. She was the answer. She had to believe it. This wasn't about fighting the angra off with a shotgun or some spell. This was about her. The angra was feeding off the idea that she didn't belong, that she was living on borrowed time. The only way to stop it was for her to believe that she was meant to be here.

I turned to her, grabbing her face gently, forcing her to look at me. Her eyes were wide, full of fear and confusion, but I could see the fight in her. She wasn't ready to give up.

"Stella," I said, my voice steady despite the chaos around us. "You need to hear me. You're meant to be here. You belong here. It doesn't matter what happened in the past, or what this thing says. You've got a life to live. With me. You're not done yet."

Tears welled in her eyes, but she didn't look away. Her breath hitched, and I could fee her trembling in my hands. "Dean.. I-"

"Don't" I cut her off "Don't let this thing make you think you don't matter. You've got a purpose. You've always had a purpose. You're meant to be here."

The angra lashed out again, the room growing colder by the second, but I didn't back down. I wouldn't. Not now. Not when I was fighting for her. I could feel the pull of the angra on her, trying to drag her back into the darkness, but I wasn't going to let that happen.

"Fight it, Stella" I urged, my voice breaking just a little. "Fight i with everything you've got." 

She stared at me, her eyes full of pain and fear, but then something shifted. Something clicked. THe light in her eyes changed, and I saw the fire in her return. The angra wasn't just coming for her anymore. It was fighting against the wrong person.

With a sudden surge of strength, Stella pushed herself up, pulling away from me slightly but never breaking eye contact. "I'm not done" She whispered, her voice steady now. "I'm not done living!"

The angra recoiled, its shadowy form twisting and writhing, and I could feel the tension in the air begin to shift. The thing was losing its grip on her. It was fighting harder now, but for the first time since this nightmare started, I saw a crack in its power. 

I watched as Stella stood taller, her chest heaving with breath but her eyes locked on the swirling mass of darkness. "I survived because i was meant to." She said, louder now, her voice growing stronger. "My life matters."

The angra screeched, a horrible, grating sound that filled the room, but it was weakening. I could feel it.

Sam stepped forward, his voice sharp. "Keep going Stella. You're pushing it back."

She nodded, her hands clenching into fists as she took a step forward, toward the angra. "You don't get to decide when my time is up." She spat, her voice filled with defiance. "I decide that."

The angra twisted, its form flickering, and with a final, gut-wrenching shriek, it disappeared- the oppressive cold vanishing in an instant.

 The room was silent, save for the sound of our ragged breathing.

I stared at the spot the angra had been, my mind struggling to catch up with what just happened. It was gone. She'd beaten it.

Slowly, I turned to look at Stella, who was standing there, her body trembling, her chest rising and falling with deep, shaky breaths. She looked at me, her eyes wide, her face pale.

But she was alive.

Without thinking, I closed the distance between us, wrapping her in my arms and pulling her against me. I buried my face in her hair, my heart pounding in my chest as relief washed over me.

"You did it" I whispered, my voice rough "you beat it."

She nodded against me, wrapping her arms around my waist as she held on tight. "I couldn't have done it without you" She whispered "You made me believe"

I pulled back just enough to look down at her. my hand brushing a stray tear from her cheek. "You always had it in you, Stella. I just reminded you."

Her lips quirked into a small, exhausted smile, and I couldn't help but smile back, my heart still racing with the adrenaline of the fight, but also something else- something I hadn't let myself feel in a long time. 

Hope