Chapter 75 Silver Fire Rising
Jolie POV
The celebration dies the second Gio's laptop starts beeping.
"What is that?" I cross to where he's sitting at one of the compound's tables.
He looks up at me, his face pale. "Motion sensors around the Council fortress. They're mobilizing."
"Already?" Ryder appears at my shoulder. "How the hell do they know we're planning something?"
"Because they've been watching me." Gio pulls up surveillance feeds. "See? Council enforcers positioned around the Nightshade Pack borders. They knew I'd either deliver you or warn you. Either way, they win."
I study the screens, counting wolves. "Fifty guards minimum, you said?"
"That was three days ago." He zooms in on a courtyard filled with armed figures. "Looks more like two hundred now. They're not just protecting Father anymore. They're preparing for war."
My stomach twists. Two hundred trained fighters against our small pack.
"We can't fight that many." Knox speaks up from across the room. "At least not head-on."
"We don't have to fight them all." I feel my power stirring under my skin, responding to my determination. "We just have to reach the fortress."
Ryder grabs my arm. "You're talking about walking into a death trap."
"I'm talking about ending this." I pull free, addressing the whole pack gathered around us. "The Council has been controlling packs through fear for years. Threatening families. Destroying anyone who challenges them and that ends tonight."
"Tonight?" Mara steps forward. "You want to assault a fortress full of trained killers right now?"
"I want to hit them before they're fully prepared." I look at the screens again, seeing movement, organization. "They're mobilizing because of me. Because they know I'm coming. So let's not give them time to finish setting up."
Doc moves closer, studying my face. "You've got that look again. The Luna look, now what are you planning?"
I close my eyes, reaching out with my empathic senses. The pack bonds pulse around me, strong and steady. Phoenix's fierce loyalty. Emma's grateful determination. Knox's protective instinct. Luna's silent strength and Mara's reluctant respect.
And Ryder. His bond blazes brightest of all, a constant anchor in the chaos.
"I can enhance your abilities." I open my eyes, moonfire flickering across my skin. "When I healed Emma, when I touched Gio, I wasn't just using power on them. I was connecting our energies. Temporarily boosting what was already there."
"You want to power us up like some video game?" Phoenix sounds skeptical.
"I want to make you faster, stronger, more coordinated." The moonfire grows brighter as I focus. "Elena taught me that Luna's vessels don't just judge and heal. We're meant to lead packs in battle. To enhance our wolves so they fight as extensions of divine will."
"That's..." Doc trails off, looking thoughtful. "Actually, that's documented in old texts. Divine vessels acting as force multipliers during ancient pack wars."
Ryder crosses his arms. "And what does this cost you?"
"Energy." I admit. "A lot of it. But not as much as healing. Enhancement is temporary, just a boost to what's already there."
"How long does it last?" Knox asks.
"Long enough." I hope that's true. "Elena said battlefield enhancement can hold for hours if the vessel maintains focus."
Mara pushes off the wall she's been leaning against. "So you want to juice us all up, storm a fortress with two hundred defenders, rescue your father who you barely care about, and somehow take down the entire Council of Alphas, now did I miss anything?"
"Yeah." I smile, feeling Luna's power sing through my veins. "We're doing it at midnight. When my power is strongest."
The room goes silent.
"That's in three hours." Ryder checks his watch. "Not enough time to plan properly."
"Plans fall apart the second fighting starts anyway." I move to the center of the room. "We keep it simple. I lead the charge, you all follow. My moonfire handles their front defenses while you pick off stragglers. We punch through to the fortress, grab Father, and make them feel what they've done to every pack they've terrorized."
"The empathy thing." Gio speaks up quietly. "You're going to break them like you broke me."
"No." I shake my head. "I'm going to judge them. Make them experience every cruel order they've given, every innocent wolf they've destroyed. Then I'm going to let them live with that knowledge, just like you're living with yours."
Gio flinches but doesn't argue.
"All in favor of the stupidest rescue mission in pack history?" Ryder raises his hand.
One by one, hands go up. Even Mara's, though she mutters something about having a death wish.
"Good." I take a breath, centering myself. "Then let's get ready. Check weapons, fuel up the bikes, say whatever goodbyes you need to say. Because once we start this, there's no turning back."
The pack disperses, moving with purpose. Knox and Luna head to the armory. Phoenix checks communication equipment. Doc starts gathering medical supplies.
Emma approaches me, looking nervous. "Can I come?"
"No." I touch her shoulder gently. "You've been through enough. Stay here with the other non-combatants."
"But I want to help. You saved me."
"You help by surviving." I squeeze her shoulder. "By being here when we get back. That's what I need from you."
She nods, blinking back tears. "Be careful."
"Always."
She leaves, and suddenly it's just me and Ryder in the common room.
"You're really doing this." He doesn't phrase it as a question.
"I have to." I turn to face him. "The Council killed your Aria. They almost traded me like property. They've destroyed countless lives. Someone has to stop them."
"So it has to be you?"
"It has to be me." Moonfire flickers between my fingers. "I'm a Luna's vessel, this is what I was meant for."
He pulls me close, pressing his forehead to mine. "Then we do it together. No martyring yourself. No sacrificing yourself to save the day. We go in, we get your father, we survive. All of us."
"I can't promise that." My voice breaks slightly. "People might die tonight. Our people."
"I know." His hands grip my waist. "But you don't get to decide you're expendable. Not anymore. You're my mate. My Luna. And I'm not losing you to save anyone, not even your father."
I want to argue. Want to tell him that sometimes sacrifice is necessary. But looking into his eyes, seeing the fierce love there, I can't.
"Together then." I lean up and kiss him. "We survive together."
"Damn right we do."