Chapter 28: The Luna's Burden

We drove back to the gym in silence.

My mother was in the second car with Andres and Marcus. She'd passed out after the demon left. Still breathing but weak.

I sat in front. Cole drove. Stacey was in back.

The demon inside me was quiet. For now. But I could feel it. Like a weight in my mind. Pressing. Testing.

"How are you holding up?" Cole asked.

"Fine."

"Liar."

I almost smiled. "It's not as bad as I thought. The cage is holding."

"For how long?"

"I don't know."

Stacey leaned forward. "The Elder said she'd research. Find a way to remove it. There has to be old spells. Something."

"And if there isn't?" I asked.

Silence.

"Then we figure it out," Cole said. "We always do."

I wanted to believe him. But the demon laughed in my mind.

"Foolish little Luna. There is no way to remove me. Once invited in, I stay. Forever."

"Shut up," I whispered.

"What?" Cole looked at me.

"Nothing. The demon. It's talking."

"What's it saying?"

"That there's no way to remove it. That I'm stuck with it."

"It's lying. Demons always lie."

"Maybe. Or maybe it's truth."

We pulled up to the gym. The sun was setting. I'd been awake over thirty hours.

I was exhausted.

And that scared me. Because eventually I'd have to sleep. And when I did, I'd be vulnerable.

Inside, Alex was waiting. He'd stayed to guard the territory.

"How'd it go?" he asked.

"She passed all three trials," Cole said. "She's officially Luna Alpha."

Alex's face lit up. "That's amazing!" Then he saw my face. "What's wrong?"

"Long story," Stacey said. "Where should we put her mother?"

"Locked room downstairs. Same one we used for Erica." Alex looked at me. "Is she possessed?"

"Not anymore. I am."

Alex's eyes went wide. "What?"

Cole explained. About the trial. About the deal. About the demon trapped inside me.

Alex ran his hand through his hair. "Jesus. That's insane."

"I know. But it was the only way."

"Was it? You could have let her die. Found another way."

“There was no other way. I don’t let people die when I can save them.” I looked at him. “Even if they don’t deserve it.”

Alex nodded slowly. "Alright. Then we figure this out. Together."

"Thank you."

"That's what pack does."

We got my mother in the locked room. A doctor from a nearby pack came. Said she'd be okay. Just needed rest.

I watched her through the window. She looked so small. So broken.

Hard to believe this was the same woman who'd hurt me for eighteen years.

"You okay?" Cole asked beside me.

"I don't know what I am."

"You're exhausted. You need sleep."

"I can't. If I sleep, the demon might break free."

"Then we'll watch you. Take shifts."

"Cole, I can't ask you to do that."

"You're not asking. I'm offering." He took my hand. "You're my mate. My Luna. Where you go, I go."

Tears burned. "I don't deserve you."

"Yes you do." He pulled me close. "Now come on. Let's get you to bed."

We went upstairs. Cole made me eat first. A sandwich and water. My stomach didn't want it but he insisted.

Then I lay down. Cole sat in a chair beside the bed.

"I'll be right here. The whole time."

"What if it's not enough? What if the demon breaks free?"

"Then we deal with it. But you can't stay awake forever. You need rest."

He was right. I could barely keep my eyes open.

"Okay. But promise me something."

"Anything."

"If the demon takes control. If I become a threat. Promise you'll do what needs to be done."

"Lita..."

"Promise me. Don't let me hurt anyone."

His jaw clenched. "I promise."

I closed my eyes. Let exhaustion take me.

Sleep came fast. Deep and dark.

And in that darkness, the demon was waiting.

"Finally," it whispered. "Now let's see how strong that cage really is."

It pushed against the barriers I'd built. Harder than before.

I felt it in my sleep. Felt the cage starting to crack.

"No," I said. Even in sleep, I fought. Reinforced the walls. Poured more power into the cage.

The demon howled. "You can't fight me forever! Eventually you'll slip!"

"Not today."

I pushed back. Harder.

The demon retreated. But only a little.

"Soon, little Luna. Soon."

I woke with a gasp. Sat up fast.

Cole was beside me. "What happened?"

"The demon. It tried to break free. While I was sleeping."

"Did it?"

"No. But it was close. Too close." I looked at him. My hands shook. "Cole, I can't sleep. Not deeply."

"Then we find another way. Medication maybe. Something to keep you in light sleep."

"Or we find a way to remove the demon. Fast."

A knock on the door. Andres poked his head in.

"Sorry. But The Elder is here. She says she found something. A way to remove the demon."

Hope flared. "Really?"

"Maybe. But there's a catch."

"What catch?"

“The ritual requires the blood of the demon’s first host.” Andres shifted. “We have to find them alive.”

My hope died. "That could be anyone. The demon could be hundreds of years old."

"That's what I thought. But The Elder says the demon bragged while you were sleeping."

"Bragged about what?"

"About its original host still being alive. Still walking the earth after all these years." Andres took a breath. "The demon's first host was a wolf. An Alpha. From three hundred years ago."

"That's impossible. No wolf lives that long."

"One does." Andres met my eyes. "The Elder herself."

The room went silent.

"You're saying The Elder is the demon's original host?" Cole asked.

"Was. Three hundred years ago. During the first demon war. She was possessed. Fought it off. But a piece stayed. That's how she knows so much. How she's stayed alive so long."

"So we need her blood for the ritual?"

"Yes."

"Then let's go ask her."

We went downstairs. The Elder waited in the common room.

She looked at me. Her ancient eyes sad.

"You know," I said. "About the ritual. About needing your blood."

"I do."

"Will you give it?"

She was quiet for a long moment. "That depends."

"On what?"

"On whether you're willing to pay the price."

My stomach dropped. "What price?"

"The ritual will remove the demon from you. But it will also free the piece inside me. The piece I've kept trapped for three hundred years." She looked away. "And that piece will try to possess someone new. Someone close by. Someone vulnerable."

"Who?"

“I don’t know. But whoever it is will become what I was. A host for an ancient demon. A threat to all wolves.” She looked back. “So are you willing to risk that? Free another demon just to save yourself?”

"That's not fair."

“No. It’s not. But neither is leadership.” She stood. “Think about it. Decide quickly. The longer that demon stays inside you, the stronger it grows. Eventually, not even a Luna Alpha will hold it.”

She left.

I looked at Cole. At the pack.

"What do I do?"