Chapter 171 The Luna’s Stand

Chapter 171 The Luna’s Stand

The skies over Tenebrous were a bruised purple over the next few days, smeared with ash and smoke from the continuous nights of violence. Sirens wailed faintly in the distance, with their cries almost lost beneath the mounting chaos tearing through the city streets. Once vibrant buildings now stood like wounded giants, scarred and torn by explosions, fires, and magic-fueled clashes.
At the heart of it all, the estate gates opened as a black SUV rolled out, escorted by two armored jeeps. Avery sat in the front passenger seat, tapping her fingers restlessly against the dashboard. She was dressed in a reinforced black tactical gear built for agility, with a silver crescent symbol of her powerful guardian heritage boldly printed on her chest.
“Our target's location is four blocks east,” Simon said, driving with so much calm despite the heavy tension that was seemingly choking the atmosphere. “Our spies have reported helpless humans and supernaturals alike, trapped in the old district mall. No packs or factions have been flagged in the area.”
“No presence yet,” Avery muttered. “But this smells like a possible setup.”
In the back seat were two young officers from Marlboro's remaining unit, holding the weapons Simon had trained them to use, and exchanging worried looks. Avery could feel the fear and anxiety emanating from them even if they had denied it. They were brave, but still new to the world of conflict just like her. Marlboro had picked them to join her rescue team not because they were the strongest, but because they needed to believe in something. In someone.
And today, she was going to give them that.
They approached the mall from the back gate, creeping past an overturned delivery truck. The once busy mall was now a hollow shell of its former self, with broken windows and burnt storefronts. They could hear cries echoing softly inside the building, both human and inhuman.
“Shields up,” Simon said to the non werewolf guards, while he, Avery and the werewolf members of the squad partially shifted, summoning their wolfs powers but retaining their human form. “We will go in quietly and carry out the extraction first before we clear any available threat.”
Avery nodded, and slowly pushed open the back entrance door, stepping into the darkness of the mall. Her glowing wolf eyes had no difficulty in seeing, and her senses quickly picked up the faint smell of blood.
They moved quickly, checking room by room, floor by floor, and sweeping the lower levels of the mall. In a caved-in cosmetics store, they found a woman shielding her two children behind a counter. Simon assigned a team to usher them out safely. In a ruined arcade they checked next, they found a young warlock curled up in a corner with a broken arm. He trembled in fear until Avery knelt beside him and offered her hand.
“We are here to help,” she whispered.
But just as she helped him to his feet, the energy in the atmosphere changed instantly.
A blood curdling snarl echoed from one of the central corridors.
Simon froze. “We have an incoming.”
The ground vibrated slightly, and dust rained from the ceiling as the threat finally emerged fully.
A giant werewolf monster, considerably larger than an average Alpha, and rippling with muscle. His eyes glowed like burning lava as it came towards them, with fur covered in blood and dust. On its back were evil looking spikes, pointing out in all directions like thorns.
Avery’s eyes widened in surprise. She had seen feral werewolves from videos and pictures Simon and Alex had shown her before, but there was something about this rogue monster that was not right. There was a dark energy around it, a corrupted and twisted experiment probably carried out by Maverick and his army of dark witches.
“Maverick’s diabolical creations,” Simon hissed in disgust. “He has been enhanced.”
The werewolf’s lips peeled back in a twisted grin, revealing too many teeth.
“Run,” Avery said to the warlock, shoving him toward the others. “Get them out of here. Now.”
The creature came forward, and Avery dodged quickly as its powerful claws tore the display case that had been behind her to a thousand pieces. She balanced herself instantly, and countered with a powerful kick to the monster's jaw, making it stagger back–but only for a moment.
He roared savagely, shaking the mall’s very foundations.
“Simon, extraction!” Avery barked. “This one's mine!”
Simon hesitated for a second, as if contemplating whether it was wise to leave Avery alone with such a terrible creature. Then he saw the look of fire in her eyes and nodded obediently. “Try not to get yourself killed, Alex would have my head for it.”
And he was gone.
The werewolf charged again, faster than something its size had any right to move, but Avery sidestepped, managing to avoid the paw swipe that shattered another case. Before the monster could regain his balance, Avery tore at him with her open claws, slicing through his side and forcing a howl of rage and pain from the monster.
“So you can bleed,” she said with a small smile as she circled him. “Good. That means I can kill you.”
The monster responded with a deafening roar and hit both fists into the ground. The floor cracked, throwing Avery momentarily off balance, but she flipped back just in time, narrowly avoiding a huge slab of the ceiling that came crashing down.
Her human body screamed in protest at the effort that should have been meant for her werewolf form, but her focus remained as her wolf trusted her instincts.
After years of a buried identity hidden in a human life, this was her moment.
“Let’s see if Maverick made you strong enough,” she taunted.

Above, from a nearby window, a drone hummed quietly. Its operator–a freelance journalist working with human rescue teams within the city watched the fighters with wide eyes.
“Oh my god,” he muttered. “She is fighting it all alone.”
Another voice spoke through his headset. “Are you getting this live?”
“Yeah. I am broadcasting it now. This is massively going viral.”

Back inside, Avery landed a kick to the werewolf’s knee, causing it to stagger. She followed it up with a slash to his chest, but it recovered too quickly, catching her by the waist and hurling her through a wall.
She hit concrete hard, with a cloud of dust choking her. Her ribs screamed in protest.
The creature walked through the rubble, grinning with amused savagery.
“You are not even a full shifter,” it growled. “Did your precious Alpha Alex send a runt to do his dirty work?”
Avery spat out blood and grinned back, knowing fully well why she was not shifting to her full werewolf form. “Maybe he did, but I am the runt who is going to bury you.”
She pulled something from her belt, a small glass sphere glowing faintly violet.
The werewolf monster's eyes widened in shock. “Witch tech?”
Before he could make a move, Avery slammed it into the ground, and a shockwave of violet energy violently blasted the creature backward. It howled in agony as the spell scrambled its senses.
Avery was on him before it could recover. Slashing, dodging, and tearing at him with renewed ferocity. The fight raged across the mall, through broken escalators, across broken fountains, with each impact sending shockwaves that echoed throughout the surrounding areas.
And every second of it was being streamed.
Avery was not just fighting a monstrous werewolf beast, she was making a statement.
To Maverick.
To all the humans watching it on the live broadcasts she was not even aware of.
To the packs, covens, and every supernatural faction that still had not agreed to submit to the dark ambitions of Maverick and Elara.
The monster stumbled, bleeding from dozens of wounds Avery had inflicted upon it. She was almost spent also, breathing raggedly with her armor also suffering significant damage.
“You are– strong,” the monster wheezed. “But not enough for me.”
“I don’t need to be enough,” she said, eyeing him defiantly. “I just need to end you.”
She feinted to the left, dodged an incoming attack and jumped onto his back, driving her claws and fangs into his neck. He howled in agony, swinging wildly to shake her off–but she held on firmly.
Then she whispered in his ear.
“This is for every innocent life you have taken. For every desperate and terrified scream you laughed at.”
She buried her fangs deeper until she felt the blood, holding on tightly despite the frantic struggles of the monster.
The werewolf monster collapsed a few minutes later.
Dead.
When Avery finally stumbled outside, a proud and excited Simon was waiting for her, along with a large crowd that had gathered after seeing the viral footage–Human and supernatural alike. And they erupted in a wild cheer when they saw her.
“Extraction secured successfully, ma'am”
“And wow, Avery- ,”
She looked at him tiredly, blood-smeared but smiling grimly. “Why are all these people here, and why are they cheering?”
Simon grinned and pointed upward to the drone still in the air. “You are trending on almost all networks, Avery. It seems the entire city watched your fight with that beast, both humans and supernaturals.”
Before Avery could even think up a response, the two young officers from Marlboro hurried forward, holding up a phone. “Ma’am, the media is calling you the Luna of Tenebrous. They are saying Alpha Alex sent you as a symbol of peace. That you stood your ground against a monster.”
Avery looked overwhelmed by all the attention.
“I did not do it to be a symbol.” She said meekly.
“I know,” Simon said. “But you just became one anyway.”

Back at the estate, the control room was buzzing with chatter and celebration. Screens were covered with clips of the fight. Jessica was sitting on a couch and hugging a pillow tightly.
“Oh my God,” she whispered. “She did it.”
Rufus stood beside her, arms crossed with very concerned look on his face.
“She should not have been alone.”
“She was not,” Jessica whispered, eyes shining with happiness. “The city was with her.”
All across Tenebrous, humans and supernaturals alike watched the footage over and over again. Some from phones, some from news channels. In refugee shelters, and in safe houses. Not all the supernaturals were evil–some were really fighting for the safety of the city.
A new hero had emerged to unite them in a time of conflict, and she had given them something to hold on to–Hope.
When they finally returned to the estate, Avery stood alone on the mansion’s balcony, staring out at the skyline. Her knuckles were still bruised. Her ribs still ached. But inside, something had definitely changed.
She was not just surviving anymore.
She was fighting for something bigger.
And the city was watching.
She did not need a title.
But tonight, it had been given to her.
The Luna of Tenebrous.