Chapter 165 The It-Girls' Coup
POV: Luna
"We need to close that portal!" I shouted. "Now!"
"How?" Aria demanded.
"I don't know! Disrupt the magic! Break the circle! Anything!"
We attacked the portal's foundation. The ritual circle maintaining it.
But the moment we touched it, dark magic lashed out.
It threw Nova backward. She hit a tree hard.
"Nova!" I ran to her.
"I'm fine. Just pissed off."
We needed a different approach.
"Sienna! Can you analyze the spell structure?"
"Working on it!" She was chanting. Scanning. Searching for weaknesses.
The portal pulsed. Growing larger. More stable.
Through it, I could see more clearly now.
The sealed door was definitely breaking. Cracks spreading across its surface.
Those things on the other side were getting closer to freedom.
"I found something!" Sienna shouted. "The portal is anchored to five points! We need to disrupt all five simultaneously!"
"Where are they?"
She pointed. "There! And there! Spread around the circle!"
We split up. Each of us taking an anchor point.
"On three!" I called. "One... two... three!"
We attacked together.
Eclipse power. Pack coordination. Magical disruption.
The anchors cracked. Weakened.
But didn't break.
"Again!" I ordered.
We hit them again. Harder. Stronger.
This time, two anchors shattered.
The portal flickered. Destabilized slightly.
But it was still there. Still growing.
"We need more power!" Nova said.
Before I could respond, the portal erupted with energy.
And through it stepped figures. Humanoid. But wrong. Twisted by otherworld magic.
"They're coming through!" Lyric shouted.
The creatures attacked immediately.
We fought desperately. Trying to hold them off while still disrupting the portal.
More creatures kept coming. Too many. Too fast.
"We're being overwhelmed!" Aria shouted.
Then I heard it. Screaming. From the direction of the main Academy buildings.
"They're attacking the school too!" I realized. "This portal is a distraction!"
"Or both attacks are coordinated!" Liam said.
Through the pack bonds, I reached out to students at the main buildings.
Status report!
Darius's response came back. Under attack! It-Girls! They're using massive dark magic! Trying to take control of the wards!
"It's a coup!" I said. "The It-Girls are trying to take over Silverwood while we're distracted by the portal!"
"We need to split up!" Aria said.
"No! We stay together! If we split, they pick us off individually!"
"Then what do we do?"
I looked at the portal. At the creatures. At my exhausted pack.
We couldn't fight both battles. Not simultaneously.
"We close the portal first!" I decided. "Fast and hard! Then we deal with the It-Girls!"
"How do we close it fast?" Nova asked.
"By overloading it. Channeling so much power through it that it collapses."
"That could kill you!" Liam protested.
"It might. But if that portal stays open, those things will kill everyone."
Through the mate bond, I felt his fear. His desperation.
But also his acceptance. He knew I was right.
"Okay," he said. "Do it. We'll protect you while you work."
My pack formed a defensive circle around me.
I knelt at the portal's center and placed my hands on the ground.
Channeled Eclipse power. All of it. Everything I had.
The portal responded. Drinking in the energy greedily.
I pushed more. Harder. Faster.
Drawing on the pack bonds. On Liam's strength. On my friends' determination.
On Miguel's anchored essence. On everything I'd ever fought for.
The portal began to destabilize. Shaking. Flickering.
"It's working!" Sienna shouted.
But the backlash was incredible. Pain exploded through me.
I screamed but didn't stop. Couldn't stop.
Just a little more. Just a little longer.
The portal pulsed violently. Then collapsed inward.
Imploding. Taking the creatures with it.
When the light faded, the portal was gone.
And I was unconscious.
I woke to Liam shaking me. "Luna! Luna, wake up!"
"Did it work?" I gasped.
"Yes! The portal's closed! But we need to move! Now! The It-Girls are still attacking the school!"
He helped me stand. I was shaky. Drained. But alive.
"Let's go!"
We ran toward the main buildings.
The scene was chaos. Students fighting students. Dark magic everywhere. Faculty trying to restore order.
And in the center of it all, on the front steps, stood the It-Girls.
At least twenty of them. All wearing matching marks. All channeling dark magic into the Academy's ward system.
"They're hijacking the wards!" Aria realized. "Trying to take control!"
If they succeeded, they could lock everyone inside. Or out. Control access completely.
"We have to stop them!" I said.
We charged forward.
But the It-Girls were ready. They'd been planning this.
Dark magic attacks came from all directions.
We dodged. Blocked. Countered.
Made it halfway to the steps before they formed a barrier.
Impenetrable. Powerful. Professional.
"We need to break through!" Nova said.
I channeled Eclipse power. Attacked the barrier with everything I had left.
It cracked. But held.
"It's too strong!" I gasped.
Then I heard a scream.
A first-year student had been caught in magical crossfire. Trapped between two dark spells.
About to be crushed.
Liam didn't hesitate. He ran into the crossfire.
Grabbed the student. Threw them to safety.
Took the hit himself.
Dark magic slammed into him. He went down hard.
"Liam!" I screamed.
Through the mate bond, I felt his pain. His determination. His refusal to give up.
He struggled to his feet. "I'm okay! Keep fighting!"
His sacrifice rallied everyone. Students who'd been hesitating joined the fight.
Faculty coordinated better. Pushed harder.
And in the chaos, someone unexpected appeared.
Selene.
She walked calmly through the battle. Her protective aura blazing around her like silver fire.
"Princess!" I shouted. "Get to safety!"
"No. I'm done hiding."
She reached the It-Girls' barrier. Placed her hands on it.
Her aura pulsed. Royal magic flooding into the structure.
The barrier began to destabilize.
"It's working!" Sienna said. "Her royal magic is disrupting their dark magic! They're incompatible!"
The It-Girls realized what was happening. Started attacking Selene directly.
But her aura protected her. Deflected their spells.
And gave us the opening we needed.
I gathered my pack. "Combined attack! Everything we've got! Now!"
We hit the barrier together.
Eclipse power. Royal magic. Pack coordination. Mate bond synchronization.
The barrier shattered.
We poured through. Engaging the It-Girls directly.
The fight was brutal. Desperate. No holding back.
But we were winning. Slowly. Painfully. But winning.
Then the front doors burst open.
And Cole appeared.
He looked different. More powerful. Enhanced by dark magic.
"Hello, Luna," he said. "Miss me?"
Everyone froze. Staring.
"Cole," I breathed. "What are you doing?"
"Finishing what I started. The It-Girls needed help taking control. I'm providing it."
"You're helping them coup Silverwood?"
"I'm helping them reshape it. Make it better. Without hierarchies. Without predetermined destinies."
"By force? By dark magic?"
"By any means necessary."
He raised his hands. Dark magic surged.
And he directed it all at me.
I barely got my defenses up in time.
The impact threw me backward. I hit the ground hard.
Liam was beside me instantly. "Luna!"
Cole walked forward slowly. Deliberately. "You should have joined us when you had the chance. Now you're just an obstacle. One that needs to be removed."
"You're going to kill me?" I asked. "After everything?"
"If I have to. For the cause. For the vision. For a better world."
He attacked again.
This time, Liam intercepted. Taking the hit meant for me.
He went down. Hard.
Through the mate bond, I felt his pain. His rage. His absolute refusal to let Cole hurt me.
"Get away from her!" Liam snarled.
He shifted. Full Alpha form. Larger than before. More powerful.
And he attacked Cole with everything he had.
They fought across the courtyard. Brutal. Vicious. No mercy.
I struggled to my feet. Joined the fight.
Together, Liam and I pushed Cole back.
But he was stronger than before. Enhanced. Augmented.
The architects had done something to him. Given him power he shouldn't have.
"You can't win!" Cole shouted. "The architects have already won! The seal is breaking! The otherworld invasion is inevitable!"
"Then we'll stop that too!" I shouted back.
I channeled Eclipse power through my mark. Through Liam. Through our mate bond.
Created a massive burst of purifying energy.
It hit Cole dead center.
He screamed. The dark magic enhancing him burned away.
When it cleared, he was powerless again. Broken.
"No," he whispered. "Not again. I can't be powerless again."
He looked at me with such hatred. Such desperation.
"This isn't over, Luna. You'll regret defying us. The architects will make you pay. They'll make everyone pay."
Then he fled. Running into the shadows. Disappearing.
The It-Girls, seeing their ally fall, surrendered.
The coup was over.
We'd won. Again. Barely.
I collapsed beside Liam. "You okay?"
"I will be. You?"
"Same."
Through the mate bond, we shared exhaustion. Relief. Love.
We'd survived. Together.
That was becoming our thing.