Chapter 45: The Calm Before War

I woke up in my own bed. My own body. It felt weird after being in Cole's head.

Sun came through the window. Morning. I slept all night.

My last day. Maybe.

If the prophecy wasn't done, I'd die tonight at sunset.

Cole slept in a chair next to my bed. His head on the mattress. Hand holding mine.

He stayed all night. Watching me.

I touched his hair gently. He woke up.

"Hey," he said. Voice rough.

"Hey."

"How do you feel?"

"Sore. Tired. But alive." I sat up slow. Everything hurt. "What time is it?"

"Eight in the morning. Sunset is at six thirty. Ten and a half hours."

Ten and a half hours until I might die.

"What's the plan?"

"The Elder called everyone. Every Alpha. Every pack leader. They're meeting now." He stood. Stretched. "We need to be there in an hour."

"Okay. I need to shower first."

"I'll wait outside."

He started to leave but I grabbed his hand.

"Cole?"

"Yeah?"

"If I die tonight. I need you to know something."

"Don't. Don't say goodbye yet."

"I have to. Just in case." I pulled him closer. "You made me feel safe. For the first time ever. You saw the real me. Not the broken girl my family made. You saw strength."

"Because you are strong."

"I'm strong because you believed I could be." Tears came. "If I die, don't blame yourself. Live. Be happy."

"There is no one else. You're it for me." He touched my face. "If you die, part of me dies too."

"Cole."

"But you're not dying. I won't let you." His eyes flashed. "We'll find a way."

I wanted to believe him.

But the prophecy was clear. Luna dies or the world ends.

"Go shower," he said softer. "I'll get clothes. Then we face this. Together."

I showered. Hot water felt good on my sore body. Washed away everything bad.

When I got out, clean clothes sat on the bed. Jeans. Black shirt. Boots. Fighting clothes.

I got dressed. Looked in the mirror.

I looked different. Older. Harder. Like everything showed on my face now.

But my eyes were still green. Still me.

I was still Lita.

Downstairs, the gym was packed. Every Alpha in California stood in groups. Talking. Planning.

They all stopped when I walked in. Stared.

The Luna who came back from the dead.

"Luna Alpha," one said. He bowed his head.

Then another. And another. Until every Alpha bowed.

Respect. They really saw me as Luna now.

"Thank you," I said. "All of you. For coming. For fighting."

The Elder stepped forward. "We have reports. Demons everywhere. They're gathering."

She pointed at a map. Red dots all over it.

"How many?" Alex asked.

"Thousands. Maybe ten thousand." The Elder looked serious. "They'll attack at sunset. When the prophecy time hits."

"Where?" Cole asked.

"Here. At the gym. They want Lita."

"Good," I said. "Let them come. We'll be ready."

"We have about three thousand wolves," Ragnar said. The big guy from my trial. "That's three to one. Not good."

"We've faced worse," another Alpha said.

"Have we? This is a demon army. Organized. Trained. We're pack wolves. This is different."

"Then we change how we fight," I said. "We're smart. Use traps. Work together."

"She's right," The Elder said. "We know this place. We have Luna power. And we have something they don't."

"What?" someone asked.

"Hope. We fight for our families. Our homes. They fight because they're told to." The Elder looked at me. "That makes us stronger."

"What about the prophecy?" Sienna asked. Red haired Alpha. "Does Lita still die tonight?"

Everyone went quiet.

"We don't know," The Elder said. "She died yesterday when the demon took her. That might count. Or not."

"So we might lose our Luna in the middle of fighting?" Ragnar shook his head. "That's crazy."

"Then we make sure I don't die," I said. "We end it before sunset. Kill every demon before six thirty. Problem solved."

"That's impossible," Sienna said.

"So was getting my body back. But I did it." I looked around. "We can do this. We have to."

Quiet. Then Ragnar stood.

"Okay. I'm in. My pack fights with you."

"Mine too," Sienna said.

One by one, every Alpha agreed.

"Then we get ready," Cole said. "We have ten hours."

The Alphas spread out. Started planning. Setting up.

I walked outside. Needed air.

The parking lot was full of wolves. Training. Getting ready.

This was it. The final battle.

Stacey found me. "Hey. You okay?"

"No. But I will be."

"Want company?"

"Yeah."

We sat on a car hood. Watched wolves train.

"I'm scared," I said.

"Me too."

"What if I die? What if we still lose?"

"Then we lose. But we fight anyway." Stacey looked at me. "You changed things, Lita. Before you came, we were just a small pack. Now we're part of something big. You did that."

"We did that. All of us."

"Maybe. But you started it." She smiled. "So if you die tonight, you die a hero. A real Luna."

"I don't want to be a hero. I just want to live."

"I know. But sometimes we don't get what we want." She stood. "Come on. Let's train."

We trained for hours. Fighting. Wolf form. Everything.

By noon, I was tired but ready.

By three, traps were set. Wolves in position. Everything ready.

By five, the sun started going down. Pretty light everywhere.

One and a half hours until sunset.

One and a half hours until war.

One and a half hours until I found out if I lived or died.

Cole found me on the roof. Watching the sun.

"Pretty, isn't it?" he said.

"Yeah. Might be the last sunset I see."

"Don't say that."

"It's true."

He pulled me close. We stood together. Watching the light fade.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too."

"No matter what happens, that doesn't change."

"Same."

We kissed. Slow. Deep.

But the sun kept falling.

My phone buzzed. Text from Claire.

"They're coming. Early. Not waiting for sunset. Get ready. Now."

I showed Cole.

He cursed. "How early?"

"Look."

On the horizon, darkness spread. Not normal darkness. Demon darkness.

Thousands of them. Coming our way.

"Sound the alarm," I said. "It's time."

Cole howled. An Alpha call. Every wolf heard.

The war had begun.