Chapter 148 If she died, I die

Chapter 148 If she died, I die
~ Kael's POV ~

I couldn't tell whether it was the overwhelming pain and blinding anger that gave her the strength to tear herself free from the restraints holding her, or whether she had remained bound intentionally, waiting for the exact moment when breaking free would matter the most.

Whatever the reason was, everything changed from that moment onward. The battle itself seemed to take on an entirely different course, and the confidence that had been written all over Dagan's face began to mean nothing anymore.

Even as her anguished scream continued echoing across the courtyard, her body began to transform before my eyes. Her form blurred, expanded, and reshaped itself until she stood before everyone as a magnificent silver wolf.

The sight rooted me to the spot for the briefest moment because the truth became unmistakably clear. Her wolf, Lunaris, was the very same ancient wolf called Lunaris, who had once walked this earth as the Wolf of the former Moon Child.

It was no longer a legend passed down through generations. The legend was standing right before us.

Silver flames blazed inside her eyes with frightening brilliance, illuminating her gaze with an authority unlike anything I had ever witnessed.

The crescent mark that had always rested upon her palm in her human form was no longer there. It now adorned her forehead, standing boldly against her silver fur like a sacred seal that had finally found its rightful place.

The mark glowed with an incredible intensity, pulsing with immense power that seemed to spread through every part of her transformed body. The fur running along her spine stood upright as waves of energy rippled visibly across her frame, making it impossible for anyone present to mistake her for an ordinary wolf.

Without the slightest hesitation, she launched herself toward the Void Wolf with astonishing speed.

The monstrous creature reacted immediately, surrounding itself with a barrier of dark energy while raising both arms to intercept her attack. It had barely finished preparing its defense when Lyra collided with it. The force of the impact sent the enormous beast flying several feet away from the point of collision, crashing violently across the courtyard before it could properly regain its footing.

Lyra refused to give it the opportunity to recover. She charged after it immediately, every movement flowing into the next with relentless determination. As she closed the distance once more, she raised one glowing claw toward the darkened heavens. At that exact moment, power poured directly from the moon into her raised claws until they shone like lightning, bathing the battlefield in dazzling silver light. The overwhelming energy surrounding her made every strand of her silver fur appear alive beneath the stormy sky.

Then she struck.

Her glowing claws slashed cleanly across the Void Wolf's throat before plunging deep into its chest. The beast released a horrifying roar that echoed across the courtyard, but the sound accomplished nothing. Lyra had already driven her claws deep enough to reach its heart. She ripped the dark organ free from its chest and held it firmly before crushing it within her claws without a moment of hesitation.

The instant the heart shattered, thick black smoke burst out of it before rapidly dissolving into the rain filled air.

At that same moment, the gigantic creature collapsed onto the ground and began breaking apart. Its body dissolved into swirling clouds of black smoke that scattered into the atmosphere until nothing remained of it. When the last traces of smoke disappeared, only Dagan's human body was left lying motionless upon the ground. His eyes remained wide open, permanently frozen in the realization that victory had slipped away from him in his final moments.

The destruction of the Void Wolf did not end with the creature alone. Its fall unleashed consequences upon everyone who had willingly chosen to stand beside it.

Every Shadow Pack warrior suddenly froze where they stood. The witches stopped in the middle of their attacks, and even the priestess could not escape what followed.

One after another, they collapsed lifelessly onto the rain soaked ground. Within moments, every servant of the Void Wolf lay dead, bringing the terrifying battle and the nightmare that had consumed us all to its long awaited end.

But the effects did not stop with them. Even after every last servant of the Void Wolf had fallen, the price of the kind of power Lyra had used caught up with her eventually.

Her body swayed unsteadily before giving out beneath her. As she collapsed onto the rain soaked ground, her wolf retreated, and she shifted back into her human form.

The sight sent panic crashing through me, and without sparing another thought for anything happening around us, I ran straight to her side, shifted back to my human form, and dropped to my knees beside her.

"Lyra," I called, my voice trembling as I reached for her.

The instant I saw her face up close, my heart tightened painfully. She looked frighteningly pale. Every trace of color had drained from her skin, and I could already hear the rhythm of her heartbeat weakening with every passing second.

"My love, are you alright?" I asked, even though I already knew she was not. I could hear her life slipping away, and there was nothing more terrifying than realizing the woman I had fought so desperately to save was now dying in my arms.

She slowly lifted one trembling hand and rested it against my face. Even in that condition, she still found the strength to smile at me.

"I'm happy to see you again, my love. I'm so glad you are alright." Her voice was weak, barely above a whisper, but hearing it only made my chest tighten even more.

"Shh. Save your strength," I murmured, gently wrapping my hand around hers and pressing her palm against my cheek.

I wanted her to stop talking because every word sounded like it was draining away the little strength she still possessed. She was dying, and I could hear it with terrifying clarity. Every heartbeat came slower than the last, and I knew there was not much time left.

At that moment, her mother's words inside that cave returned to me with perfect clarity. Lyra could not be allowed to die. Apart from losing the woman I loved more than my own life, her death would also create the very loophole through which the Void Wolf could one day return.

After everything we had sacrificed to end that nightmare, I refused to allow that possibility to become reality.

Without another moment of hesitation, I gently lowered her hand from my face. Her eyes were already beginning to close completely, and her heartbeat had slowed even further. There was no time left to waste. I extended my claws and slashed across my own palm, opening a deep wound and allowing fresh blood to pour freely from it.

Just then, her father reached us. He dropped to his knees beside her opposite me, his face filled with worry as his gaze moved from Lyra to the blood pooling in my hand. He looked directly into my eyes before speaking. "You know the consequences of what you are about to do."

I met his gaze without hesitation and nodded. "I do, and I don't care." There was nothing else to think about. Nothing else mattered.

I positioned my bleeding palm directly above Lyra's lips before gently pinching the sides of her cheeks to part them slightly, allowing the blood dripping from my hand to fall into her mouth one drop after another.

Everything I had learned so far, and everything contained in the Alpha's Creed, pointed to the fact that my blood was the only thing capable of saving her life.

The consequence, however, was absolute. From that moment onward, my life would become permanently tied to hers. If she died, I would die. If I died, she would die.

I accepted that fate without the slightest regret. She was the only family I had left in this world. She was the only person I wanted beside me for whatever years I still had ahead of me. No sacrifice was too great if it meant keeping her alive. No consequence was frightening enough to make me reconsider.

I remained kneeling beside her, barely daring to breathe as I waited for my blood to spread through her body.

Then, at last, her heartbeat began to grow stronger. A few moments later, her eyelids fluttered gently before slowly opening. Only then did the breath I had been holding finally leave my lungs as relief swept through every part of me.