Chapter 145: The Betrayal

I ran through the base. Fighting. Shooting. Cutting down guards. Desperate to reach Luna.

"Where is she? Where's my daughter?" I yelled into the radio.

Static. Nothing. The earpiece was dead.

Through the bond I felt her. Scared. Angry. Fighting. Still alive. Somewhere deep. Below.

"This way!" I led Cole and Nina through corridors. Following instinct. Following the bond.

We reached a huge room. The vault room. Door open. Luna inside. Surrounded.

But not by Covenant guards.

By Cassandra. And twenty supernatural beings. All pointing weapons at Luna.

"What's happening? Cassandra, what are you doing?" I aimed my gun at her.

"I'm sorry, Lita. Truly. But this is necessary." Cassandra didn't look sorry. She looked determined. "Luna is too dangerous. Too powerful. She can't be allowed to exist freely. The prophecy doesn't say she'll save everyone. It says she'll change everything. That could mean destruction. Extinction. The end."

"You lied? This whole time? You were never helping us?" Luna looked betrayed. Hurt.

"I was helping. By guiding you here. By making sure you could be controlled. Contained. Used properly." Cassandra gestured to the others. "These aren't Covenant guards. They're my people. Believers in a different prophecy. One that says Luna must be bound. Controlled. Prevented from fulfilling her destiny."

"You're insane. She's a child. She's good. She's not dangerous." I moved forward. Ready to fight.

"She's not a child. Look at her. She's almost fully grown. Almost fully powered. In months she'll be unstoppable. Unkillable. Uncontrollable." Cassandra pulled out a collar. Glowing. Magic. "This binds her power. Locks it away. Makes her safe. Makes everyone safe."

"Don't you dare touch her." Cole growled. Wolf emerging.

"Or what? You'll fight us all? There's twenty of us. Three of you. Luna's trapped in a magic circle. Can't use her power. Can't escape. It's over. Accept it." Cassandra stepped toward Luna.

Luna looked at me. Through the bond she sent love. Apology. And something else. A plan.

"Mama. Close your eyes. Trust me." Luna's voice in my head.

I closed them. Instantly.

Light exploded. Blinding. Bright. Burning.

Luna had broken the circle. Used pure will. Pure power. Something nobody expected.

Screams. Cassandra's people clutched their eyes. Blinded. Helpless.

"Now!" Luna yelled.

We attacked. Fast. Hard. Taking them down while they couldn't see.

Cassandra tried to fight blind. Luna grabbed her. Threw her into a wall. Hard.

"You lied to my mother. You pretended to care. You betrayed us." Luna stood over Cassandra. Power radiating. Eyes glowing silver. "Give me one reason not to kill you."

"Because I was trying to protect the world. Protect everyone from you." Cassandra looked up. Defiant. "You're a weapon. A bomb. Waiting to explode. Someone has to stop you."

"I'm not a weapon. I'm a person. And I choose good. I choose family. I choose love." Luna raised her hand. Power building. "But you chose fear. Chose control. Chose betrayal. And now you lose."

"Luna, don't kill her. You're better than that." I touched her shoulder. "We're better than that."

Luna hesitated. Struggled. Then lowered her hand. "Fine. But she goes to prison. Forever."

We tied up Cassandra and her people. Left them for later.

"Where's Victor? Where's the Covenant leader?" Cole looked around. "This vault is empty."

"Because it was bait. A trap." A voice echoed. Speakers. Hidden. "And you walked right into it."

Victor Crane appeared on screens. All around us. Old man. Sick looking. But smiling.

"Thank you for bringing Luna to me. Thank you for eliminating Cassandra. She was becoming problematic. And thank you for gathering all your forces in one place. Makes what comes next much easier." Victor pressed a button.

Doors locked. All of them. Trapping us.

Gas started pouring in. Green. Toxic. Deadly.

"Wolfsbane gas. Kills supernatural beings in minutes. Sorry it has to end this way. But the Covenant must survive. Must continue. Must win." Victor kept smiling. "Goodbye, Luna Triad. You fought well. But not well enough."

The gas filled the room fast. Burning. Choking. Killing.

"Hold your breath! We need to find a way out!" Nina searched frantically. No exits. No vents. No escape.

Luna tried to use magic. Break the doors. But the gas weakened her. Made her magic unstable.

Cole tried to break down walls. Too thick. Too strong.

We were trapped. Dying. Losing.

"I'm sorry, Mama. I wasn't strong enough. Wasn't smart enough." Luna collapsed. Coughing. Weakening.

"Don't apologize. Don't give up. We find a way. We always find a way." I held her. Both of us dying. Both refusing to quit.

Through the bond Sarah and Maya felt us fading. Felt us dying.

They were fighting somewhere else. Trying to reach us. But too far. Too late.

This was it. The end. We'd lost. The Covenant won. Victor won.

My vision blurred. Lungs burning. Body shutting down.

I looked at Luna. At Cole. At the family I'd fought so hard to protect.

"I love you. Both. So much." I whispered. Last words. Final words.

Then everything went black.

But something happened. In the darkness. In the death. In the end.

A voice. Familiar. Impossible.

"Not today. Not like this. Not ever."

Light flashed. Bright. Pure. Powerful.

The gas cleared. The doors opened. We could breathe again.

I opened my eyes. Gasping. Alive. Confused.

Standing in the doorway was someone I never expected. Someone who couldn't be here. Someone who should be dead.

My mother. Margaret. Alive. Real. Powerful.

"Hello, daughter. Miss me?" She smiled. "Now let's go kill my brother and end this family curse once and for all."