Chapter 154 Liam's Hero Moment
POV: Luna
After the vision, sleep was impossible.
I spent the rest of the night on the roof, staring at the stars.
Trying to figure out how to stop an otherworld invasion with nothing but teenage wolves and desperation.
Liam found me at dawn.
"You can't keep doing this," he said.
"Doing what?"
"Carrying everything alone. You have a pack. A mate. Friends. Let us help."
"I am letting you help."
"You're letting us fight beside you. That's different from actually sharing the burden."
He was right. I knew he was right.
"I'm scared," I admitted. "Scared that if I lean on you too much, you'll get hurt. Die. Like Miguel did."
"Miguel died protecting you because that's what people do when they love someone. But his death wasn't your fault."
"Wasn't it? If he'd never met me—"
"He'd have lived a normal, boring life. And he chose you instead. Chose excitement. Danger. Love. Don't dishonor that choice by blaming yourself."
Through the mate bond, I felt his absolute conviction.
"Thank you," I said quietly.
"For what?"
"For not letting me wallow."
"That's what mates are for."
We sat together, watching the sunrise.
Then Liam's expression changed. Alert. Focused.
"Something's wrong," he said.
I felt it too. Through the pack bonds. Multiple distress signals.
We ran toward the signals.
The southern grounds. Selene was there with Nova and Aria.
Surrounded by rogues.
At least thirty of them. More than we'd ever seen at once.
"This is an ambush!" Nova shouted.
"How did they get through the wards?" Aria demanded.
I didn't have time to answer. I shifted and charged into the fight.
Liam was right beside me.
We fought as a unit. Perfectly synchronized. His speed complementing my power.
But there were too many rogues.
"We need a new strategy!" Aria shouted.
Liam's analytical mind kicked in. "The rogues aren't random! Look at their formation!"
I looked. He was right. They were moving in patterns. Coordinated.
Someone was controlling them.
"There!" Liam pointed. "On the roof! Someone's directing them!"
A figure stood on the eastern building. Hands raised. Dark magic flowing from them toward the rogues.
"I'll handle the controller!" I said. "You guys handle the rogues!"
"Not alone!" Liam protested.
"Together then!"
We broke from the main fight and ran toward the building.
The controller saw us coming and sent a wave of dark magic.
Liam analyzed it instantly. "Left! Dodge left!"
I did. The magic missed by inches.
"How did you know?" I asked.
"The way the energy moves. It has patterns. Tells. If you know what to look for."
We reached the building and climbed.
The controller was waiting. Face hidden by a hood.
"You've been thorough," a familiar voice said.
The hood dropped.
Victoria.
"How are you out?" I demanded. "You're supposed to be in custody!"
"I have friends. Allies. People who understand the vision."
"The vision of destroying reality?"
"Of reshaping it. Without hierarchies. Without predetermined destinies. True freedom."
"That's insane!"
"That's revolution."
She attacked with dark magic.
Liam and I split up, flanking her.
"Luna, her left side is weaker!" Liam called. "She favors her right in combat!"
How did he know that?
But I trusted him. I attacked from the left.
Victoria blocked, but her defense was slower on that side.
I pressed the advantage.
"Now her footwork!" Liam shouted. "She plants her back foot before major spells! Watch for it!"
I watched. He was right. Every time she prepared a big spell, her back foot planted firmly.
I timed my attack for that exact moment.
She couldn't dodge. My Eclipse power hit her dead center.
She went down hard.
Below, without their controller, the rogues became disorganized.
My pack made quick work of them.
Victoria struggled to her feet, bleeding. "This isn't over. You've stopped me. But you haven't stopped them."
"Them who?"
"The architects. The real power behind everything. I'm just a soldier. A believer. But they're the prophets. The visionaries."
"Who are they?"
She laughed. Blood dripping from her mouth. "You'll find out soon enough. When they come for you. When they come for the princess. When they finally break the seal and reshape this broken world."
Faculty appeared. Security. They took Victoria into custody.
For real this time. With actual magical suppression.
Liam and I climbed down to rejoin our friends.
"That was incredible," Nova said. "The way you two fought together. Like you were reading each other's minds."
"That's the mate bond," I said.
"No," Liam corrected. "That's training. Practice. Trust. The mate bond helps, but we've earned this partnership."
I looked at him. At my mate. My partner. My anchor.
"Thank you," I said. "For having my back."
"Always."
We were heading back to the Academy when Sienna found something.
"Guys. Look at this."
It was a crystal. Small. Cracked. Lying where Victoria had fallen.
"What is it?" I asked.
Sienna examined it carefully. "A communication device. Victoria was talking to someone during the fight."
"Who?"
"I don't know. But maybe we can trace it. Find out who she was reporting to."
We brought the crystal to the Headmaster.
He examined it with Professor Cael.
"This is sophisticated," he said. "Council-level magic. Whoever made this has significant resources."
"Can you trace it?" I asked.
"We'll try. But it might take time."
Time we didn't have.
That evening, we gathered in my dorm to debrief.
"Victoria's arrest was too easy," Aria said. "Like she wanted to be caught."
"Or like she accomplished her goal," Sienna added.
"What goal?" Nova asked.
"We don't know. But something feels wrong."
I looked at the crystal, now sitting on my desk.
There was something about it. Something familiar.
I picked it up carefully.
My mark flared. Warning.
The crystal pulsed.
Then it projected an image.
A hologram. Showing a symbol.
The same symbol I'd seen on the dark figure. On Liam's ritual knife. On Cole's hand.
But this time, I recognized it.
"That's a Council seal," Professor Cael said, having followed us. "A specific division. One that doesn't officially exist."
"Black ops?" Lyric asked.
"Worse. Ancient operations. Magical research that the Council officially condemned centuries ago."
"Why would Victoria have their seal?" I asked.
"Because someone in that division is helping her. Helping the It-Girls. Helping whoever's trying to break the seal."
"The architects," I breathed. "The people Victoria mentioned."
"Exactly. And if they're Council-sanctioned, even unofficially—"
"Then this goes higher than we thought," the Headmaster finished. "Much higher."
We all looked at each other.
The It-Girls were just pawns.
Victoria was just a soldier.
Even Cole was just a recruit.
The real power. The real threat. Was hidden in the Council itself.
And they'd been planning this for years.
Maybe decades.
Maybe centuries.
"What do we do?" Nova asked.
"We find out who they are," I said. "And we stop them before they break the seal."
"How?"
"I don't know yet. But we'll figure it out. Together."
Through the pack bonds, I felt everyone's determination.
We were scared. Outnumbered. Facing impossible odds.
But we weren't giving up.
Because that's what packs did.
They fought. Together. Until the very end.
And we were just getting started.