Chapter 27: The Final Battle - Callista's POV

I didn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Riven’s eyes going black and saw the demon lurking through his face. Sometimes, I even saw Marcus’s throat in his jaws. The bond hummed anxiously in my chest all night, responding to his restlessness, though we were apart.

When dawn finally broke, pale light filtered in through the curtains. I felt like I had been awake for days.

My phone showed a dozen texts I'd sent to Riven throughout the night. Most of them were after he'd stopped responding, probably finally managing to sleep. I deleted the unsent ones that were too desperate and fearful.

Thankfully, he hadn’t responded, which meant he had slept or he was ignoring me to force me into resting. I figured it was the latter, knowing him, because I doubted he got any sleep either.

I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower. The hot water beat against my tense muscles. Today felt heavy, but I knew that was just because of the upcoming fight. Riven would face Adrian in this one final challenge.

But I also knew that he barely kept the demon at bay last night. It was probably going to be worse tonight.

The water ran cold before I finally got out. Sabine was already at the breakfast table when I came downstairs. Dark circles were under her eyes and I bet they matched mine. Not that I had taken the time to look in the mirror to confirm.

“Couldn’t sleep?” She asked, staring at me innocently.

“No,” I said, shaking my head. I found the coffee pot already full. “I guess you didn’t either.”

“No, because I kept having nightmares. Either they were bloody and Riven killed them all or I saw someone beating him and taking you away.” She pushed her cereal around the bowl. “I also saw his eyes go black.”

“Oh?” I sat across from her, wrapping my hands around the warm mug. “It was probably…the lighting. But he’s fiercely protective of me. I’m worried about tonight.”

“I’m not sure that’s it, but okay. Nothing else is going as normal, so why not that?” She asked with a laugh. “He’s an aggressive one, so I bet with the full moon, it will be worse. We all get edgy as it is.”

"Exactly." I took a sip of coffee, barely tasting it. "And Riven's wolf is already..."

"Intense?" Sabine supplied. "Scary? Demonic?”

I choked on my coffee. "What?"

"Come on, Callista. I have eyes." She leaned forward. "His eyes went completely black. He moved faster than any wolf should be able to. And the way he held Marcus wasn't normal aggression. That was something else."

My heart pounded. “His parents said he was born stronger. Maybe that is just part of it. Just don’t go around claiming he’s something he may not be.”

“I won’t,” she said quickly. “Whatever aggression he’s dealing with is between you and him. I’m just saying that it looks weird and I think there’s more to this…issue. Just be careful tonight.”

“I will,” I said, hoping I sounded more confident than I felt.

The day crawled by with agonizing slowness. My parents were tense, making quiet phone calls about tonight’s fight. My mother kept looking at me with concern, probably noticing my exhaustion and anxiety about it.

Around late afternoon, my phone finally buzzed with a message from Riven.

“Sorry I didn’t respond last night. I was trying to sleep and failing.”

I laughed. “Same.”

I proceeded to check on his wounds and see how he felt about today. Everything was good. He responded how I figured he would and he was determined to win tonight. We walked for what felt like forever.

A knock at my door interrupted our conversation. My mother poked her head inside.

“It’s time to get ready,” she said softly. “You know the fight is at moonrise.”

I looked at my window. The sun was already setting, painting the sky in shades of orange and red.

"I'll be down in a minute," I said.

She nodded and left, closing the door behind her. I looked back at my phone.

“It’s time, so I’ll get ready.”

He responded a moment later. “I’ll see you soon.”

For a moment, I sat there and stared at it. “Riven?”

He messaged back after another minute. “Yeah?”

“No matter what happens tonight, I’m with you, okay?”

The next message took me by surprise. “Okay. I love—”

The message cut off. Three dots appeared, then disappeared.

Finally, he sent another. “Have to go now. See you soon.”

My chest ached. He'd almost said that he loved me. Maybe after tonight, when this was all over, he would.

I dressed carefully in another ceremonial dress. This one was deeper blue, almost purple with silver threading that caught the fading light and the same jewelry as last night.

When I looked in the mirror, I barely recognized myself. I looked older somehow, like I had seen and fought in many battles.

"You can do this," I told my reflection. "You can pull him back. You've done it three times already."

But a small voice whispered: What if the fourth time isn't enough?

I pushed the thought away and headed downstairs.

My family was waiting by the door. Dad was in his formal Alpha attire and my mother was dressed just as nicely. Sabine was trying to look brave, but her face was etched with worry.

“Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

The drive to the ceremony grounds felt both too long and too short. My stomach churned with anxiety, the mate bond pulling urgently toward Riven, wanting him close.

When we arrived, the clearing was already filling with wolves from various packs. But the atmosphere was different tonight. It was more tense and more anticipatory. Everyone knew what was coming.

I scanned the crowd, searching, and found Riven standing with his parents near the eastern ridge again. He looked different tonight. He was more alert, despite the exhaustion on his face. His wounds were bandaged but healing, the worst of them already closed thanks to werewolf regeneration.

But it was his eyes that caught me. They were brighter than usual, that red-gold almost glowing in the twilight. Underneath, I could see the shadows lurking again. The demon was close to the surface already, and the fight wasn’t even starting yet.

Our eyes met across the distance, and the mate bond flared hot and urgent between us.

He gave me a small nod. I'm okay. For now.

I nodded back. I'm here. I've got you.

Adrian stood near the center of the clearing, looking fresh and ready. He had probably spent the last twenty-four hours resting and preparing while finding out whatever he could about Riven.

He looked too smug and confident for my liking.

My father's hand found my shoulder. "Whatever happens tonight, we stand with you and Riven.”

"Thank you," I whispered.

The Alpha King's vehicles pulled up right on schedule, his guards taking their positions with military precision. When he emerged, every wolf in the clearing lowered their heads in respect. He surveyed the gathered packs with those calculating eyes, then walked to the raised platform at the center of the clearing.

"We gather once more," his voice boomed out, "to witness the final challenge to the Nightshade-Monroe bond. Adrian Moonridge, step forward."

Adrian moved to the platform with confident strides.

"Riven Nightshade, step forward."

Riven pushed through the crowd toward the platform. As he passed me, his hand brushed mine, just for a second, but it was enough to send electricity racing through the bond.

Together, his eyes said.

Together, I mouthed back.

He climbed the steps to stand across from Adrian.

The Alpha King looked between them. "This challenge will follow the same rules as last night. First blood or submission. No killing." His gaze lingered on Riven. "Am I clear?"

"Crystal," Riven said.

"Understood," Adrian agreed.

My stomach churned. That wasn’t how the fights went last night. He let them go, despite Riven getting first blood almost immediately. It made me wonder if he’d let them go longer tonight.

"Then we wait for moonrise." The Alpha King gestured to the eastern horizon, where the first sliver of the full moon was just beginning to appear. "When the moon clears the trees, you may begin."

My heart pounded as I watched that silver edge creep higher. Every second brought us closer to the moment of truth. Riven's eyes were already darkening, the shadows spreading as the moon's influence grew stronger.

The demon was waking up. And soon, we'd find out if our bond was strong enough to contain it.

The moon cleared the treeline.

"Begin," the Alpha King commanded.

Both wolves shifted simultaneously, their bones cracking and reforming under the full moon's power.

And the final battle for our bond began.