Chapter 166

Axel

Pain hammered through every broken bone in my body, but I couldn't look away from Calla and Blake. They stood maybe fifteen feet apart, both completely still like they were frozen in time. Their eyes were open but staring at nothing I could see.

Whatever battle they were fighting wasn't happening here in the physical world.

I tried pushing myself up from the blood-covered rocks, but my ribs screamed at each movement I made. Dark spots danced around my vision as broken bones shifted against each other.

"Easy, boss," Malachai's deep voice came from beside me as his massive hands grabbed my shoulders, holding me upright against his chest. "Don't try moving yet."

Through the pain, I checked on my pack. Jace was sitting up now, blood still dripping from his ears but his eyes looked clearer. Marcus had gotten to one knee, though his hands shook while he tried....reloading his shotgun. Even Rikka was stirring, pushing herself off the rocky ground.

Blake's psychic hold on them was getting weaker.

Around us, the supernatural armies watched in tense silence. The evening air felt charged, like right before lightning strikes. Vampires and werewolves alike seemed confused about what to do while two people stood motionless in some kind of mental battle.

That's when Blake started screaming.

The sound tore from his throat without his mouth opening, a raw shriek of absolute terror that echoed off the rocky walls. His body remained perfectly still, but the noise coming from him was pure nightmare.

"She's dooming us all!" His voice cracked with desperation, though his expression never changed. "She's about to doom us all!"

His words sent ripples of confusion through the watching armies. Vampires exchanged uncertain glances while werewolves growled low in their throats.

Blake screamed again, louder this time. "She's going to end the supernatural race!"

"What the hell is he talking about?" one of the wolves called out from the evening shadows.

I strained to understand what was happening. Through our mate bond, I could feel something building in Calla - power gathering like pressure in a steam engine. But Blake's terrified words made my stomach drop.

What was she planning to do?

That's when the light began.

Calla's skin started to glow with soft silver light, like captured moonlight given form. The glow spread outward from her body in gentle waves, reaching toward us.

When that light touched me, warmth flooded through my broken body. I gasped as my ribs began mending themselves, bones shifting and healing faster than I'd ever experienced. The cuts on my face sealed up, and the crushing weight of pain finally disappeared from my chest.

My pack was experiencing the same thing. Jace's bloody ears cleared completely. Marcus's shaking hands steadied as whatever internal damage he'd suffered got fixed. The deepest wounds from Blake's psychic torture were disappearing like they'd never happened.

But the silver light stopped at my pack. The vampire armies and coalition werewolves watched from the evening shadows, untouched by the healing glow. Whatever Calla was doing, she was only helping the Vanguard.

"What's happening to us?" Zara whispered, staring at her hands as cuts from the earlier violence disappeared without a trace.

Before I could answer, Calla's voice echoed through my mind. Not spoken aloud, but carried directly through our mate bond with crystal clarity.

I love you, Axel.

"Calla," I gasped her name aloud, pushing against Malachai's supporting arms as I tried to reach her. "I love you too, sweetheart. More than anything."

Her mental voice came back softer, filled with a sadness that made my heart clench.

I'm sorry.

Terror shot through me like ice water in my veins. Those two words carried the weight of finality, of goodbyes and irreversible choices.

"What are you about to do, Calla?" I called out desperately, fighting against my pack members who were trying to keep me from stumbling toward her glowing form. "Calla, answer me!"

But her physical body remained motionless, eyes still unfocused and staring at something beyond this world. The silver light continued to pulse from her skin in waves, bringing healing and renewal to everything it touched.

Everything except the growing dread in my chest that told me my mate was about to sacrifice herself for something bigger than all of us.

"Don't do it," I whispered, tears burning my eyes as I reached toward her through our bond. "Whatever you're planning, don't do it. We can find another way."

The silver light pulsed brighter, and somewhere in that radiance, I felt her love for me burning like a star about to die.

I'm sorry, came her voice one last time. But this is the only way to end it all.