Chapter 14 The last stand
Teeth and claws filled the room.
Mara bit and scratched and dodged. Soldiers kept coming. Too many. She could not count them all.
Beside her, Zevran fought like a demon. His black wolf form was covered in blood. He did not slow down. Did not stop.
Across the room, Riven and Luna fought back to back. They moved together like they had fought together for years.
Isla was hiding behind an overturned table. She held a knife in her shaking hands. A soldier jumped over the table at her.
Mara leaped and caught the soldier in mid air. She threw him against the wall. He did not get up.
Thank you, Isla mouthed.
Corin was running between soldiers' legs, biting their ankles. "Come on, you slow idiots! Try to catch me!"
Nyra stood in the center of the room. Her hands glowed purple. She threw bolts of magic at soldiers. Each bolt knocked a soldier unconscious.
But even magic could not stop them all.
"There are too many!" Luna called. "We need to fall back!"
"Fall back where?" Riven shouted back. "This is it! This is the last stand!"
More soldiers poured through the door. Through the windows. They were everywhere.
Mara felt her strength fading. She had been fighting for too long. Her white fur was red with blood. Some of it was hers.
A soldier bit her back leg. Mara yelped and fell.
Three more soldiers jumped on her. She could not breathe. Could not move.
This is it, she thought. This is how I die.
No! Zevran's voice roared in her mind.
His black wolf crashed into the soldiers on top of Mara. He threw them away like toys.
Stand up, he told her. We are not done yet.
I cannot, Mara thought. I am too tired.
Yes you can. You are a Moon Wolf. You are stronger than you know.
Zevran bit a soldier's throat. Then another. Then another. He was protecting Mara while she recovered.
But a soldier came up behind him. Raised his claws to strike Zevran's back.
Mara saw it happening. Saw Zevran about to be killed.
No! she screamed in her mind.
Light exploded from her body. Pure white light. Brighter than the sun.
Every soldier in the room was thrown backward. They hit the walls hard.
The light kept growing. It filled the safe house. Filled the mountain. Mara could not control it. It poured out of her like a river.
She felt herself rising off the ground. Her white wolf body glowed like a star.
What is happening to me? she thought.
You are awakening, a voice said. The Moon Goddess's voice. Your true power is coming out.
But I do not know how to control it!
You do not need to control it. Just let it flow through you. Trust yourself.
The light grew even brighter. Soldiers outside started running away. They were scared.
Mara saw King Darius through the broken wall. His black wolf form was staring at her with wide eyes.
"Impossible," he growled. "No wolf should have that much power!"
But Mara did have that power. And she was going to use it.
She opened her jaws and howled. The sound was not a normal wolf howl. It was something ancient. Something powerful.
Every wolf on the mountain stopped fighting. They all turned to look at Mara.
Even King Darius stopped moving.
"Listen to me!" Mara's voice rang out. But it was not just her voice. It was also the Moon Goddess's voice. Speaking through her. "The curse is broken! The truth is revealed! Zevran is innocent! Prince Ronan is guilty! And I am done hiding!"
She landed back on the ground. The light faded but she still glowed softly.
King Darius transformed back to human form. "You think one speech changes anything? I am still the King! These are still my soldiers! They will obey me!"
"Will they?" Mara asked. She looked at the army. "You all saw Prince Ronan's memories. You know he killed Selene. You know he framed Zevran. Will you really keep fighting for a King who lies to you?"
Some soldiers looked at each other. Uncertain.
"I am your King!" Darius roared. "You swore oaths to obey me!"
"We swore oaths to the throne," an older wolf said. He stepped forward. "Not to a liar."
"Who are you to question me?" Darius demanded.
"I am Elder Marcus. I served your father. And your grandfather." The old wolf looked sad. "You have dishonored them both. You killed your own son to hide your crimes."
"Ronan was weak! He failed!"
"He was your child!" Marcus's voice broke. "And you murdered him like he meant nothing!"
Wait, Mara thought. King Darius killed Prince Ronan?
Zevran transformed to human form. "When did this happen?"
"This morning," Marcus said. "After the soldiers showed the King those memories. After everyone saw the truth. Ronan ran back to the palace. He told his father everything. Begged for protection."
"And?" Mara asked, though she already knew the answer.
"And King Darius killed him. With his own hands. To keep him quiet forever."
The army erupted in angry voices.
"He killed his own son?"
"What kind of monster does that?"
"Maybe we are fighting for the wrong side!"
King Darius's face twisted with rage. "Shut up! All of you! Or I will kill you too!"
"You cannot kill us all," Marcus said calmly. "There are thousands of us. Only one of you."
"I am the KING!" Darius screamed. His body started to change. To grow. Black fur sprouted everywhere. His bones cracked and reformed.
But he was not transforming into a normal wolf.
He was transforming into something else. Something huge and terrible.
"What is that?" Isla whispered.
"A Monster Wolf," Nyra said. Her face was pale. "King Darius has been using dark magic. He has been drinking the blood of other wolves to make himself stronger."
The transformation completed. King Darius now stood twenty feet tall. His black fur was matted with dried blood. His teeth were as long as swords. His eyes glowed red.
"You want to challenge me?" the monster growled. "Then come! I will kill you all!"
He swung his massive paw. Five soldiers went flying. They hit the ground and did not move.
"Run!" someone shouted. "Run away!"
Soldiers started fleeing down the mountain. Running for their lives.
But some stayed. Elder Marcus stayed. About fifty other wolves stayed too. They transformed and formed a line between the monster and the safe house.
"We stand with Zevran!" Marcus called. "We stand with the true King!"
"Then you die with him!" The monster that was King Darius charged forward.
Zevran transformed and ran to meet him. "Get everyone to safety!" he called to Mara. "I will hold him off!"
"You cannot fight that thing alone!"
"I am not alone!" Riven transformed and ran beside Zevran. "I am with you, prince!"
"And me!" Luna called.
"And me!" another wolf shouted.
Fifty wolves against one monster. It should have been easy.
But the monster was so strong. So fast. He killed five wolves with one bite. Crushed three more with his paw.
Zevran jumped on the monster's back and bit his neck. The monster roared and threw him off.
Zevran hit a tree. Hard. He fell to the ground and did not move.
"Zevran!" Mara screamed.
She ran to him. His black wolf form was broken. Blood poured from his mouth.
No no no, Mara thought. Please no.
Zevran's eyes opened. They were foggy. Unfocused.
Mara, he thought weakly. The bond. We have to complete it. Now.
But you are hurt!
I am dying. This is our last chance. Please.
Mara transformed back to human form. She held Zevran's wolf head in her lap. "I do not know how to complete the bond!"
You do. Just open your heart. Let me in completely.
Mara closed her eyes. She focused on the golden thread connecting her heart to Zevran's.
She pulled on it. Pulled it closer. Closer. Until there was no space between them.
The bond blazed brighter than ever before. Golden light filled the world.
Mara felt Zevran's soul touch hers. They merged. Became one.
And the third chain shattered.
The curse was broken.
Zevran's body began to heal. His wounds closed. His broken bones mended. In seconds, he was whole again.
But something else happened too.
Power flooded into both of them. Ancient power. The power of the First Wolf King flowing from Zevran into Mara. The power of the Moon Wolf flowing from Mara into Zevran.
They were sharing everything now. Strength. Life. Love.
Zevran stood up. He transformed back to human form and pulled Mara into his arms.
"We did it," he whispered. "The curse is broken."
"I can feel you," Mara said. "Inside my heart. Inside my soul. It is like we are one person now."
"We are. We always will be."
They kissed. The bond between them was no longer a thread. It was a chain of pure gold. Unbreakable. Eternal.
Behind them, the Monster King roared. "Enough! I will kill you both and everyone you love!"
Mara and Zevran turned to face him. They held hands.
"You cannot win," the monster growled. "I am too powerful! I have drunk the blood of a hundred wolves! I am a god!"
"No," Mara said calmly. "You are just a scared man who wants power he does not deserve."
"And we are going to stop you," Zevran added.
They transformed together. Mara became her white wolf. Zevran became his black wolf.
But this time was different. This time they moved as one. Thought as one. Fought as one.
They charged at the Monster King together.
The battle shook the mountain.