Chapter 102 The Illusion of Choice
Kael pov
"You mean me." I stood abruptly. "I'd have to kneel to Lira. Formally before the entire pack."
"You and the other four bloodline descendants." Aria nodded. "Thane's son, Gareth's daughter, Soren's nephew, Elias. All five must acknowledge Silvermoon's rightful claim."
"Elias will never agree." Thomas pointed out. "He's built his entire identity on being Silvermoon's alpha."
"Then he becomes the curse's primary vessel." Darion said grimly. "Because refusal means the dark magic focuses on the resistor. Uses them to spread madness and death."
"So our choices are submit or die." I laughed bitterly. "Some choice."
"Your choices are face your family's sins or let everyone suffer for them." Aria corrected sharply. "Including Lira, who did nothing wrong except survive."
"I know that!" I slammed my hand on the table. "I know none of this is her fault, but asking the pack to give up everything"
"They're not giving up everything." She interrupted. "They're returning what was stolen, there is a difference."
"Tell that to wolves who've lived here for generations." Thomas said. "Who know nothing else."
"Then they'll learn." Darion's voice held no sympathy. "The same way rogues learn when their territory is taken. Adapt or die."
I looked at the documents spread before me. Decades of lies, murder, and stolen land all signed by my ancestors.
"There's more." Aria opened one last book. "The ritual requires the Luna to face the dead alone. She'll be vulnerable, unprotected in the spirit world. And if she fails—if the dead reject her offering or find her unworthy."
"She dies." I finished. "And the curse spreads beyond control."
"To every supernatural being within a hundred miles." Aria confirmed. "Vampires, witches, fae, other wolf packs. Everyone becomes infected with murderous madness."
"How long does the ritual take?" Thomas asked.
"Until dawn." Aria checked the moon charts. "She enters at moonrise, fights until sunrise. Twelve hours in the spirit world, facing the rage of hundreds of murdered wolves."
"Twelve hours." I calculated quickly. "The claiming ceremony is at moonrise, we will barely finish before she has to start the ritual."
"She can't do both." Darion said flatly. "The claiming alone will drain her. Adding the purification ritual immediately after? She'll die from exhaustion before she even reaches the spirit world."
"Then we postpone the ritual." I decided. "Let her recover from the claiming, then attempt purification in a few days"
"We don't have a few days!" Aria pulled out her charts. "Look at the progression. Marcus was possessed this morning by tonight, three more will fall. Tomorrow, dozens. The curse is accelerating toward the eclipse. If we don't break it now, while it's still building power, it'll be unstoppable."
"So she does both or everyone dies." I felt trapped. "Those are our options."
"Those are reality." Aria closed the books carefully. "I'm sorry, I wish there were alternatives."
"What about the other bloodline descendants?" Thomas asked. "If they swore fealty now, before the ritual, would that help?"
"Possibly." Aria considered. "It might weaken the curse's hold, make the spirit world confrontation less deadly."
"Then we contact them." I straightened. "All four. Today. Demand they come to Darkfang and swear fealty to Lira."
"Thane, Gareth, and Soren just retreated after she defeated them." Thomas pointed out. "They'll never agree to submit further."
"They will if the alternative is possession and death." I moved toward the stairs. "Send runners and tell them , the curse is active and spreading. They swear fealty to the Moonblood heir or become vessels for genocide."
"And Elias?" Darion asked. "He's been hunting Lira for years. He'll see this as a trap."
"Then make it clear." I stopped at the door. "He comes peacefully and submits, or I drag him here in chains and force submission. His choice."
"That's a declaration of war." Thomas warned.
"We're already at war." I gestured at the documents. "With the dead. With the curse. With our own history, we might as well be honest about it."
I climbed the stairs, leaving the archives behind but the weight of those documents stayed with me. years of stolen land. Hundreds of murdered wolves, five bloodlines guilty of genocide.
And Lira, the sole survivor, now responsible for breaking the curse her family's killers had created. I found her in our room, staring out the window at the dying territory.
"You found something." She didn't turn around. "I can feel it through the bond, dread and guilt."
"I found everything." I moved beside her. "The whole truth about how Darkfang claimed this territory."
"Murder and dark magic?" She guessed.
"Yes." I took her hand. "My grandfather, my father, four other alphas. They planned it together and used blood ritual magic fueled by Silvermoon's destruction."
"I know." Her voice was flat. "I've known since Garrick confessed, since Nicolas told me the real story."
"Then you know this land is legally yours." I watched her face. "All of it, including everything Darkfang holds."
"I know." She finally looked at me. "And you know the purification ritual will probably kill me."
"I won't let that happen." I gripped her shoulders. "We'll find another way"
"There is no other way." She pulled free gently. "Your archives said so. My mother's journal said so, even Selwyn agrees. I have to face the dead alone and offer them justice."
"Justice that includes me kneeling before you." I admitted. "Formally swearing Darkfang to Silvermoon's authority."
"I don't want you to kneel." She turned back to the window. "I don't want any of this. I just want to stop the curse and protect the pack."
"By risking your life." I moved behind her, arms around her waist. "Twice in one night."
"The claiming ceremony and the purification ritual." She leaned back against me. "I'm terrified of both."
"Then don't do them." I held her tighter. "We'll evacuate, we take the pack and run"
"Run where?" She laughed without humor. "The curse will follow anyone connected to the five bloodlines. We'd just spread the madness further."
"Then I'll face the spirit world." I offered desperately. "Let me take your place"
"Only Moonblood magic can purify dark magic." She recited from memory. "Only the wronged bloodline can offer forgiveness, only I can break what they made."
She turned in my arms, eyes bright with unshed tears."I'm going to do this." Her voice shook but held firm. "Both ceremonies. Tonight and you're going to let me."
"I can't just watch you die." I whispered.
"Then help me survive." She rose on her toes, kissing me softly. "Fight beside me however you can, be my anchor when I'm lost in the spirit world. Believe I'm strong enough even when I don't."
"You're strong enough." I pulled her close. "You're the strongest person I know."
"Then prove it." She pressed her forehead to mine. "Kneel for me tonight and show the pack you believe I'm worthy."
"You are worthy." I breathed. "Of everything. Of this territory, this pack, this bond."
"Tell me that again." She requested quietly. "After you see everything I've hidden, after the claim exposes all my shame."
"I'll tell you every day for the rest of our lives." I promised. "However long that is."
She kissed me again, deeper this time. Desperate. Like she was memorizing the feel of being held. Because tonight, she'd stand naked—emotionally and magically—before everyone.
And then she'd walk into the spirit world to face hundreds of wolves who wanted her dead. All to break a curse she didn't create.
To save wolves who'd enslaved her.
To protect a mate who'd hurt her.
She was braver than anyone I'd ever known.
And I was terrified I was about to lose her.