#101 Luna

*...Mara, what is she saying?* Asks Selena.

"You know I'm telling the truth", laughs Luna. "You know I have the power to bring your mate back, Mara Jones. If I have the three powers, I have the power of life and death! I am the mightiest, most powerful witch and Luna you will ever meet. If you kill me, your only chance at bringing your mate back will go with me."

I take a deep breath, and get up stepping a bit away from Nora to ignite my fire. I have to put an end to this, now. I hold on to that bottomless pain inside, to the void in my heart. To my memories.

"No," I declare, calmer than I thought. "I already know what you are trying to do, Luna. If I give in, this Curse will go on. It will go on through me, and through everyone else who will suffer that pain, again and again."

"But your mate...!"

"Liam was the most stubborn, reckless and bloody righteous wolf around," I shout back. "And as much as I'm dying to bring him back, I know he would give me fucking bloody hell for this. I would have to give in to this dark magic, and sacrifice myself. I would have to sacrifice the Mara Jones he knew, the one who stood against you. There is no way he'd ever accept me bringing him back like that, through your dark magic. So, the answer is a definite, painful, fucking no, Luna."

*Mara...*

I know.

I know how insane I must sound right now, to pass this opportunity, but this is exactly what I exist for, and why Liam had to die. This is exactly how this wretched curse wants to play out, and this is exactly what Luna has been aiming for. The more witches experience her pain and give in, the longer this Curse will go on. Who would be able to let go of their mate, given a chance to bring them back?

There's only one way to stop this Curse: go through the same journey as Luna, and, unlike her, have the strength to make the right choice. It's not easy. I'm crying, bleeding and screaming inside. I want to fall down on my knees, give up and beg her to bring Liam back. I want him back, so desperately. But, in a strange paradox, Liam's memory is exactly what keeps me from giving in. I'm holding on to those memories, to who he was, what he wanted. He was protected, shielded all his life and he saw too many people die. He believed, deeply, in doing the right thing for others. If I brought him back, it would be the worst betrayal I could give to him, and I would break what was between us. I am not going to betray and fall out of the Mara that Liam Black loved. I won't.

"You foolish little..." Groans Luna, struggling against my spell.

"Yeah, all that, and you haven't seen anything yet," I growl back.

I prepare my fire in one hand, the water magic in the other, and prepare to fire.

*Now?*

"Now," I nod. "We have to force her to stop everything!"

"Stop it!" Screams Luna. "I am the Luna! You can't stop me! You can't...!"

*Oh, shut up,* growls Selena.

She starts activating her lightning magic again, and Nora, too, prepares her ice blizzard.

This is it. This is the last attack, the one I need to break the Curse, once and for all. I won't give in to her, and I won't stop my attack, either. I am not doing this for revenge, it would be meaningless. I am doing this for Liam. For Sylviana, Nephera, Lysandra, for all the witches and werewolves who suffered because of that Curse. For generations of witches and wolves who couldn't love freely, or suffered through it.

*We're with you, Mara.*

Strangely, Nora's words bring me a sudden feeling of calmness, and confidence. As if... my pain was slightly alienated. I extend my inner self as if to touch them, feeling them right by my side. Their auras gently come to me, almost as if they could melt with mine. They are so similar, yet different. One soft, cold and soothing, the other bright, hot and energizing. The White and Black Lunas. The Moon and Sun of Silver City. Yet, to me, they are so familiar, so much like myself. My new family, like... my big sisters. A bond stronger than blood, stronger than our genes. Something that binds the three of us together, tighter than fate, stronger than anything physical. They are here, with me, supporting me, and I know they always will be. I start crying again, silently, but this time, it's different. Those are warm tears, bittersweet tears of gratitude. ...You were right, Liam. I'm not alone.

I won't ever be alone again.

I prepare, gathering all the magic I hold. Everything, burning, boiling and building up inside, getting bigger, as I take all I have left inside. Dark and white magic, fire and water, everything that's been left inside. I feel Nora and Selena doing just the same, preparing to attack with everything they have left in them. This is the last attack.

Luna can probably feel it too. She's panicking and wriggling, trying to break herself free of my magic circle. I hear bones breaking, one after the other, as she doesn't care about hurting that stolen body. Sorry, Ravena...

"You can't!" She screams. "You can't! I'm eternal! My wrath has to continue, or the werewolves will..."

"The werewolves deserve to live in peace, and the witches deserve to love whoever they want," I retort with a broken voice. "You have done enough wrong, Luna. Time to end it."

I raise my arms, ignoring her screams of anger and fear. It's an enormous mass of magic that's now above my head. Fire and water are fighting each other, making a loud crackling noise above my head, almost burning my fingers and provoking a lot of steam around me. The fumes are flying around, but I make sure to look Luna's way, and her way only. It drains all the energy inside me, everything I had left of magic, to the last drop. I have to use all the strength I can to even keep it contained before it explodes. I look for Nora and Selena, also ready.

They launch their attack half a second before me. A blinding light, and a thunderous boom as Selena strikes first. The bolt keeps forking and cracking as she hits Luna, again and again. Nora's ice comes right after, like a violent snowstorm taking over the area. Even I can feel this icy feeling freezing me down to my bones. I'm next.

With a massive rage, I throw my gigantic magic fire and water ball right ahead, the blast so violent and sudden, the ground trembles under our feet. The explosion blows all of us backwards, thrown across the area like paper dolls. I hear the deafening mix of lightning cracking, the fire and water explosion, and the whooshing of that ice mist.

It's over. I can feel it. The Darkness from before, it's... gone. Like washed away in a wave, leaving a big, empty area under it. Something nude and bare, completely new and... fresh. I shiver. Moon Goddess, is it... over?

I open up my eyes, feeling sore all over.

It's the snow, again. Except, this time I'm not Luna. Luna is there, just a few steps away from us. She is completely different, all of that... dark aura is gone. She looks defenseless, weak and sad. She's crouched down in the snow, shivering and crying faintly. I look on both sides, and exchange surprised glances with Selena and Nora. The two wolves are as dumbfounded as I am...

"...Luna?" I call out gently.

*Leave me alone...*

Oh, I didn't expect to hear her in my head. I painfully get up, each muscle in my body protesting, after what I just put them through... I let out a sigh, and slowly get back on my feet, trying to ignore all the aches.

*Mara...*

*It's alright. She's different now. This... the real Luna, the Luna from before. You can feel it too, right? There's no dark magic left in her. She's just... herself.*

I make my way to the white wolf. She growls a bit as a warning, but I can tell she doesn't have the strength to fight.

*Leave me alone,* she repeats. *I failed... I am not the Luna you thought I was.*

"Honestly, I didn't expect you to be real in the first place," I retort. "But here we are, somewhere in a memory, to meet you."

*...you don't need to meet me.*

*No. You needed to meet us,* replies Nora, stepping next to me.

I know she understood why we're here, too. Selena comes after us, a bit more hesitant. The white wolf is still lying in the snow, and I realize, on our left, there's the tombstone.

*Don't look at the grave.*

*Why?*

*Just... don't.*

I'm not sure what can be triggered if we stare at that grave, but I wouldn't risk it. It's like... a gut feeling telling me not to. I glance around. It's the exact same scene I saw, except that there's nothing else around us. There's no sound, for starters. No wind gushing in the trees, not a bird singing, no sound of leaves rustling. Even the snow under our feet doesn't creak. It's as if everything had stopped, stuck in this precise moment of time, leaving only the four of us there.

We walk up to Luna, but she turns her head to the little wooden cabin. This Luna has... lost all of her will. She's just a bottomless pit of sadness, and loneliness.

*It's all over,* she growls. *You should go back. There won't be... anymore of that Curse. He's really... not coming back.*

"You can't stay here either," I retort. "This place... you're still trapped in there, Luna."

*I'm fine with being trapped.*

"Why? You need to move on. There's nothing left by staying here, all alone."

*I'm fine with being alone!* She growls.

We all take a step back. Although she's lost her power, she's still a wolf, and all three of us are much too tired by the fight. I take a deep breath.

"This Curse... it appeared in the first place because you didn't want to let go. You didn't want to... face the truth, Luna."

*Nothing will change,* she growled. *Leave me be!*

"No. Things need to change. You have to move on, Luna. Look around you. This memory... you're the one trapping yourself here. You had the power to end that curse long ago. Centuries ago, perhaps, but you chose not to. Not only that, you left the room open for more witches and werewolves to suffer just like you did."

*Enough. You know nothing.*

"Perhaps I don't," I retort. "You lost your mate, and the woman you even considered your only friend used you and betrayed you. She probably had her reasons and her own feelings for doing what she did, but... She shouldn't have forced you. Just like you shouldn't have forced this Curse on the generations that came after you, Luna."

*This is my anger, my pain. I'm free to do whatever I want with it!*

*What about your children?*

She suddenly turns to Nora, who stepped forward.

*Your children lived on, didn't they? They grew up fine, they had their own children and that's how your blood was passed down, for many generations, until it came to us. Your mate's, and the witch's, too. Why didn't you choose to focus on your children instead, Luna?*

*My children were wolves. They didn't need their mother once they were grown!*

*Perhaps not, but you needed them,* growls Selena. *You needed a family, and a pack, but you chose to stay alone.*

*Yes, and it was my choice!*

"You chose to bury yourself in your loneliness and anger, Luna, and it created a curse that affected everyone. The witch, and your mate... They are both long gone. There's no reason for you to stay behind."

I suddenly feel another wave of sadness, and fear, coming from her. She whimpers.

*I won't forgive,* she says. *Don't ask me to move on. That witch took everything from me!*

"I am not asking you to forgive!" I retort. "Luna, even if you wanted to... There's no one left to forgive, except for yourself."

*...What?*

She stays silent this time, and finally gets on all fours, although she's growling. But we are also werewolves, and we can tell there isn't much animosity in her voice.

No, this is the growl of an animal that's afraid, and trying to protect itself. Luna doesn't want us here, she isn't the one who chose to appear, raw like this. She truly wants to be left alone, but I have a feeling that if we do, nothing will truly and definitely be solved. This is necessary, if we want to make sure that curse ends, and doesn't comeback...

"Luna, if you can't face the mistakes of the past, they will haunt you and keep you down."

*I made no mistake!* She growls! *That witch was the one who used me!*

"Really? Do you think she played around with Necromancy spells out of anger, or out of despair? It was necromancy, but... she didn't use dark magic, did she? ...She used her own life force."

I suddenly realized. We never heard how the other Luna disappeared, how the witch was gone. If Luna had killed her, if they had even fought, things would have been very different. However, there's... no one else here. Her mate never came back, and the witch is gone, too. She's all on her own.

"Luna... I never got to see what happened after that spell was completed," I mutter.

She stops growling, glaring at me instead.

*...I have nothing to tell you.*

*Luna, you can't move on with a heavy burden on your back,* gently whispers Nora. *This all happened... in the past. Like Mara said, a faraway past. You need to let it go now.*

*That witch didn't disappear on her own,* growled Selena. *And we already saw your little Necromancy trick. You know it was possible, at least partially, to bring your mate back. Something went wrong with that spell, hence why you didn't want Mara to see that memory.*

I see Luna step back, this time. She glances at all three of us, and growls a bit, again, without much conviction this time.

*You won't understand,* she whimpers. *You can't understand...*

"Luna, we are not here to judge you, or blame you. But there's something you've been hiding for way, way too long, and you have to let it go, now. You can hide the truth, if you want. That's completely your call. But by doing so, you will also be burying any chance for a change."

*Any chance to let go of your pain,* adds Nora with her gentle voice.

*...I am the Luna,* she says. *I made no mistake. I tried to protect my family, my mate, and I failed. This witch was responsible for everything.*

*For Moon Goddess' sake,* growls Selena. *Everyone makes damn mistakes! You're not the Moon Goddess and you're not perfect! What is wrong with you!*

"Selena..."

*No Mara, I'm growing tired of this shit! We are here extending our hands to that selfish bitch while our mates and our packs are still fighting Moon Goddess knows what out there! It's too damn late to play the innocent gentle Luna soul now, so just fucking spit it out!*

Luna growls, furious, but... I can't say Selena is wrong. She may have said things a bit... too brutally though. I take a deep breath, and step forward, ignoring the loud growls coming from both sides.

"Luna, once you admit what truly happened, and face it... You'll be able to let go of all of this. I promise. I know it's probably... painful, and heart-wrenching enough that you would have rather held on to a centuries-years old curse than to relive what happened here. But... once you learn to face the truth, no matter how painful it was, a lot of things can get better."

*... You can learn to forgive those who hurt you,* gently says Nora.

*You can also get stronger from it,* adds Selena. *Everyone makes mistakes.*

"...And from those mistakes, something better can be reborn," I finish. "...Luna, please. This Curse has to end, now. With the truth. We have made too many sacrifices already."

*...Alright,* she mutters. *But... promise me after this, I will be free to go. For... real, this time.*

"I promise," I say, standing back up. "But first, let Nora and Selena go, please."

*Mara? What are you talking about?*

"This is a time loop, just like the one I was in earlier. The concept of time is different here. If you don't get out quick enough... Who knows how long we will really spend in here. It might be days before we come back."

*But...*

"You have children," I say before they can protest. "You should go back to your mates, tell them we won. I will... stay here, and learn the truth. I'm the only one who can afford to stay."

They lower their heads, knowing exactly what I mean.

My mate isn't waiting for me.