Chapter-HundredThirty Eight, Let's Get Ready

Chapter-HundredThirty Eight, Let's Get Ready
Alpha Jayden’s Pov

The rain hadn’t stopped.

Hours after the battle ended, blood still washed through the pack lands in thin crimson rivers while smoke drifted through the destroyed village. Burned cabins collapsed slowly in the distance while surviving warriors searched through the ruins for bodies.

Too many bodies.

The scent of death covered everything.

I stood near the western riverbanks with Logan beside me as warriors carried the dead through the mud one by one.

Wrapped in blankets.

Covered in ash.

Some barely recognisable.

My chest tightened painfully watching one of the younger wolves carry his own father toward the water.

The kid couldn’t have been older than sixteen.

This war destroyed everyone.

“Another four from the eastern borders,” Beta Nathan said quietly behind me.

I closed my eyes briefly.

“ How many survivors?”

Silence answered me.

Fuck.

The river moved violently from the storm as warriors slowly laid the bodies together near the edge of the water. Ancient pack tradition demanded the dead return to the earth cleansed by moon water.

Tonight…

There were too many to bury.

So the river would carry them instead.

Logan stepped forward first, kneeling beside one of the fallen warriors.

“Thank you for fighting for us,” he whispered quietly before pushing the body gently into the rushing river.

The current carried him away slowly beneath the blood-red sky.

When another followed.

And another.

Soon dozens of bodies drifted down the river together while grieving family members cried quietly behind us.

The silence hurt worse than the screaming from the battle.

Because now reality had settled in.

We survived.We was once a pack with over five hundred members we now have less then fifty, 

Will we as a Blood Moon Pack recover from this?. 

My eyes lifted toward the cabin sitting deeper within the forest where Gemma rested beneath the sleep curse.

Everything we were doing now…

Every death.

Every sacrifice.

It was for her.

Because if we failed to save her soul—

This entire war would mean nothing.

A cold wind swept through the trees suddenly.

I looked toward the forest path just as Zoe appeared between the shadows with Lara, King Barry, and King Larry beside her.

Exhaustion covered every single one of them.

Zoe looked pale.

Blood stained her hands and clothes while dark circles rested beneath her eyes from the underworld magic she used against Luicen.

But she was alive.

Thank fuck.

Behind them floated the glowing underworld chains wrapped tightly around Luicen body so he couldn't move. 

The bastard radiated darkness.

Gemma followed behind them floating several feet above the ground surrounded completely by silver light. The sleep curse wrapped around her body like glowing threads while ancient runes drifted across her skin.

She looked peaceful.

Finally peaceful.

Logan immediately moved toward her.

“Is she stable?” he asked quietly.

Lara nodded tiredly. “For now.”

That answer alone made my stomach twist.

For now.

Meaning the darkness inside her could still return.

Zoe looked toward me carefully.

“We’re taking them he needs extra dealing magic as the shackles are cracking so below is better. "

I already knew what she meant.

The dungeons.

Deep beneath the old cabin rested the ancient underground chambers built centuries ago by the first kings. Nobody used them anymore because the magic buried down there was dangerous.

But there was no other choice.

Luicen couldn’t remain above ground.

And Gemma’s curse needed protection while we prepared the soul restoration spell.

“I’ll come with you,” Logan said instantly.

“No,” Zoe answered firmly.

Her voice cracked slightly from exhaustion.

“You and Jayden need to start preparing the ingredients.”

I frowned. “You sure?”

“We don’t have time,” Lara interrupted. “The longer Gemma stays under the curse, the harder it becomes to pull her back.”

My wolf growled uneasily hearing that.

How much time did we actually have?

Days?

Weeks?

Nobody would answer directly.

Because I didn’t think they knew themselves.

King Barry stepped forward slowly.

“The dungeon seals will hold,” he said. “But not forever.”

I looked toward Luicen’s chained body.

The underworld shackles rattled violently for a split second.

Even tied up…

He was fighting them.

Zoe noticed too.

“We need to move now.”

Without another word, the kings turned toward the cabin as magic carried Gemma and Luicen deeper into the forest.

I watched them disappear between the trees until the darkness swallowed them whole.

Then silence returned again.

The rain poured harder.

Logan exhaled shakily beside me.

“She looked dead, Jayden.”

I knew exactly what he meant.

Gemma.

Seeing her motionless beneath the curse nearly destroyed all of us.

“She’s alive,” I answered firmly.

“She better be.”

I looked toward him carefully.

Logan’s eyes remained fixed on the forest where she disappeared. Pain sat heavily across his face while his wolf paced violently beneath the surface.

He was terrified.

Hell…

So was I.

But we didn’t have time to break down now.

Not yet.

I turned toward Beta Nathan.

“Get every surviving healer to the cabin,” I ordered. “And have the warriors gather the ingredients Lara listed earlier.”

Nathan nodded instantly before disappearing through the rain.

Logan rubbed both hands down his face roughly.

“What if this doesn’t work?”

I didn’t answer immediately.

Because the truth?

I didn’t fucking know.

The spell Lara described earlier sounded closer to resurrection magic than healing.

Rare herbs.

Ancient blood rituals.

Moon water blessed by the kings.

Ashes from the underworld tree.

And the most dangerous ingredient of all—

Life magic.

Magic strong enough to drag a soul back from darkness always demanded a price.

Always.

I just prayed the price wouldn’t be Gemma herself.

“Jayden.”

I looked toward Logan.

“What if we lose her anyway?”

The pain in his voice nearly broke me.

I stepped closer placing one hand on his shoulder.

“We won’t.”

Even if I had to tear apart Heaven and Hell myself.

We moved quickly after that.

The remaining pack members gathered near the cabin while warriors carried crates of supplies through the mud. Healers worked desperately on the injured beneath temporary shelters while children huddled together near fires trying to stay warm.

The Blood Moon Pack looked broken.

But not dead.

Not yet.

Hours passed as Logan and I prepared everything Lara requested.

Silver bowls lined the cabin tables while herbs covered nearly every surface inside.

Moonshade flowers.

Blackthorn bark.

Wolfsbane roots.

Blood moss harvested from the northern caves.

Each ingredient carried dangerous magic on its own.

Combined together…

They could either save Gemma.

Or kill her permanently.

Logan crushed herbs carefully inside one of the stone bowls while I sliced protective runes into black candles made from grave wax.

Neither of us spoke much.

The silence between us felt heavy.

Because every few seconds my mind drifted back toward the underground dungeon beneath us.

Toward Gemma sleeping alone beneath the curse.

Toward Luicen chained somewhere in the darkness below.

Waiting.

Watching.

A loud bang suddenly echoed beneath the cabin floor.

Both me and Logan froze instantly.

Another bang followed.

The walls trembled.

“Tell me that’s normal,” Logan muttered darkly.

I stared toward the floorboards.

Before I could answer, Zoe suddenly climbed the cabin stairs from below looking exhausted.

Her face was pale.

Worse than before.

“The seals are holding,” she said before either of us could ask.

Holding.

Not permanent.

Just holding.

“Luicen’s trying to break free already,” she admitted quietly.

My wolf snarled instantly.

“How long?”

“We don’t know.”

Fuck.

Lara appeared behind her moments later holding an old leather book covered in ancient symbols.

“The spell preparation starts tonight,” she said seriously. “Once we begin, there’s no stopping halfway.”

Logan stood immediately.

“What do you need?”

Lara slowly opened the book revealing pages filled with ancient writing.

“We need the circle prepared before moonrise tomorrow night.”

My eyes narrowed.

“That soon?”

“The curse is weakening her body already,” Zoe answered tiredly. “Gemma’s soul is fighting the darkness constantly while she sleeps.”

Every second mattered.

Lara pointed toward the ingredients spread across the tables.

“We start with purification,” she explained. “Then soul binding. Then the awakening ritual.”

Logan frowned. “And if one step fails?”

Silence filled the room instantly.

Nobody answered.

Because we all already knew.

Gemma wouldn’t survive it.

A cold chill swept through the cabin suddenly causing the candles to flicker violently.

Then from somewhere deep beneath the floorboards—

Luicen laughed.

Low.

Cold.

Inhuman.

Every wolf inside the cabin went still instantly.

The sound echoed through the underground tunnels like death itself.

Then his voice followed.

“You cannot save her…”