Chapter 19 TRUE LUNA
RAY’S POV
Jake circles, looking for another opening. Behind him, I see one of his warriors break through our line, heading for the packhouse.
Monty, I send through the pack bond. Breach on the west side.
On it, comes his immediate response.
But three more warriors are breaking through now. Our line is collapsing under the numerical advantage.
Jake lunges again. This time I'm ready, catching him with a shoulder check that sends him tumbling. I'm on him instantly, jaws closing around his neck—
Something slams into me from the side. A massive rogue wolf, scarred and vicious. Jake scrambles free while I'm fighting this new threat.
The rogue is experienced, brutal. He goes for kill shots immediately—throat, belly, spine. I dodge one strike, take another across my haunches. More blood. More pain.
Through the pack bond, I feel wolves dying. Mine and theirs. The bitter severing of connections as pack members fall.
Marcus is down, Monty reports. Critical.
We're losing.
Jake's made it past me now, racing toward the packhouse with four warriors in tow. I try to follow, but the rogue blocks my path, snarling challenge.
Kai, I send desperately. Jake's heading for Alicia.
Occupied, Kai sends back. He's surrounded by six wolves, barely holding them off.
Logan's inside with her. One recovering wolf against five attackers.
It's not enough.
I kill the rogue, brutal, efficient, no mercy, and sprint after Jake. But he's got a head start, and my wounds are slowing me down.
The packhouse door splinters under Jake's weight. He and his warriors disappear inside.
No, no, no…
I'm twenty yards away when the screaming starts.
Not Alicia's scream. Logan's.
I burst through the broken door into the main hall. Logan's human form is crumpled against the far wall, blood pouring from a gash across his chest. He's still conscious, trying to stand, but three of Jake's warriors are advancing on him.
And in the center of the room, Alicia stood.
Jake has her backed against the stone fireplace. She's human, unarmed, eyes wide with fear. His wolf form towers over her, jaws open for the killing bite.
"JAKE!"
My roar stops him for half a second. Just long enough for me to shift mid-leap, hitting him broadside in human form. We crash into the floor, rolling, fighting for dominance.
But Jake's warriors are everywhere. Two grab my arms, hauling me back. Another pins Logan down before he can intervene.
Jake shifts to human, pulling a silver blade from somewhere. His face is twisted with something beyond anger. Beyond hatred.
Pure zealotry.
"It ends tonight," he says quietly. "No more lies. No more secrets. Just her death and the truth buried forever."
He raises the blade.
Alicia's still pressed against the fireplace, nowhere to run. Her eyes meet mine across the room.
I'm sorry, I try to send through our corrupted bond. I'm so sorry I couldn't…
Her eyes start to glow.
Not just reflect light. Glow. Pure silver, bright as the moon itself.
Jake hesitates, blade hovering. "What?"
Power explodes from Alicia in a shockwave of silver light.
It hits like a physical force. The warriors holding me are thrown backward, slamming into walls. Jake's lifted off his feet and hurled through the air. I'm knocked down, ears ringing, vision whiting out.
The silver light intensifies until I can't see anything. Can't hear anything except a high-pitched ringing.
Then silence.
I blink my vision clear slowly. The main hall looks like a war zone. Furniture overturned. Walls cracked. Scorch marks on the stone floor where the power surge hit hardest.
And bodies.
Three of Jake's warriors lie motionless. Dead. Their eyes empty, mouths open in silent screams. Whatever hit them didn't just kill, it unmade them. Like their life force was ripped out in an instant.
Jake's alive, barely. He's crawling toward the door, leaving a blood trail. His warriors who survived are already fleeing, terror overriding loyalty.
Logan's slumped against the wall, conscious but stunned.
And Alicia…
She's collapsed at the base of the fireplace. Her eyes are closed, face pale as death. The silver glow is gone, replaced by black veins spreading across her neck and arms.
Not the corrupted bond's marks. Something worse.
I crawl to her on hands and knees, every muscle screaming protest. "Alicia. Alicia, wake up."
No response.
The mate bond is there but faint. So faint I can barely feel it.
Kai crashes through the door, back in human form, covered in blood. He takes one look at the scene and goes still. "What happened?"
"I don't know." My voice cracks. "She just flared up with power. Killed three wolves instantly. Then collapsed."
Monty arrives seconds later, face grim. "We drove them off. Jake's retreating with what's left of his forces." He sees Alicia and swears. "Is she…?"
"Alive." Barely. "But something's wrong. Look at her skin."
The black veins are spreading. Not from our corrupted bond this time, this is something else entirely. Something connected to that silver power she unleashed.
Logan drags himself over, pressing fingers to Alicia's throat. "Pulse is weak but steady." His healer training kicks in despite his own wounds. "Whatever she did, it drained her completely. Maybe more than completely."
"What does that mean?" Kai demands.
"It means…" Logan meets my eyes, and I see the fear there. "she tapped into power she's not ready to control. True Luna power. And it nearly killed her."
Footsteps behind us. Elder Pascal enters, surveying the destruction with ancient eyes. He looks at Alicia's unconscious form, at the black veins spreading across her skin, at the three dead wolves.
"So it begins," he says quietly.
"What begins?" I snap.
Pascal kneels beside Alicia, placing one gnarled hand on her forehead. "The awakening. She's not just a True Luna. She's the True Luna, the first in a thousand years." He looks up at me. "And what you just witnessed? That was just the beginning of what she's capable of."
"She almost died.."
"Yes. Because she has no control. No training. No understanding of the power inside her." Pascal stands slowly. "And there are those who will try to kill her before she learns. Those who fear what a True Luna represents."
"Like Jake," Monty says.
"Jake is a pawn." Pascal's voice hardens. "Someone else is pulling his strings. Someone who knows exactly what Alicia is and wants her dead before she reaches her full potential."
I gather Alicia into my arms, feeling how cold her skin is. "Then we protect her. Train her. Whatever it takes."
"Whatever it takes," Pascal agrees. "But know this, Alpha, you've just declared war with forces you don't understand. The True Luna has always been both salvation and target. Loved and feared in equal measure."
He looks at each of us, me, Kai, Logan, Monty, the four mates bound to this impossible girl.
"The question is," Pascal says quietly, "will you be able to protect her when the real enemies reveal themselves? Because Jake was just the opening move."
Alicia stirs in my arms, a soft moan escaping her lips. But she doesn't wake.
The black veins continue spreading.
And outside, Jake's retreating howl echoes through the forest, not of defeat, but promise.
This isn't over.
It's barely begun.