Chapter 146: Resurrection

I stared at my mother. Margaret. Dead for years. Standing right in front of me. Alive.

"You're dead. I buried you. You can't be here." I couldn't move. Couldn't believe it.

"I was dead. You did bury me. But death isn't always permanent. Not with the right magic." Margaret walked closer. She looked the same. "I've been waiting. Watching. Preparing for this moment."

"How? The resurrection ritual failed. You died again. I saw it." I remembered. The pain. The loss.

"That ritual did fail. But there was another way. After I died the second time, the Council kept my body safe. Waiting." Margaret looked at Luna. "When Luna was born, when the prophecy started, they brought me back. Fully. Permanently. To protect her. Protect you."

"The Council brought you back? They never told me." I felt betrayed. More secrets. More lies.

"I asked them not to tell you. I needed to stay hidden. The Covenant has spies everywhere. If they knew I was alive, they'd come for me." Margaret touched my face. Gentle. "I've been protecting you from the shadows."

"You saved us just now. From the gas. How?" Cole asked. Still suspicious.

"Magic. Old magic. Powerful magic. I've had years to prepare. To get stronger." Margaret showed her hands. They glowed white. "Death taught me things. Made me more than I was."

"What are you?" Luna asked. Amazed.

"I'm something new. Dead but alive. Witch but more." Margaret smiled at her granddaughter. "And you're magnificent. Everything I hoped."

"We don't have time for this. Victor is still out there. Still winning." Nina interrupted. Always practical.

"Right. Victor. My brother." Margaret's face went hard. "He's not in this base. Never was. The broadcast was fake. Recorded earlier. He's at his real headquarters. In Geneva. Twenty miles from here."

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Because I've been tracking him for years. Studying him. Learning everything about him." Margaret showed a map on a device. A location. "He's there. With his daughter. Both waiting. Thinking they won."

"His daughter is also named Margaret?" Sarah ran in. Maya behind her. Both happy to see us alive. "This family needs better names."

"I was named after my grandmother. His daughter was named after me. To mock me." My mother looked angry. "But that ends today."

"How do we attack? They'll be ready. Protected." Marcus arrived with his vampires. The battle upstairs was ending. We were winning.

"We use what they don't expect. Me. I walk in. Surrender. Distract them. You follow. Hidden. Ready to strike." Margaret's plan was simple. Risky.

"That's what we just did. And Cassandra betrayed us." I didn't like this.

"I'm not Cassandra. I'm your mother. I'd die before I'd betray you." Margaret looked in my eyes. Honest. Real. "Trust me. Please."

Through the bond Sarah and Maya felt my struggle. My fear. My hope.

"We trust her. We go. We end this." Sarah decided.

"All of us. Together. Final battle." Maya agreed.

I looked at everyone. Everyone who'd fought. Survived. Believed.

"Fine. We go. We finish this." I agreed. "But Mom, you don't die for us. Not again."

"No promises. Mothers protect their children. Always." Margaret smiled. Sad but strong.

We moved fast. Every fighter. Every team. All heading to Geneva. To Victor's real place. To the final battle.

The building was huge. Modern. Corporate. Hiding in plain sight.

"He's on the top floor. Surrounded by his best guards. Maybe two hundred soldiers." Margaret studied it.

"We're seven hundred strong. We have numbers." Dimitri rallied our forces.

"They have defenses. Weapons. Technology." Victor's voice boomed from speakers. "And they have me. You cannot defeat me. Surrender now. Or die like animals."

"We're not animals. We're family. We're warriors. We're Luna Triad." I spoke through a megaphone. Loud. Clear. "And we're ending you. Today."

"Then come. Try. Fail. Die. I'm waiting." Victor laughed.

We attacked. All at once. All together.

The battle was brutal. Fierce. Bloody.

We pushed forward. Floor by floor. Closer to Victor.

Luna fought beside me. Powerful. Strong. My daughter.

Cole protected us. Fierce. Loyal. My mate.

Sarah and Maya flanked us. United. Perfect. My sisters.

We reached the top floor. The final door.

"He's inside. Ready." Margaret stood with us. Glowing. Powerful. "Let's end this."

We burst through. Ready for anything.

Victor sat in a chair. Old. Sick. But smiling.

"You made it. Impressive. Futile." He pressed a button.

Nothing happened.

"Looking for your bombs? Your traps?" Margaret smiled. "I disabled them all. Hours ago. While you watched the vault. I was here. Making you powerless."

Victor's face changed. Shocked. Scared.

"Margaret? You're alive? Impossible. I watched you die. Twice." Victor stood. Shaking.

"Death isn't the end, brother. Not for us." Margaret walked toward him. "You spent your life trying to control supernatural beings. To enslave them. But you failed. Power doesn't come from control. It comes from freedom. From love."

"Love is weakness. Control is strength. I built an empire." Victor backed away.

"You built a prison. You created slavery. You made the world scared." Margaret raised her hand. Power building. "And now it ends."

"Wait. Please. I'm your brother. Your family." Victor begged.

"You killed our parents. Tortured our sister. Tried to murder my daughter and granddaughter. You stopped being family long ago." Margaret's hand glowed bright. "Goodbye, Victor."

She released the power. Pure. White. Final.

Victor screamed. Then vanished. Gone. Destroyed completely.

The Covenant leader was dead. The war was over. We'd won.

But then I heard it. Luna screaming. Behind us. Down the hall.

We ran. Found Luna on the ground. Unconscious. Bleeding.

And Margaret Crane standing over her. Holding a knife. Covered in Luna's blood.

"She's not dead. Yet. But she will be. Unless you surrender. Unless you accept Covenant rule." Margaret Crane smiled. Cold. Evil.

The war wasn't over. It had just begun.