Chapter 99

Chapter 99
Sera POV

The full moon hung swollen and silver overhead, bathing the duelling grounds in pale light. The entire pack had gathered in a circle; their faces looked hungry and eager, drawn by the promise of blood and violence. I stood at the edge, flanked by Moreen and two guards who had been assigned to ensure that I didn't interfere.

My heart hammered against my ribs as Jade and Lucien faced each other across the large circle on the bare floor. Both had stripped to the waist; their bare skin shone in the moonlight, muscles charged and ready. But where Jade radiated controlled fury, Lucien wore that perpetual smile, the one that made my skin crawl.

"Last chance to surrender her peacefully," Lucien called, loud enough for the crowd to hear. "We both know how this ends, Jade. Why prolong the inevitable?"

"The only thing inevitable," Jade snarled, "is you bleeding out at my feet."

Lucien's laugh rang across the grounds. "Such confidence. I wonder if it will last when you realise what she really is. What she's meant to become."

Before Jade could respond, Elder Thorne stepped forward, raising his hands for silence. The crowd quieted instantly, their attention fixed on the spectacle that was about to unfold.

"By ancient law, this duel is sanctioned," Thorne announced. "The winner claims both victory and the right to the marked she-wolf, Sera Ashwood. The fight continues until one yields, one dies, or both are rendered unable to continue." His eyes swept over both men. "May the moon guide the worthy."

“May the moon guide the worthy!” The crowd chanted back. He stepped back, and for a heartbeat, nothing moved.

Then Jade lunged.

The transformation rippled through him mid-leap, bones cracking and reforming with sickening speed. His wolf form hit Lucien with the force of an avalanche, silver-grey fur gleaming as deadly teeth snapped for the throat.

But Lucien was ready. He shifted just as quickly, his darker wolf twisting away at the last second. They collided in a tangle of fur and fangs, the sound of their snarls filling the night.

I couldn't breathe; I couldn't think. I couldn't do anything but watch as they tore into each other with savage intensity.

Jade was larger and more powerful, his attacks driven by the rage that had been building since Lucien first touched me. He drove Lucien back with brutal efficiency, his jaws finding their way to Lucien's shoulder, flank, or anywhere he could reach. Dark and slick blood began to stain both their coats.

But Lucien was faster and more cunning. Where Jade relied on raw strength, Lucien used strategy, dancing away from the most devastating blows and striking at vulnerable joints and tendons. His teeth found the back of Jade's leg, and I saw Jade stumble. I saw Jade weaken for a moment.

"No," I whispered, my hands clenching into fists. The mark at my throat burnt; the fire in my veins responded to my fear, my desperation. "Please, no."

They broke apart, circling each other, both breathing hard. Blood continued dripping from multiple wounds, staining the ground beneath them. In the moonlight, I could see Jade favouring his injured leg. I could see the calculation in Lucien's eyes as he noted the weakness.

"Jade!" My voice broke as I called his name in raw desperation. I couldn't help myself. I couldn't stay silent while he fought for his life, for me.

Both wolves' heads snapped toward me. For a fraction of a second, Jade's attention wavered.

Lucien struck.

He hit Jade from the side, using his momentum to drive them both to the ground. They rolled in a whirlwind of teeth and claws, too fast for the eye to follow. The crowd roared, some calling for Jade, others for Lucien, their bloodlust filling the air.

Then I saw it. I saw Lucien's jaws closing around Jade's throat.

"NO!" The scream tore away from my chest, and the fire inside me exploded.

Silver light burst from my skin, so bright that the crowd cried out, shielding their eyes. The mark at my throat blazed like a brand, and I felt the goddess's power surge through me with such force that even my knees buckled.

The wolves broke apart, both stumbling back. In the sudden brightness, I saw Jade shift back to human form, gasping, one hand pressed to the bleeding wound at his neck. Lucien remained as a wolf; his dark eyes were fixed on me with an expression I couldn't read.

"Sera—" Jade's voice came out rough, damaged. He took a step toward me and collapsed.

I was moving before I could even think of pausing. I broke free from the guards, who were too stunned by my display to hold me. Then I fell to my knees beside Jade, my hands hovering over his wounds. Silver fire danced across my fingertips without me consciously controlling it.

"Stay with me," I pleaded, tears streaming down my face. "Jade, please, stay with me."

His eyes found mine, hazy with pain but still fierce. "I told you... I'd come back..."

"You're not dying." The fire in my veins pulsed stronger, responding to my desperation. "I won't let you die."

The silver light intensified, pouring from my hands into his wounds. I felt the goddess's power flowing through me, huge and terrible and ancient, and I didn't care what price it demanded. I wanted to heal him. I was about to save him.

Until—

"The witch!" Moreen's voice cut through the chaos, sharp with triumph and terror. "Look at her! She is glowing with unholy power!"

I looked up and saw the crowd staring at me with wide eyes. I saw the fear on their faces, the way they backed away like I was something monstrous, something to be destroyed.

"She is cursed," someone whispered.

"Unnatural," another voice agreed.

"The witch will destroy us all!" Moreen's accusation rang clear and damning. "She broke the sacred duel with forbidden magic! She should be—"

"She should be protected." Lucien's voice silenced the crowd. He was human now. He stood at the edge of the circle, naked and bleeding but unbowed, his eyes fixed on me with an intensity that made my skin prickle. "The duel is forfeited. Not because of her interference, but because of Jade." He looked at Jade, still gasping in my arms. "Your alpha cannot continue. By law, that makes me the victor."

"No," I breathed, even as I felt Jade's consciousness slipping, his body going heavy against me.

Lucien smiled, but there was no triumph in it, only a strange, sad understanding. "The moon has spoken, Sera. You are mine now."

The crowd murmured, some in approval, others in fear. I looked down at Jade, at his blood staining my hands silver, at the light still pulsing from my skin.

The prophecy tightened around me like a noose. And I realised, with horrible clarity, that this was exactly what Elara had wanted all along.