Chapter 25: The Real Enemy

Aria's POV

One of Viktor's wolves suddenly broke free from his control and lunged straight at his throat.

Viktor spun around just in time to catch the attacking wolf by the neck. "What do you think you're doing, David?"

"I remember you now," the wolf snarled, his golden eyes blazing with fury. "You're the one who told us the little human girl was dangerous. You're the one who said she needed to die."

My heart jumped. Someone else remembered that night.

"You're confused," Viktor said smoothly, tightening his grip on the wolf's throat. "The girl you're thinking of was Elena, not Aria."

"No," David gasped, fighting against Viktor's supernatural strength. "Elena was already dead when we found her. It was this one who ran into the burning building. This one who saved three of our cubs before the roof came down."

The other controlled wolves started stirring, shaking their heads like they were waking up from long nightmares.

"She carried little Marcus out first," another wolf said, his voice full of wonder. "Then she went back for Sarah and Tommy. She almost died trying to save them."

"I remember too," a female wolf added, tears streaming down her furry face. "She kept saying 'they're just babies' even when the fire was burning her hands."

My own memories came rushing back. Not the twisted versions Viktor had shown us, but the real truth. I did save those wolf children that night. I stayed in the burning building until I found all three of them, then carried them to safety one by one.

"She saved my son," the female wolf continued, looking directly at me. "Marcus is alive because of you."

"Where is he now?" I asked urgently.

"Dead," Viktor said coldly. "Along with Sarah and Tommy. I killed them all six months ago when they started asking too many questions about that night."

The female wolf let out a howl of pure grief that made everyone's blood run cold. "You monster. You said they died in an accident."

"I say many things," Viktor replied with a shrug. "People believe what they want to believe."

More wolves were breaking free from his control now, their real memories returning as the truth spread through their ranks.

"He told us the human families were planning to hunt us," one of them said in horror. "He said we had to strike first or watch our children die."

"He showed us fake evidence," another added. "Pictures of dead wolves that he said the Castellanos had killed."

"But those wolves died from his magic," David realized. "He was sacrificing our people to make his lies look real."

Viktor sighed like he was dealing with annoying children. "Yes, I've been harvesting supernatural souls for decades. It's how I stay young and powerful. Your pack members made excellent fuel for my spells."

The freed wolves roared with rage and started advancing on their former leader. But Viktor just laughed and waved his hand dismissively.

Black magic shot out from his fingers, hitting the approaching wolves like invisible hammers. They crashed to the ground, gasping for breath.

"Did you really think I kept you alive out of kindness?" Viktor asked mockingly. "You're my emergency food supply. When I finish absorbing the Alpha Queen's power, I'll eat all your souls for dessert."

"You can't," I said, stepping protectively in front of the fallen wolves. "I won't let you hurt anyone else."

"How touching. But you're forgetting something important, dear child."

"What's that?"

Viktor smiled, and his shadow-form began changing again. Instead of growing larger, he started shrinking down into something more human-looking. But his eyes remained completely black, like looking into empty space.

"I created the Alpha Queen," he said as his transformation completed. "Which means I know exactly how to destroy her."

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a curved silver blade that hummed with dark energy. The moment I saw it, the Alpha Queen inside me recoiled in terror.

The Soul Severer, her voice whispered frantically. He still has the Soul Severer.

"What is that?" Kael demanded, though I could tell from his pale face that his wolf instincts already knew.

"A little tool I forged when I first created supernatural beings," Viktor said casually, testing the blade's edge with his finger. "It can cut the connection between a soul and its magic, leaving the person completely human."

"Or completely dead," I said, understanding flooding through me.

"Depending on how much magic they're carrying, yes."

The Alpha Queen's fear was making my whole body shake. If he cuts us with that blade, we both die. The separation will kill your human soul and destroy my essence.

"But here's the beautiful part," Viktor continued, stepping closer. "If I use the Soul Severer while you're in the middle of a magical transformation, I can capture the Alpha Queen's essence before it disperses. Then I can absorb it myself and become the god I was always meant to be."

"Stay away from her," Papa warned, raising his gun.

"Bullets won't help," Viktor said without even looking at him. "The Soul Severer makes me immune to all supernatural attacks. And since your daughter is currently more supernatural than human..."

He was right. My transformed body could probably survive anything except that terrible blade.

"But I'm curious about something," Viktor said, tilting his head. "Why haven't you used the Alpha Queen's full power yet? Why hold back when everyone you care about is in danger?"

Because using that much power scared me more than dying. The Alpha Queen wasn't just offering me strength - she was offering to take over completely. To make me into something that would save the world but destroy Aria Castellano forever.

"She's afraid," Viktor realized with delight. "The little princess is afraid of her own power."

"I'm not afraid," I lied.

"Then prove it. Transform completely. Become the Alpha Queen and face me in single combat."

"Don't listen to him," Kael urged. "There has to be another way."

But I could see the truth now. Viktor had planned this perfectly. He'd manipulated both families into war, controlled the wolves through lies and magic, and arranged this summit to force me into an impossible choice.

Accept the Alpha Queen's power and lose my humanity, or stay human and watch everyone die.

"Time's running out," Viktor said pleasantly, raising the Soul Severer. "The blood moon will end in thirty minutes. After that, the Alpha Queen's awakening will be permanent whether you choose it or not."

"What happens if the awakening becomes permanent?" I asked.

"Then she takes your body by force instead of partnership. You become a prisoner in your own mind while a goddess uses your flesh to reshape the world."

The Alpha Queen's voice turned cold. He's lying. I would never hurt you.

But I could feel the truth. The longer I waited to decide, the stronger she became. Soon, the choice wouldn't be mine anymore.

"However," Viktor continued, "if you give me your power now, I promise to make your death quick and painless. Your friends and family can live normal human lives, never knowing what they almost lost."

"And you become an all-powerful monster," I said.

"Better me than a naive child who thinks she can save everyone."

I looked around at the faces of everyone I loved. Papa, who had made terrible mistakes but was trying to change. Kael, who had found his way back to humanity through our bond. The wolves, who just wanted to protect their families. Even Grandmother's ghost, who stayed connected to this world only to guide me.

They were all counting on me to save them.

But saving them might mean becoming the very thing they needed saving from.

"Make your choice, princess," Viktor said, pointing the Soul Severer directly at my heart. "Goddess or corpse. Those are your only options."

I closed my eyes and reached deep inside myself, looking for an answer that wouldn't destroy everything I cared about.

That's when I felt it.

A third option that Viktor didn't know about.

A possibility that the Alpha Queen had been hiding from both of us.

I opened my eyes and smiled.

"Actually," I said, "there's something you don't know about the Alpha Queen's power."

"And what's that?" Viktor asked, suddenly wary.

"It doesn't just let me control supernatural beings," I said, letting silver fire dance around my hands. "It lets me create them too."

Viktor's confident expression faltered. "That's impossible. Creation magic died with the first Ancients."

"Did it?" I asked innocently.

I reached out with my new power and touched the minds of every freed wolf around us. But instead of controlling them, I did something Viktor never expected.

I gave them a choice.

"I can make you stronger," I told them silently. "Strong enough to fight Soul Eaters. Strong enough to protect your families forever. But only if you want it."

Every single wolf said yes.

Power flowed from my body into theirs, changing them on a level deeper than Viktor's control magic ever could. When the transformation finished, they weren't just werewolves anymore.

They were something new.

"What did you do?" Viktor demanded, raising the Soul Severer threateningly.

"I gave them what you never could," I said simply. "True freedom."

The newly transformed wolves stood up, and their eyes blazed with silver fire instead of gold. They were still themselves, but now they carried a piece of Ancient magic that made them immune to Soul Eater control.

Viktor stared at them in disbelief, then turned back to me with pure hatred.

"Enough talking," he snarled, lunging forward with the blade. "If you won't give me your power willingly, I'll cut it out of you."