197

197
Lina's POV

The blood-stained note crumples in my trembling fist as rage builds inside me like a supernova about to explode. Morgana's twisted message burns itself into my memory, each word a fresh knife wound: Three days until she comes to me willingly, or I collect what's mine by force.

"She thinks she can break us," I whisper, my voice barely audible over the sound of Leo's ragged breathing. "She thinks killing Sophia will make me surrender."

Lightning crackles along my arms without conscious thought, the enhanced bond amplifying every emotion until the very air around us thrums with dangerous energy. Through the shattered connection to our pack bonds, I can feel confusion and fear spreading like wildfire as wolves throughout our territory sense something catastrophically wrong.

But my attention is entirely focused on Leo, who has collapsed beside his mother's body like his strings have been cut. The strongest man I know, the Alpha who has carried impossible burdens with unwavering resolve, is completely broken. His hands shake as he reaches toward Sophia's face, then pulls back as if touching her will make her death more real.

"Both of them," he whispers, his voice hollow. "She took both of them from me."

The words hit me like physical blows. Andrew, killed in that staged car accident. Now Sophia, murdered in her own home while we were away building alliances that might have protected her if we'd been faster, smarter, less trusting. The guilt radiating from Leo through our bond is so intense it nearly brings me to my knees.

"This is my fault," Leo continues, his voice breaking. "I should have stationed guards here. I should have known Morgana would target her. I should have—"

"Stop." I drop to my knees beside him, ignoring the way our enhanced bond sends jolts of electricity between us when I place my hands on his shoulders. "Leo, look at me."

His gray eyes, usually so steady and commanding, are lost and unfocused. I've never seen him this shattered, not even in our darkest moments against Paul MacKenzie. Losing both parents within weeks of each other, coupled with the crushing responsibility of leading our pack through an impossible war – it's too much for anyone to bear.

"This is not your fault," I say firmly, pouring every ounce of conviction I have through our bond. "Morgana is a psychotic witch who murdered an innocent woman to send a message. The guilt belongs to her, not to you."

Leo shakes his head, tears streaming down his face. "I failed them. I failed her. She trusted me to keep her safe, and I—"

I pull him against my chest before he can finish the thought, wrapping my arms around him as tightly as our enhanced bond allows. His body is rigid with held-back sobs, with rage that has nowhere to go, with a grief so deep it feels like drowning.

"Let it out," I whisper against his hair. "She's gone, Leo. Our beautiful, brave Sophia is gone, and it's okay to fall apart. Just for a minute. I've got you."

The permission breaks something inside him. Leo's composure crumbles entirely, and he sobs against my shoulder with the raw, desperate sound of someone whose world has been ripped apart. Through our bond, I feel every wave of his anguish – the little boy who lost his father too young, the Alpha who couldn't protect his mother, the son who will never again hear Sophia's laugh or feel her proud smile when he accomplished something difficult.

I hold him through it all, my own tears falling silently as I absorb his pain through our connection. Sophia loved him so fiercely, was so proud of the man he'd become. She would hate to see him blaming himself for her death.

"She loved you so much," I murmur, stroking his dark hair. "She was so proud of you, Leo. So proud of the Alpha you've become, the man you are. She would never want you to carry this guilt."

"I miss her already," Leo whispers against my neck. "I miss them both."

"I know. I miss her too. She was..." I have to pause, swallowing around the lump in my throat. "She was the mother I never had. The woman who taught me what unconditional love looked like. But Leo, she died protecting us. That note in her hand – she held onto it to give us warning. She used her last moments to save us."

Leo pulls back enough to meet my eyes, and I see some of the lost look beginning to fade, replaced by the fierce determination that makes him such a powerful Alpha.

"We're going to make them pay," he says, his voice rough but steady. "Morgana, Paul, everyone who helped them. We're going to end this."

"Yes," I agree, feeling my own rage crystallizing into cold, hard purpose. "We are."

But before either of us can say more, Noah's voice explodes into my mind through our pack link, urgent and panicked: Luna! We're under attack! Multiple breach points along the eastern perimeter – they're not normal rogues, they're moving too fast, too organized. We need all available fighters NOW.

Ice floods my veins. The attack on our house, Sophia's murder – it wasn't just a message. It was a distraction, designed to keep Leo and me away while the real assault began.

Children and non-combatants? I send back immediately, already pulling Leo to his feet.

Amy's organizing evacuations to the safe rooms, but Lina, there are too many of them. These aren't random rogues – they're coordinated, like an army.

We're on our way. Hold the line until we get there.

I turn to Leo, who has gone rigid beside me, his Alpha instincts overriding his grief as he processes what's happening through our shared pack bonds.

"How many?" he asks grimly.

"Too many," I reply, my mind already racing through defensive strategies. "Noah says they're organized, moving like an army rather than random rogues."

Leo's jaw tightens, and I watch him consciously push his grief aside, letting his protective instincts take over. The transformation is both heartbreaking and inspiring – my mate, wounded and mourning, choosing to stand and fight for our people despite everything he's just lost.

"Orders?" he asks, and the fact that he's deferring to me speaks to how much our partnership has evolved.

"Get every civilian to the reinforced safe rooms," I say quickly, my voice taking on the authoritative tone I've learned to use in crisis situations. "Pregnant women, children, elderly, anyone who can't fight effectively. Amy's already started, but we need to make sure no one gets left behind."

Leo nods, already moving toward the door. "And our fighters?"

"Defensive positions at first. Let them come to us where we have the advantage. But Leo..." I catch his arm as we reach the hallway. "This is Morgana's doing. Which means these attackers might have magical enhancements, abilities our warriors aren't prepared for."

Through our bond, I feel his grim understanding. We're not just facing a larger force – we're facing an enemy that plays by different rules entirely.

"Then we adapt," Leo says simply. "And we protect what's ours."

As we race through the house toward the main entrance, I catch a glimpse of our reflection in a hallway mirror. Leo, his face set in lines of determined fury despite the tear tracks still visible on his cheeks. Me, lightning still flickering along my skin, my eyes glowing with the otherworldly energy that marks me as the Moon Wolf. We look like war itself given human form.

Behind us, Sophia lies in her final rest, surrounded by symbols of hatred and violence. But ahead of us, our pack fights for survival, trusting us to lead them through the darkness that's descending.

Morgana wanted to break us by taking away our anchor, our heart. Instead, she's forged us into something harder, sharper, more dangerous. She gave us three days to surrender.

She's about to learn what a catastrophic miscalculation that was.

Hold on, I send through the pack link to every wolf in our territory as Leo and I burst through the front door into chaos. We're coming.

The war has begun.