Chapter 168
Calla
Wait. A different idea hit me like lightning in the white space.
Since Blake and I were linked through his mental attack, and since he had part of me in him through my blood from his transformation, couldn't he work as a conduit instead? His hybrid body was strong enough to handle the power surge, and I could channel Selvarra's abilities through him while staying in my own body.
Selvarra actually smiled at this when I told her of my thoughts, a real smile that lit up her ancient features.
"You know," she said with genuine amusement, "in all my millennia of existence, I never considered that option."
My jaw dropped. This was the fucking Moon Goddess and she couldn't even think of this obvious solution? Was I seriously about to sacrifice and damn myself for nothing when there was another way? The cosmic irony made me want to laugh and scream at the same time.
Maybe I should have become a goddess instead, I thought sarcastically. Apparently I'm better at problem-solving than beings who've existed since time began.
Selvarra's red eyes sparkled with what looked suspiciously like amusement, though she didn't comment on my internal rant. I wasn't even sure if she'd heard my thoughts or not, but when the power surge came without any warning, I had a pretty good idea.
"Son of a—" Pain exploded through my consciousness as divine energy slammed into me like a freight train made of liquid starlight. "A little warning would've been nice!"
That better not be revenge for calling you out, I thought through gritted teeth as power coursed through every fiber of my being.
But there was no time to complain. I reached out through our psychic link and grabbed hold of Blake's consciousness, using him as a pipeline for the goddess's power. His hybrid body could handle what would destroy a normal human, and his connection to my blood made him the perfect conduit.
The world exploded in silver light.
My consciousness snapped back to the physical world, and I realized I was floating several feet off the ground, my body blazing with moonlight so bright it hurt to look at. Blake was screaming in absolute agony, his voice breaking as divine power tore through him.
"She's about to end our races!" he shrieked, his red-gold eyes wide with terror. "She's going to make us all human!"
That's when the vampires finally understood what was happening.
"Stop her!" one of them roared, and suddenly pale figures were rushing toward me from all directions, fangs bared and claws extended.
Werewolves from multiple packs charged forward too, howling with rage as they realized what Blake's screams meant. Some were coalition members, others belonged to different territories entirely - all united in their fury at the threat to their supernatural nature. A few hung back, unsure whether to trust the word of a madman or the actions of someone who'd been trying to save them all.
But my pack – my beautiful, loyal, crazy pack – formed a protective circle around me without hesitation.
Axel was still healing from Blake's beating, but he positioned himself directly in front of me with his claws extended. Malachai and Marcus flanked him, their massive frames ready to take on impossible odds. Jace, Zara, Eden, Rikka – every single member of my family put themselves between me and the charging supernatural armies.
Even though they were outnumbered twenty to one, they never hesitated.
The vampires and werewolves hit my pack's defensive line like a tidal wave, but they couldn't reach me. Not because my family was strong enough to stop them all, but because I let the divine power explode outward in a wave that swept across the entire planet.
The ripple was invisible to humans, but every supernatural being on Earth felt it hit them like a sledgehammer made of pure change.
Witches who had spent centuries manipulating shadow shields suddenly found their magic gone, their abilities severed from the source that had powered them for generations.
Vampires felt their immortality drain away like water through their fingers. Ancient beings who had walked the earth for millennia became mortal in the space of a heartbeat, their supernatural strength and speed disappearing as their bodies remembered what it meant to be human.
Werewolves lost their connection to the moon, their ability to shift torn away so completely it was like losing a limb. The wolf consciousness that had been their constant companion simply vanished, leaving behind only confused humans who couldn't understand why they suddenly felt so empty.
The ones who had been attacking me collapsed to their knees, cursing and swearing as weakness flooded through their newly human bodies. Without supernatural strength, they could barely stand, let alone continue fighting.
Blake's screams reached a crescendo as divine power burned through his hybrid system. His eyes started smoking, literally smoking, as the conflicting supernatural DNA in his body was forcibly purged. His enhanced muscles spasmed and seized as vampire and werewolf abilities were torn from him like poison being sucked from a wound.
When the power finally finished flowing through him, he fell to his knees, then collapsed face-first onto the rocky ground. His eyes had gone completely black, and smoke still rose from his body as it processed the transformation back to baseline humanity.
I dropped from the air, landing hard on the stone ground as exhaustion hit me like a physical blow. The effort of channeling that much divine power had drained me completely.
For a moment, there was absolute silence.
Then everyone who was still conscious turned to look at me with expressions ranging from confusion to betrayal to pure hatred.
"What did you do to us?" one of the former vampires gasped, staring at his hands like they'd betrayed him.
"You stole everything," a coalition werewolf snarled, tears streaming down his face. "Our wolves, our strength, our identity. You took it all away."
"She destroyed us," another voice added, and I could hear similar curses and accusations rising from the crowd of newly human supernatural beings.
They were right to hate me. I had stolen their supernatural nature, their connection to something greater than human existence. In their eyes, I was no better than Blake – maybe worse, because I'd done it while claiming to save them.
Only the Vanguard pack stood by me, forming that same protective circle even though they were now just humans with a few weapons against dozens of angry people who blamed me for destroying their entire way of life.
But as I lay on the cold stone, watching my family prepare to defend me against impossible odds, I couldn't bring myself to regret what I'd done.
The supernatural war was over. The hatred between vampires and werewolves had ended because neither species existed anymore. Selvarra's millennia-old mistake had finally been corrected.
And somewhere in the distance, I could feel new danger approaching. The former supernatural beings were still angry, still looking for someone to blame for their loss.
The next fight was just beginning.