Chapter 86: Eighty Six :The Gate Falls

Ronald's POV

The gates didn’t just break. They exploded. Warriors behind me roared, Bloodfang howls echoing through the night.

“Push through!” I barked, my voice more growl than words. “Find her!”

The scent of blood hit me first, burnt silver and smoke, laced with her. Mara.

Every muscle in my body screamed to move faster. My wolf clawed for control, snapping, snarling inside my head.

She’s bleeding. She’s ours. Run.

We stormed the fortress. Council guards spilled into the corridor, armored in rune-etched steel.

“Hold the line!” one shouted. “Protect the Elders!”

I didn’t slow.

The first guard raised his sword. I caught his wrist mid-swing and snapped it. The blade clattered to the ground. Another lunged, my claws tore through his armor, hot blood splattering my chest.

“Alpha!” Lucas shouted from behind me. “We’re surrounded, more coming from the west wing!”

“Then block them!” I growled, slamming another soldier into the wall so hard the stones cracked. “No one touches her.”

Screams echoed down the hall. My pack tore through anyone in their way. The fortress shook, dust raining from the ceiling as distant runes flared, trying to repair the damage.

Somewhere deep inside, a sound ripped through the chaos, a scream so raw it silenced the air.

Mara.

My heart stopped. Then the world tilted red.

I roared and shifted fully, bones snapping, fur tearing through skin. My wolf surged free in a blur of black and silver. I was no longer a man, I was fury now.

Guards scattered as I tore down the corridor, claws ripping stone, eyes locked on the massive iron doors at the hall’s end.

The runes on them glowed faintly, sealing her inside.

No more seals.

I slammed into the doors once, cracks spiderwebbed across the surface. Again, hinges groaned. A third hit..

The doors flew off their frame and crashed inward.

The ritual chamber was chaotic.

Silver runes flickered on the floor, broken and bleeding light. Smoke hung thick, and the air stank of burnt magic.

Several Elders lay sprawled across the ground, robes scorched, faces pale with terror.

And in the center, Mara.

She knelt in a pool of silver and blood, the Silverfang blade glowing faintly beside her. Her chains were gone, her eyes half-lidded, body trembling.

My heart nearly stopped.

“Mara!”

She lifted her head slightly, eyes dazed. “Ronald?”

Her voice was barely a whisper, but it hit me harder than any blow.

I moved toward her, but a Council guard appeared from the smoke, swinging his axe. Lucas lunged from behind me, blocking the strike, his blade clashing with the man’s.

“Go!” Lucas shouted. “Get her!”

I didn’t need to be told twice.

I charged forward, shoving aside the broken remnants of the ritual circle. The energy still pulsed through the floor, burning my paws, but I didn’t care.

I dropped beside her, shifting back to human form, hands shaking as I touched her face.

Her skin was cold. Her pulse was weak. Blood streaked her neck where the runes had branded her.

“Stay with me,” I whispered, brushing her hair back. “You hear me, Mara? You don’t get to leave me.”

Her lips curved faintly. “You always… show up late.”

A breathless, broken laugh escaped me. “You never make it easy.”

Behind us, the sounds of battle grew louder, swords, claws, screams. Lucas and the others were being pushed back as more Council loyalists poured in.

“Alpha!” someone shouted. “They’re regrouping, too many!”

I looked up just in time to see a figure in Council robes raise a rune-staff toward us. The air thickened, charged with power.

“Duck!” I snarled, grabbing Mara and rolling to the side as a blast of silver fire scorched the ground where we’d been.

The Elder snarled. “The ritual must be completed! She cannot live!”

I rose slowly, shielding Mara behind me. “You should have killed me first.”

The Elder sneered. “Gladly.”

He thrust his staff forward, runes glowing bright.

But the blade beside Mara pulsed again, throwing out a wave of light that shattered the spell mid-air.

The Elder staggered back, eyes wide. “Impossible..”

I turned to Mara. Her eyes were open now, glowing faint silver, matching the blade’s light. Her voice was hoarse, but steady. “Told you… I’d rewrite fate.”

She tried to stand, her legs trembling. I caught her before she fell.

“Mara, stop,” I said. “You’re bleeding too much—”

“I’m not done yet.” Her grip tightened weakly on my arm. “They wanted to take my wolf. Now they can meet her.”

Before I could stop her, she raised the Silverfang blade. The runes on the walls flickered, then burst into sparks as a pulse of silver energy shot upward, shaking the whole fortress.

The elders screamed. Guards fell to their knees.

“Mara!” I shouted over the chaos, pulling her close as the room split with light. “You’ll kill yourself!”

She looked up at me through the storm, her expression fierce even through tears. “Then I’ll take them with me.”

The explosion of power tore through the chamber, flinging debris in every direction. Lucas dove behind a column, yelling for the others to retreat.

I wrapped my arms around her, shielding her from the worst of it. The heat burned my back, but I held on, refusing to let go.

When the light finally dimmed, the chamber was nearly unrecognizable, walls cracked, runes dead, silence heavy.

I looked down. Mara was limp against my chest, her eyes closed, her blood warm on my hands.

“No, no, no…” I pressed my forehead to hers, heart pounding in panic. “Mara. Wake up.”

Her breath shuddered weakly against my throat, barely there.

Then the last standing Elder staggered forward, pointing a trembling hand. “You’ve doomed us all… the Blood Moon has already begun.”

I didn’t even look at him. My claws extended, and with one swipe, his voice ended.

“Mara,” I whispered again, cradling her tighter. “You promised to fight.”

Her fingers twitched faintly against my arm, just enough for me to hear her whisper through cracked lips.

“I did.”

And then her head fell against my shoulder, the Silverfang blade’s light dimming beside her.