Chapter 80

Chapter 80
Lucien’s POV

Joe stepped out of the darkness like it had been waiting for him.

The night peeled back in layers, shadows folding inward, sigils dimming — until he stood there at the edge of the clearing, calm and immaculate, as if he hadn’t just smothered the sky itself.

Behind him came Veyra.

And behind her…

An army.

Ashen Moon wolves poured from the forest in disciplined silence — massive bodies plated with iron-gray growths, sigils burned deep into their flesh, eyes hollow and glowing faintly like dying embers. Each step they took cracked the ground beneath them, ash drifting from their fur like smoke.

A low growl rippled through our pack.

Fear. Rage. Defiance.

My wolf snarled so violently it hurt, claws digging into the dirt as instinct screamed to kill or die trying.

Joe smiled faintly. “You see? No tricks this time. No whispers. No shadows behind walls.”

His eyes flicked over us — over Roland’s battered stance, Mara’s bloodied knuckles, Eli shaking but standing anyway, Tiara glowing faintly behind the shield.

“Just inevitability.”

Noland stepped forward beside me, his shoulder brushing mine — solid, warm, real. The bond tightened, anchoring me before the prophecy could drag me under.

“You won’t take her,” Noland said, voice iron. “Not while we breathe.”

Joe tilted his head, studying him like a curiosity. “Such devotion. You’d think love might change fate.”

He smiled wider. “It doesn’t.”

Veyra lifted her staff.

The sigils on the Ashen wolves flared in unison, burning brighter than before.

“Formation!” I roared.

The pack moved instantly — no hesitation, no panic. Wolves locked shoulders. Weapons raised. Fangs bared.

Roland sprinted toward the rear, blood streaking his temple, blade already slick. “Hold the line!” he barked. “Anyone who breaks formation dies alone!”

Mara shoved Eli behind her with a snarl. “You stay breathing, idiot.”

Eli swallowed hard, forcing a grin. “You too.”

Maya staggered forward from the shadows, barely upright. Her face was pale, eyes sunken, hands shaking — but her gaze locked onto Tiara with ferocious clarity.

“Lucien,” she rasped. “I can still help.”

Before I could answer, she dropped to her knees and slammed her palms into the earth.

The ground answered her.

Light exploded outward — raw, untamed, unmistakably hers. A translucent barrier surged up around Tiara and Noland, humming violently as Maya screamed, blood pouring freely from her nose and ears.

“TAKE HER!” Maya cried. “I CAN’T HOLD IT LONG!”

Noland spun toward Tiara. “Snowflake, look at me. Stay with me.”

Tiara’s eyes glowed brighter. “Daddy… it hurts.”

Joe’s smile sharpened, eyes alight with hunger. “Ah. Redemption. It always burns the brightest.”

The Ashen wolves charged.

The impact was like colliding storms.

Steel rang. Claws tore. Bodies slammed together with bone-crushing force. I met the first Ashen wolf head-on, my claws skidding against iron-hard plating before finding a seam and ripping through flesh that felt more stone than skin.

It didn’t howl.

It laughed.

The sound twisted my stomach.

“THEY DON’T FEEL PAIN!” someone screamed.

“They bleed!” I roared back. “MAKE THEM BLEED!”

Noland fought at my side, movements precise, brutal, relentless. Every time one of us faltered, the bond snapped tight — yanking the other back into motion.

We weren’t two wolves anymore.

We were one force, split into flesh and breath.

“Lucien!” Noland shouted. “Left!”

I turned just in time to catch an Ashen wolf mid-leap, jaws snapping shut around its throat. Sigils burned my tongue like acid. I tore anyway, roaring through the pain.

Behind us, Roland cut down two attackers before one slammed into him, sending him skidding across the ground. He didn’t scream — just grunted and tried to rise.

Mara was there instantly, dragging him back, snarling like something feral as she fought one-handed.

“GET UP!” she screamed. “I DIDN’T SAVE YOU TO LOSE YOU NOW!”

Tiara screamed.

Not fear.

Power.

Light detonated outward from the barrier in violent pulses, throwing Ashen wolves back like broken dolls. The air screamed. Trees bent inward. The ground split beneath her feet.

Joe’s smile faltered.

Just for a second.

Veyra staggered back. “She’s awakening too fast!”

“Then we take her now,” Joe snapped. “Before she chooses.”

The sigils flared brighter.

And the prophecy slammed into my chest like a hammer.

The Alpha will fall.

My breath hitched.

No.

Not her.

Never her.

I turned to Noland, bloodied, breath ragged. “If it comes down to it—”

“Don’t,” he snapped, eyes blazing. “Don’t say it.”

“Noland—”

“We survive,” he said fiercely. “Together. Or not at all.”

Maya screamed again as the barrier cracked, light fracturing like glass.

“I CAN’T—” she sobbed. “I CAN’T HOLD IT—”

“NOW!” I roared.

“NOLAND!”

He didn’t hesitate.

Noland dove.

The moment his arms wrapped around Tiara, the ground split open.

White light erupted from her body — not fire, not lightning, but something ancient, something that felt like the world remembering itself.

The sky tore.

Sound vanished.

Gravity failed.

I felt myself lifted off my feet as Joe shouted something — furious, distorted, almost afraid — before the light swallowed him whole.

The last thing I saw was Noland curled around Tiara, shielding her with his body as the world came apart.

And then—

Nothing.

White.

Silence.

The prophecy had begun.